Over the years, I’ve managed to attend a wide variety of car events in the UK and beyond, some better known than others, but such are the number offered that it is completely impossible to attend everything that takes place, and inevitably, even some of the Big Named ones seem not to find their way into the diary year after year. One such is the Bromley Pageant of Motoring. Billed as the largest gathering of classic cars in the UK, with over 3000 vehicles taking part, I have always wanted to go and experience this long running event, but a combination of diary clashes and its physical location have always conspired against me. Until 2014 that is. This year, I decided to give it priority, and was particularly pleased when the day in early June dawned to discover that the forecast was for a warm and sunny day, as, like many outdoor events on this scale there is precious little cover to shelter from the rain, and with parking in grass fields, just getting in and out of the venue could get messy if the ground has been churned into mud. There’s not a lot I can do about the location – which is some 15 slow miles east of Croydon, itself hardly on my Bristol doorstep –  but once arrived, there was more than enough for me not to feel anything other than pleased I had made the effort to attend. With a mixture of Owners and Car Club stands, and plenty of interesting cars simply parked together in rows, there was a lot to keep me interested all day until everyone dispersed for home. With a show on this scale, it is almost inevitable that you miss some things, but there are over 450 photos here of things that I did see and record. Enjoy:

ALFA ROMEO

There were not many Alfa at the event. One I did like was this rather splendid 166.

Other nice models included a 75 and an Alfetta GTV as well as Spider.

ALVIS

A nice example of the TE21.

ASTON MARTIN

There was a sizeable display of cars by Aston Owners Club members, with most of the different model types that have been offered on show. Oldest were a couple of 1930s Mark II tourer models.

From the 1960s were a very nice DB5 and the later DB6

From the long running DBS and V8 generation were this nice Volante and the very muscular Vantage as well as several of the “regular” DBS and V8 cars.

Successor to this model was the car that initially was called Virage. Not really the best loved Aston even when new, these cars are gradually growing in appeal.

There were a number of recent models present, with a mix of DB7, DB9, V8 Vantage, Vanquish and DBS cars among the displays.

AUSTIN

This smart A55 Cambridge was a nice example of Austin’s family car offering of the late 1950s

There was also an example of the follow on car, the Farina designed model which appeared in 1959, with the then fashionable tail fins much in evidence, and the A60 model which arrived in 1962 with larger engine and smaller tail fins.

Reeking of the 1970s, in its bright Citron paint was this Allegro. There was also an Estate version, in equally period bright red and a later Series 3 car.

This nicely presented Montego HL belongs to one of the staff writes at Classic Car Weekly, and can be seen at all manner of events like this during the course of a year.

BEDFORD

CA vans were big sellers when new, but like all Vauxhall/Bedford products of the era were particularly rust prone, so few survive.This one stands a chance!

BMW

The E21 3 Series cars sold in relatively small quantities in the UK when new, so they are rare nowadays. This is an entry level 316 car.

Successor to that range was the E30. Sold initially just as a 2 door, a 4 door model was added to the range within a year of launch and the rare Baur Cabrio conversions came to an end when BMW came up with their own factory convertible offering.

By the time that this E36 M3 was made, sales of 3 series cars had taken off, so there are more of these around, but the M3 remains relatively rare.

Precursor to the much loved M5 line of cars was the M535i, and this is one of those, from the E28 generation of 5 series.

There was also an E39 model M5.

The 7 series is the range that you see less often at shows, and this is an example of the second generation E32 model.

This nice Z1 was parked up in the car park.

CADILLAC

Very much a product of its era, was this 1957 Eldorado, complete with lashings of chrome and distinctive pink paint.

There was another one, equally conspicuous.

This was an earlier Cadillac model.

CHEVROLET

An early Camaro, Chevrolet’s long over due response to the phenomenal success of the Ford Mustang.

Far more extrovert to look at was this 1959 Bel Air Coupe, the year when the tail fins reached their most extreme.

CITROEN

Most eye=catching of the various Citroens on show was this fabulous Mehari. A recent restoration, the bright green finish ensured that lots of people came to get a closer look.

Among the more conventional (by Citroen’s standards) models was this late model BX.

The much loved GSA Special of Classic and Sports Car staffer, David Evans, was on show.  I do like these cars, and it is good to see an example, even if it s far from pristine. From what David says in the magazine, this is no pampered classic, but a car that works hard.  There was another GSA model, a Pallas SE,  on the Gay Car Club stand.

One of the most elegant Citroen ever made is the SM, and there was one of these here.

Dating from an earlier era was this lovely Traction Avant.

This CX Safari was a special conversion with an added pair of rear wheels.

COLEMAN-MILNE

Known for producing limousine versions of production cars from the 1960s to the 1980s, Fords were often the cars that they converted, and this is an example of their work from the early 1980s.

CRAYFORD

A number of different models were on display, showing some of the various cars that this Kent based firm converted in their hey day in the 1960s and 1970s. Fords were the most numerous cars that they chopped, with various generations of Cortina as well as the Corsair on show here.

DELOREAN

There was an example of the striking DMC12 gullwing sports car that found such fame after starring in the film “Back to the Future”.

DE TOMASO

Another showing for this late model Deauville which had been seen at Brooklands a few weeks earlier. The plastic bumpers do the elegant design no favours, but the rest of it looks good.

DODGE

Another nice American car was this 1968 Charger R/T.

FERRARI

There was a nice collection of Ferrari models all gathered together in a roped off area. Display cars included 308 GTB,  F355 in Berlinetta and Spider guises, and an F430 Spider.

Elsewhere a Dino 308 GT4 and its successor, the Mondial, were grouped together.

FIAT

The most interest among the varied Fiat models on show was being created by this fabulous 600 Multipla. These cars seem to have that effect wherever they appear. Like most of the other examples in the UK, this one has not been here for all its life, but when you hear that good condition cars like this fetch over £20,000 now, you can see why a few have been imported in recent years.

The 850 Coupe was surprisingly popular when new, as this was a stylish small car that was affordable when people starting acquiring a second car. Rust has claimed most, but a few do survive and I seem to have seen several different ones at events lately.

The Nuova 500 always attracts attention wherever one appears, and this event was no exception.

The 130 Coupe is a very stylish car from the 1970s that seems little known, and somewhat undervalued.

That’s probably the case for the better known X1/9 as well. There were a couple of late model versions here.

There was a nice example of the Strada 130TC Abarth, a car which was the fastest offering in its class when new, but which never sold in significant quantities.

There were Fiat badges on this car, reflecting its heritage as the 124 Estate, though I am pretty sure that this was actually the Russian made Lada version.

Another rare Fiat was this 1500 Spider.

FORD

As you might expect, there were lots of Ford models throughout the show

The Corsair Owners Club put on a great display of these upper medium sized models, a car which never really captured the public’s imagination in the same way as the smaller Cortina. As well as 2 and 4 door saloons, they had sourced one of the rare  Crayford Convertibles as well.

There were lots of Escort models, just as you would expect from a car that was a consistent top seller from launch in 1968 through to the end of the name plate in 1998. Examples on show included a Mark 1 RS2000,  a nice XR3 version of the third generation car along with the RS Turbo versions of the front wheel drive model.

Once a common sight on our roads, the “Jelly Mould” Sierra is a rare car these days. Far fewer seem to remain compared to the much loved Cortina that it replaced, and most of the survivors are high end sporting models, with the array of RS Cosworths joined by a few XR4i and XR4x4 models. That was evidenced here by the cars on display.

So, to the Cortina. There were examples of all four distinct model generations, with a mixture of the volume selling models and some of the more luxurious and sporting variants such as the much loved Mark 2 1600E and the unruly Mark 1 Lotus. It was nice to see that the less commonly spotted Mark 3 and 4 were also present, and that there were some Estates here.

Ford’s Capri, the “car you always promised yourself” was an instant success when it premiered in 1969, and for 17 years, it sold well. There were plenty of examples of this much loved Coupe at this event.

The Capri name had been used before, on a Coupe version of the short-lived Consul Classic. Examples of both the Capri and the Classic were here.

There have been Fiestas for nearly 40 years now. Early models rusted like almost all of their rivals of the time, so they are quite rare. From the facelifted first generation, I did come across this nice XR2 model.

More recent cars were present in sporting guise, too, with plenty of fast Focus cars, in ST and RS guise.

The big models were not ignored, either. Granada Mark 1 and 2 cars were both represented.

There were a good number of the preceding Consul/Zephyr/Zodiac cars, as well, with a nice assembly of Mark 2 models.

The Anglia and Prefect ranges were Ford’s small offering of the 1950s, and these very basic cars have quite a following these days.

A replacement model, the 105E Anglia first appeared in 1959, and Estate and Van models were soon added to the range. A nice display of the utilitarian versions of this model were on show.

The Transit will celebrate its 50th birthday next year. During that time it has gone through several different model generations, which is one reason why the model has remained so popular for so long. As most of these are workhorses, they have a hard life and tend simply to wear our and get scrapped, but thankfully, a few have been saved as a reminder of what were once common sightings on our roads.

In this, its 50th anniversary year, there were a number of Mustangs on show.

Ford used the Granada badge in the US in the 1970s and early 1980s, as well, but it was a very different sort of car. A large family saloon, it ran from 1977 through to 1986 when it was replaced by the Taurus. This is a rare survivor.

Far better known was this, a Model T.

This F100 Pickup was really rather splendid.

HILLMAN

Nice to see an Avenger Estate as these are far rarer than the Saloon versions of Hillman’s mid-sized 1970s model.

Ten years earlier, Hillman was selling cars like this Super Minx, a rather stolid offering that was that bit better built than the equivalent Ford of the time.

HONDA

The Beat sports car was never officially sold in the UK, as it was believed to be just too small. A few have found their way here as private imports, and whenever I see one, I always regret that they were not more widely available.

Fortunately, Honda did bring the S2000 here, and this car has a strong following, with many regretting that no replacement has been produced.

HUMBER

The Sceptre was a sports-luxury version of the Hillman Super Minx. It was succeded by an “Arrow” based model, and there were examples of each of these body styles at the event.

JAGUAR

A nice Mark 2 saloon.

The Jaguar Owners Club had an XKR-S GT on one corner of their stand, and this was a predictably popular exhibit.

Also creating lots of interest was an F Type Convertible.

Other cars included the XK8 and more recent XK.

JENSEN

A comprehensive showing from the Jensen Owners Club included a number of different models. Best known were the Interceptor based cars, with the original Vignale model with its large curved rear window joined by the later Coupe.

Also on show was the CV8, the car which preceded the Interceptor.

The smaller Jensen Healey was not forgotten, either.

LANCIA

It is the Integrale version of the Delta which tends to generate all the interest, but it is worth remembering that these were sold in very small quantities compared to the less powerful models. In the case of this one, an HF Turbo, although it was not as potent as the Integrale, it was far from slow.

These 2000 HF Coupes are very rare, which is a shame, as I think they look fantastic. A careful evolution of the Flavia Coupe that had its origins in the very early 1960s, this car was engineered to the highest quality standards that caused Lancia to run out of money and the subsequent acquisition by Fiat.

LOTUS

This first generation Esprit looked rather good.

Also displayed was a front wheel drive Elan.

MARCOS

The Mantis was a bravely styled attempt at creating a 4 seater model which made its debut at the 1970 Earls Court Motor Show. Fewer than 30 were made, so to see 2 at one event is quite a rarity, but that was the case here.

There were examples of the familiar bodystyle, too.

MASERATI

My favourite of the BiTurbo generation was this, the Shamal.

MAZDA

There were lots of MX5 cars on show in this, the model’s 25th anniversary.

MERCEDES-BENZ

A very disparate collection of cars bearing the Three Pointed Star were on the Mercedes Benz Owners Club stand. This “Fin Tail” 190 is an example of the sort of beautifully engineered but rather staid and definitely very expensive car that Mercedes produced in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

There is a very definite styling link to this W108 model 280SE, a design that was produced from 1965 until 1972. The smaller engined 250S that was also in the range was also on show.

Rather more recent was the open topped version of the W124 E Class along with the Coupe version of its replacement, the CLK

It is the mid-sized (by Mercedes standards) W123 cars that tend to get the focus these days, so it was good to see one of the W114 “New Generation” models that preceded the W123 cars.

One of my favourites of the display was this lovely “Pagoda” W113 model 280SL. So elegant, it is no wonder that the prices of these have risen massively in recent years. There was an earlier 230SL with optional automatic transmission, as proudly displayed on the rear, also on show, and a further 280SL in the car park.

Its predecessor, the W198 300SL is, of course, worth far more. Although it is the GullWings that tend to attract the attention, Mercedes did produce an open topped model as well, like this one.

Still on the SL theme, the R107 model, also a very desirable car indeed, was much in evidence, with plenty of these on show.

Follow on to that long lived model was the R129, and there was a white example of that.

MESSERSCHMITT

The little Messerschmitt is always a crowd puller, and this one was no exception.

MG

The ever popular MGB was well represented, of course.

There were also examples of the 6 cylinder relative, the short lived MGC.

The Midget was also on display.

It was good to see a pristine example of the MG Metro.

The MG 1100 was announced only a few weeks after the Morris 1100 version of Issigonis’ ADO16 design, in late 1962. At the time, a sporting saloon like this was something of a rarity, but the car proved popular. Sadly, the model was particularly susceptible to rust and few have survived.

Larger and more expensive than the 1100 was the Magnette and this is a late 1950s ZB Varitone model.

The F and TF Owners Club had a nice display of lots of these recent and popular sports cars.

MINI

No surprise that there were lots of the Issigonis designed classic, ranging from some very standard and early cars through a number of, urm, modified ones, as well as the late model Cooper cars.

MITSUBISHI

The 3000 GT replaced the Starion, and shared much with the unknown to Europeans Dodge Stealth. It was one of a number of Japanese cars of the era which put raw performance high on its priority list.

The Evo Owners had a sizeable display of these Lancer based cars which were based on the successful rallying weapons. The display was dominated by the IV, VI and more recent models.

MORRIS

When the Marina was new, you just never saw any of the Mumford convertible versions, but now, 40 years later, they are the sort of classic that does appear from time to time.

There is a small but loyal following for the Marina and Ital and so there are quite a few surviving models (Top Gear might have destroyed a few in their time, but they’ve not got them all!). Estate cars are the rarest, especially in Ital guise like this one.  There was also a 1300 De Luxe car there, and one model in Police car livery.

There was a Series 2 ADO16 1300 car as well.

Older models included a Cowley, the later “Farina” Oxford Mark VI and a number of Minor models.

NISSAN

Definitely one of the more surprising sights of the day was this, a 1982 Nissan Stanza GL. This was one of the first Nissans larger than the supermini sized Cherry to convert over to front wheel drive, and the car was generally rated as quite decent when launched in 1982, but with nothing particularly noteworthy about the car, it is no surprise that they all quietly disappeared from our roads. Apart from this one, that is.

Another rare Nissan was this second generation Prairie. Launched in 1988, this car pre-dates the Renault Scenic by some years, and yet it is the French model which is generally credited with inventing this market segment.

The Laurel only sold in small quantities, as although the cars were extremely well equipped and had typical Japanese levels of reliability, they were nothing like as good to drive as the European rivals of the time.

Nissan brought in their wacky Cube model for official sale here, but it was not a success with only just over 1000 examples sold. Perhaps if they had brought in its predecessor, they would have fared better. Several of these were on show.

NSU

A small number of these rear engined cars were on show, with a Prinz 4 among them.

PANTHER

There was a very impressive collection of Panther cars on show, with several of the Lima and later Kallista cars to look at.

PEUGEOT

There were open topped versions of all of Peugeots models throughout the 1960s and 1970s, but few were sold in the UK. This is a rather chic 304 Cabrio

PORSCHE

As is often the case at events like this, there were lots of 911 models, with all the distinct generations form the classic original shape through the G Series cars, the 964, 993, 996 and 997 as well as the latest 991.

RELIANT

The Reliant Owners Club had a disparate group of cars on show, which ranged from the Sabre 6 sports cars of the early 1960s, through the Scimitar GT Coupe to the GTE hatchback and the later SS1 sports car.

RENAULT

I was aware from photos I had seen from previous events, that this is a good event for coming across rare Renaults and so it proved to be. There are few models that are rarer than the R6. A sort of up market version of the R4, this small hatchback was produced from 1968 to 1979 and sold in decent enough quantities when new, but almost every single car has long since vanished from our roads, and I cannot remember when I last saw one, so I was really surprised to find not one, nor just two, but three of these models here.

Parked up with them were a couple of examples of the better known, and not quite so rare R4. The grey one one had the plastic side protection strips of the GTL added, but was in fact a much earlier car, whilst the red one genuinely was a GTL.

Another model where the survivors can be counted on the fingers of one hand is the R20, the cheaper version of the large car that Renault made from 1975 to 1984. This is a TX model, the top of the range, and is owned by a guy who was a gold R30TS with a huge mileage on it as well.

The Caravelle was a stylish small car, offered in Coupe and Convertible guises in the first half of the 1960s. Initially called Floride, and based on the Dauphine, the underpinnings were updated with R8 componentry and the car was renamed. Expensive when new, Brigitte Bardot had one, as did Princess Grace of Monaco.

The  Clio V6 is a striking car and quite an attention grabber even today, nearly 15 years after it first appeared.

Even more striking was the short lived Sport Spider, and there were a couple of these on show as well.

There were a good number of Alpine models, ranging from the A110, through the A310 and several of the more recent GTA and A610 cars.

Elsewhere in the event, I came across this nicely presented Avantime.

RILEY

The Elf was effectively a posh Mini with a boot. Nowadays, such a model would sell in vast quantities, but back in the 1960s, the market was less prepared to indulge, and so sales were relatively slow.

With its G registration, this would appear to be one of the last cars ever made with the Riley badge on it. The 4/72 was a badge engineered version of the popular Farina Saloon range which included the Austin Cambridge and Morris Oxford.

Elsewhere I came across the earlier version of the same car, the 4/68.

The One Point Five, sister car of the Wolseley 1500, which also featured at the event, was sold between 1957 and 1965.

ROVER

There were a number of the popular P5 models on show.

There were several P6 models, including a number of the highly desirable V8 engined 3500S cars. The rare Panelcraft converted Estoura estate car version was also in evidence, with two such cars on show.

The SD1 was even more desired than that, wowing just about everyone at launch in 1976 and quickly picking up the Car of the Tear award. Of course the reality is that build quality was a major issue and many lost their enthusiasm for David Bache’s stunning shape. These days there are more of the facelifted cars and most of them are high end Vitesse and Vanden Plas cars that appear at events like this, but there were also some of the lesser models on show as well.

Among more recent Rovers was this 800 Coupe

SEAT

Not a marque that features very often (yet) at classic car gatherings, there were a couple of first generation Leon here, in top spec Cupra R guise. I tested one of these, in the same bright yellow, when it was new, and was mightily impressed.

SKODA

Butt of many a joke when new, the Czech engineers put a lot of effort into developing the suspension of their cars in the 1980s, taming their somewhat wayward swing axles, so by the mid 1980s, journalists were praising the Rapid cars to be like a mini 911 in their handling prowess. A small number of the Coupes were converted to form a cheap Cabrio, such as this car.

This S110L was an example of the preceding design that Skoda offered in the early 1970s.

SIMCA

The Aronde was a mid sized family saloon offered by French marque Simca from the mid 1950s until well into the 1960s. The rounded styling of the earlier models was squared off to create a car which did not look too outdated compared to its rivals even when the model was several years old. Not many were ever sold in the UK, but this is one such example.

Prior to this, Simca made cars in alliance with Ford, which is one reason why they had some large bodied offerings in their range, many of which were (thanks to French taxation legislation) saddle with small engines. An example of that is this, the Ariane  which had a 1300cc engine in it.

STUDEBAKER

One of the less well known American cars on show was this 1950 Champion.

SUNBEAM

There were a collection of Alpine and Tiger sports cars gathered together. I like this design, finding it at least as desirable as the rival MGB which always outsold the Rootes Group offering by some margin.

TALBOT

Another rarity was this, a Talbot Solara, the saloon version of the now equally rare Alpine hatchback.

TOYOTA

The MR2 has become a minor classic, and no wonder, as this small sports car was well regarded when new, and there are not that many of them left thanks to marginal rust-proofing and too many crashes. There was a good showing here of examples from all three generations of the car.

The Supra evolved from being no more than a V6 engined version of the Celica to being a model in its own right. This one, from the generation produced from 1982 to 1986 was the model which was half way there, with a unique front end, but a Celica back end.

There was a dealer stand with examples of the current range on show. With the exception of the much praised GT 86 Coupe, there was little here to enthuse.

TRIUMPH

A huge display of 45 Stags comprised cars in pretty much every single colour offered in the 7 year production life of this stylish grand tourer. Now that the reliability issues that bedevilled this promising car when new have largely been fixed, or at least are well understood, this is a very tempting classic whose value should surely increase.

The smaller Herald and Vitesse were sold not just as practical saloons, but also in versatile estate guise and as stylish convertible models, and quite a few of these last body style were sold.

There was an example of the last car produced with the Triumph badge attached, the Acclaim, a joint venture with Honda and little more than a rebadged Honda Ballade. It was only produced for three years so there are not that many of them around these days.

Far more numerous are the surviving Triumph sports cars, and there were plenty of the small Spitfires on show.

There were lots of TRs, too, with every model type present.

There were lots of the big saloons, too. The 2000 and 2500 went through two distinct (but closely) related models, from 1963 to 1977, and these days they still look good. This is one of the first sports saloons, designed to appeal to those who wanted something that bit nicer to drive and more luxurious than the Ford Zephyr or Vauxhall Cresta.

Triumph applied the same philosophy to a mid sized car. What started out as the innovative front wheel drive 1300 in 1965 was developed into a range of front and rear wheel drive cars over the next 14 years, with the final years of production all branded Dolomite. This nicely finished range of cars looked good, thanks to the Michelotti styling, and drove well. Whilst the Dolomites are the ones you see most often, there are surviving Toledo and 1500 cars as well, such as this white car.

This was one of the older Triumph models on display,. a Renown 1800, dating from the late 1940s.

TVR

A Tasmin 280i, one of the “Wedge” TVRs that the Blackpool firm sold in the early 1980s.

VANDEN PLAS

A nice example of the luxury 1100 version of the popular ADO16 small car.

The Princess was a luxury version of the Austin Westminster. It was offered with a standard 3 litre engine.

VAUXHALL

The event clashed with the Luton Festival of Transport, which is the place to go if you want to see vast numbers of classic Vauxhall models, but even so there were plenty of old Griffin badged cars here as well. Among the most striking were the PA Cresta models. These US-influenced cars, with their wrap around front and rear screens, tail fins and bright colours were very brash compared to their rivals, which these days is all part of the appeal. Several beautifully presented examples were on show.

There was an example of the body style which the PA Cresta replaced, seen here in cheaper Velox guise.

When you see examples of the mid-sized Victor, it tends to be the first generation FA cars that you come across, so it was good to see the later FB car model here.

In the 1960s, Vauxhall replaced their cars every three or four years, as did Ford, but come the 1970s, model lives were extended far longer. A case in point was the Viva, where the first HA car ran for 3 years, the HB ran for 4 years but this one, the HC had 9 years on sale. Not the best in class when launched, it is no surprise that sales were never as strong as the maker would have wished.

The first Cavalier was the car that really put Vauxhall back into contention for challenging Ford in the quest for sales volume. An excellent car, what started out as a rebadged Opel Ascona quickly saw an expansion of the range and assembly started in the UK in an effort to meet demand.  This is a nice example of the popular L trim designation with the 1600 engine.

The second generation car to bear the name, and the first with front wheel drive, was a real class leader at the time. A few were sold as cabrio models, such as this one.

A second Cavalier was there, as was the Chevette hatchback.

I’ve seen this well presented first generation Carlton a couple of times since its current owner bought it from the Attwell Wilson Motor Museum.

Even more rare than that was a Viceroy. This was Vauxhall’s version of the Opel Commodore, effectively a Carlton/Rekord with a 6 cylinder engine. Few were sold in the UK and very few indeed remain.

In a way, this car is a direct antecedent to that Viceroy. This a Ventora, which was essentially a Victor with better quality trim and a 3.3 litre V6 engine making a luxury tourer out of a prosaic large family saloon.

I don’t tend to think of the second generation Astra GTE as a classic, as I remember the launch of the car, but then I have to note that this was indeed 30 years ago, and so, yes, this is definitely in the “youngtimer” classic category these days.

VOLKSWAGEN

A real contender for “rarity of the day” was this K70L. Originally developed as an NSU, a front wheel drive design that was intended to provide a cheaper stable mate to the Ro80, the car became a VW following Volkswagen’s acquisition of NSU. It was launched in 1970 and was produced for 5 years, during which time not a huge number were sold. This one – offered for sale to anyone with £5000 to spend on a rare classic – turned out to be a Swedish market car which had only recently been imported to the UK.

Most of the other VWs on site were very slammed and hence of no appeal to me at all. I did note these, though: Beetle and Golf Cabrios and an original first generation Golf GTi.

I only saw this Karmann Ghia as it was queuing to leave the site.

VOLVO

The P1800 was a low volume sports coupe that was initially built for Volvo by Jensen in West Bromwich. Production later shifted in house in Sweden. These S models would have been made in Sweden.

Far more recent, but definitely heading for classic status now was this, a 240 GL saloon.

WOLSELEY

There were a number of rarely seen Wolseley models, including a 14/60 from just before the start of World War 2.

The 1500 was a medium sized car that was part of a range intended to replace the Morris Minor. In the end, only Riley and Wolseley versions were launched, and although the model had a decent production life, from 1957 to 1965, the Minor lived on for another 6 years.

These Hornets were to be found parked alongside their close relatives, the Riley Elf. A luxury version of the Mini with a more commodious boot, it has an appeal all of its own.

It was quite a trek from home to Bromley, but I am glad I made the effort, as this was a great day out, with plenty of cars that I just had not seen before. It always tends to take place in early June, so I will be hoping that there are too many diary clashes when the 2015 schedules are published, as I rather fancy going to this again.