NEW HUB AIMS TO BE UK CLASSIC HOTSPOT
Former RAF site in Gloucestershire will host events and sell classics
‘We want this to be a destination for anyone looking to put on a classic event’
The owner of Martin Chisholm Collectors Cars has launched a new business that he hopes will give classic car owners an excuse to show off their vehicles this summer.
Chisholm has created The Classic Motor Hub at the former RAF site at Ablington, near Bibury, Gloucestershire, offering it as a free space for clubs and rallies to use.
Chisholm says: ‘I’ve been in this industry for 30 years. Many people have dreams of all the things they’ll get up to in their classic when they first buy it, but I’ve found that you really need to give people a reason to take their car out.
‘ We want this to be a destination, a sort of youth club if you like, for anyone who is looking to put on a classic car event.’
The Hub has a club room, kitchen area and catering can be negotiated at extra cost, though tea and coffee is free. The Hub will have events with pop-up food stalls and pubs this summer, including supper clubs, coffee and classics mornings on the first Sunday of every month and drive-in movies nights. The list of events is available to view on the Hub’s Facebook page – its website is currently under construction.
The Hub will run alongside the Cotswolds Collectors Cars showroom at the same five-acre site (of which Chisholm is a major shareholder), but will feature its own sales area with what Chisholm describes as ‘interesting, low mileage entry-level classics’, like the 11,000-mile Ford Escort XR3i cabriolet that is already in stock.
Chisholm adds: ‘ We’re looking for interesting examples of classics that we’ll have on show at the Hub, but there won’t be an army of sales executives when you arrive.’
Chisholm says enthusiasts are already ‘ beating a path to our door’ with more than ten clubs already booked in for events so far this year. He says: ‘The idea is that we’ll run this from when the clocks go forward until they go back. We have had one club get in touch to arrange its New Year’s Day run, so we are open to the idea of events in the winter months. We’ll be here all year.’
There are already 16 events booked into the Hub’s schedule, the first of which is a coffee and classics morning starting at 9am on 2 April followed by a Drive It Day event on 23 April.