SPRING 1980

BRITISH CAR AUCTIONS, BLACKBUSHE, SURREY Our buying-focused selection of images ends with the hustle and bustle of an auction that we’d love to attend

For everyone involved with producing Classic Car Weekly, this looks like a fantasy day out, but to these chaps in corduroy, denim and flares it probably held all the interest that an auction full of two-year old Hyundais and VW Tiguans would hold for us today.

It looks like we have a mixture here of traders (in the suits) and regular punters ( jeans and jumpers, some with their sons in tow). A weekend sale, perhaps? Or a focal event for the Easter holidays?

In the bottom-left corner we see ( just) the nose of a light blue Vauxhall Cavalier MkI and then a magnificent BL Princess 2 – a 1700 HL or 2000HL in Tara Green Metallic. Beyond that is a silver Renault 20 having its fetlocks felt by a man in a cardigan (watch the state of the clutch, mate – it’s got caravan mirrors on the wings!) and then a scarlet Volkswagen Polo MkI.

Beyond that is a maroon Volvo 240, probably a 244DL, and then what looks like Terry McCann’s Capri MkII from the opening credits of Minder. Maybe it wasn’t such a great buy after all, eh Terry?

Next comes another Cavalier MkI in a darker shade of blue, then a brown Triumph Dolomite to remind us that we did occasionally see them without a vinyl-covered roof and C-pillar. Behind that is another Ford Capri (a MkIII judging by the lack of bright trim around the screen?) and then a tomato-sauce-coloured Cortina MkIV or MkV.

Down the middle of the aisle we find a white booted four-door Vauxhall Chevette L, an exciting Fiat 131 Supermirafiori and in front of it a BMW E12 5-series.

Two more Cortinas feature in the lower right corner – a white MkV and a bronze MkIII – then the Fordfest continues with a white Fiesta MkI and a Granada MkII in a shade of green that rivals the colourful Princess opposite. Beyond that is another Grannie MkII acting as a seat for the chap in the blue jumper, as is the snout of the blue Rover SD1 beyond. Are both attempting to stake their territory before the auction has even started?

The site at Blackbushe continues to operate to this day, while British Car Auctions across its network of auction houses sells a whopping 3.5 million vehicles a year.

These very occasionally include auctions of classics too – most recently in May 2018 with its Future Classics sale at its Nottingham site, which featured a Subaru Impreza, a Volvo P1800ES and, from the same era as this photo, a Ford Escort MkIII 1.6i Cabriolet, which undoubtedly would have sold for a higher price today than 40 years ago when it was brand new!

POLOS APART VW changed itself and its market forever in the mid-Seventies, launching the Passat, Golf, Scirocco and Polo in the space of two years. The little Polo set new standards for small cars and grew a boot in 1977 when the Derby model was launched. WATER WAY TO GO Sadly, SLE 71R, the most famous of the Minder Capris, caught fire in July as it was returning from an MoT. There were no casualties and the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental. It’s currently being revived by Classic Car Restorations.

ITALIAN EXOTICA The Fiat 131 seems almost exotic nowadays, but was just a foreign Cortina to these fellows. At least this one is a Supermirafiori, with a twin-cam engine, though with only 1.3 or 1.6 litres, its output was still well short of 100bhp.