‘It has real character – something you’d happily take down to the shops or to the other end of the country’ – Patrick Watts
We tip these five saloons as behind the market – and bring along ex-touring Car driver Patrick Watts to evaluate them
Our private track is ready, shortlisted cars gathered and owners have been briefed. Joining us today is tin-top racing hero Patrick Watts, who sent out his missive to all late last night stating, ‘I don’t agree that cars should be assessed Top Gear-style by doing tyre smoking drifts and concluding that it oversteers. The limit a car should be assessed to is an occasional squeal from the tyre that gives up first… Top up the oil and add 4psi over recommended tyre pressures!’
Patrick pulls up in a concours Jaguar XJC 4.2, ready to shake the cars down to find the bestvalue classic driver’s saloon you can buy today.
After a fairly ignominious previous decade, the Sixties saw BMW return to form. The compact ’02 range proved particularly popular – and then, in a stroke of genius, the 2000 CS Coupé’s M10 engine was shoehorned into a 1602 bodyshell. Well hello, 2002.
In dual-carburetted ti form it boasted anti-roll bars, stiéer springs and larger front brake discs. The replacement BMW 2002tii added Kugelfischer fuel injection and a higher compression ratio in 1971 for an improved 130bhp, with 13 per cent more torque. Suddenly our friendly Bavarian was transformed into one hard little charger.
‘It’s such a stylish car,’ says Patrick. ‘Today, when engines have to be six inches from the bodywork, you just can’t design a car like it.’
Inside we’re greeted by a smart cabin with slim pillars and a huge glasshouse. ‘It’s an analogue car – clear instruments, push/ pull seats and wind-up windows. You’re instantly in touch with it. That said, the throttle should be closer to the brake pedal because it’s clearly not possible to heel and toe.’
We join the track, the four-cylinder engine spinning smoothly before a distinct pitch change. ‘Power comes on at 3500rpm,’ states Patrick. Under full load the tii’s character has shifted from easy low-speed commuter to pugnacious, torquey little dervish with a crisp exhaust note. ‘It’s a nice engine. The gearbox is sweet and power delivery is excellent, but you need to shift at 5500rpm. Oooh, I do think I could have a lot of fun in this.’ As Patrick hustles it through a chicane, its balance and poise is remarkable. ‘It’s neutral; you’d really have to throw it in and make it oversteer.’
Owner Richard has tweaked the suspension set-up, dialling in a little negative camber at the rear and stiéening it considerably. ‘It’s set up for the track,’ says Patrick. ‘All cars are basically the same until the decision is made as to its market; only then do we find the biggest diéerences when springs, dampers and tyres are selected. This would hate the cobbles of Bavaria, but love the smooth curves of the Route Napoleon.’ Even in standard specification though, in period the 2002 received lashings of praise for its highly adept handling.
Owner Richard Stern is also chairman of the BMW Car Club GB’S 02 Register and says they tend to fall into two distinct categories, ‘Either completely clapped out, rusty and full of dents, or meticulously maintained and driven by people who care’. You’ll pay more for the latter, but it’ll likely be worth it in the long run – body restoration costs in particular are prohibitive.
‘The Kugelfischer fuel injection is reliable if the car is used regularly. High-mileage pumps can suffer from a worn metering cone; parts can be sourced in Germany, but it’s not a DIY job.’
A running project can be had from £5000, but you’ll pay £12k-£18k for a fair example and £20k-£30k for a good to excellent car – for a concours example like this it will be even higher.
Says Patrick, ‘I’ve owned a lot of BMWS, from an M5 Touring to a Z8, but this feels Escorty. It’s a lighter, more compact competitor to the RS1600 and 2000. This had to be a better car than the Escort, and it had to be a much more expensive car than the Escort.’ As a road car it was – considerably, on both counts.
‘The simplicity of the Escort was, in competition, its advantage. BMW’S efforts to race and rally the 2002 seemed rather halfhearted, and I’m not sure why – it seems an excellent base.
‘It’d command the most attention of the group,’ says Patrick. ‘It’s a head turner and a performer – I’d have one in a heartbeat.’
‘Power delivery is excellent, but you need to shift at 5500rpm. Oooh, I do think I could have a lot of fun in this’
Next up today is our oldest offering. Replacing its pretty Fifties Giulietta, the Alfa Romeo Giulia TI first appeared in 1964 in 1600 form, with a lusty twin-cam engine, five-speed column-shift gearbox and drum brakes – though discs soon replaced these. In terms of specification it was far ahead of other European offerings.
Designed by Giuseppe Scarnati, it is at first glance a fairly standard if purposeful looking three-box saloon. Compared to its poster-girl 105-Series Coupé sibling it seems fairly plain, but look closer and there’s arguably more visual interest here with a host of delicate scallops, gentle curves and a gloriously subtle Kamm tail, all of which combined to give a coefficient of drag of just 0.33.
A budget 1300 version appeared in 1964, with a twin-headlamp front end, less power and a four-speed ’box. Yet even in this form there was no mistaking the car’s inherently sporting character.
‘It’s very pretty,’ notes Patrick as we approach and enter. ‘The dash is basic in construction. I like the parts of the body colour steel construction showing, and all the instruments you need to monitor revs, oil pressure and water temperature as you thrash it around the Italian Alps are within clear view.’
He turns the ignition key, and the cabin is flooded with a short twin-weber-carburettor bark. ‘It means business,’ offers Patrick.
On the track the Twin Cam engine quickly confirms that to be the case as it spins smoothly through to 6000rpm. Owner Marco has
also added the Super’s induction set-up and a few other goodies. Notes Patrick, ‘Throttle response is quick, and the engine’s high compression really sees the revs rise and fall quickly.’ It’s also nice to have a civilising fifth gear, which for a mid-to-late Sixties family saloon was astonishing. ‘The brakes are fine for fast road work, and with a set of race pads I think they’d be good for Brands Hatch too.’
After a few high-speed laps it’s time to put the suspension to the test as we zip off onto the handling course. It’s mesmerising watching Patrick brake hard and late into a corner, turn in, feel the weight transfer and then at just the right point it’s throttle down and we’re barrelling out of it with the exhaust playing its peppy tune. In his hands the little Alfa is dancing.
‘The steering is very nice, but the front end feels a little soft and a bit understeery. However, you can feel every crack in the road and you’re very much part of the car. It has modern larger tyres – it’s not complex suspension set-ups that make most difference, it’s width and technology of tyre – but with a bit of uprating I’m sure this suspension would really come alive. As a long-term keeper that you just loved at weekends, there’d always be plenty to do on it to keep you occupied. Perhaps the BMW turns heads more, but like it the Alfa is a much better looking car than our later offerings.’
To buy one today, you’re looking at £4500-8500 for a scruffy runner; there’s no real difference for in price whether it’s a 1300TI or 1600TI. Low to mid teens will secure a nice example; concours examples are around £20k. The less potent 82bhp 1300TI variety (against a standard 1600TI’S 92bhp or Super’s 112bhp) won’t set your pants on fire, but it’s still a glorious drive.
‘Throttle response is quick, and the engine’s high compression really sees the revs rise and fall quickly’
The Giulia saloon has all the attributes of the 105 Coupé plus the ability to transport four people and their luggage in comfort – in fact, the original Ti examples could accommodate six people when fitted with a column change gearlever.
When weighing up a purchase check for service history, because regular oil and fluid changes are essential. Bodywork condition – floorpans, sills, front and rear valances, spare wheel well, fuel tank location and general panel condition – should be checked thoroughly because they can be expensive to repair and restore.
Patrick’s smitten. ‘Cars of this era all looked different, and in this case cute – maybe that’s what we’re striving for in classic cars, something that’s so different from what we drive today. It’s got the chrome and the bling and with a polish it’ll always look a million dollars. In terms of driving involvement, the next stage down from this is a Caterham or a motorbike. It’s a great car to drive – if you owned one you’d get a lot of love back from it.’
Peugeot properly went to performance town in the Eighties. The 505GTI kicked things off, before the sparkling 205GTI took things to an altogether different level; of course, sitting somewhat demurely in little brother’s shadow was the more family-friendly Peugeot 309GTI, available in bustle-backed three- or five-door form. Between them, this GTI trio put the company’s previously staid motoring outlook firmly behind it.
Sharing the same 130bhp fuel-injected XU9JA unit as the 205GTI, the 309’s longer wheelbase and resultant better weight distribution meant it was less prone to the smaller car’s edgy lift-off oversteer. Throw in more direct steering – albeit with marginally less feel because of standard-fit hydraulic power-assistance – and the 309 proved a hit both on the road and track, if not so much in the showroom. At its height it sold a tenth of the 205’s numbers – perhaps as a result of somewhat dowdier looks.
To Patrick, the 309GTI should feel like whipping out his pipe and popping on his slippers, because he stormed to 1991 Esso Saloon Car Championship victory in a Group N 16-valve works car. ‘It’s not instantly familiar, though,’ he admits from the driver’s seat. ‘Mine was left-hand drive. But it definitely feels more modern compared to the other cars I’ve driven today. It’s a nice driving position – you can get to everything, though you sit a touch high. It has quite a small, sporty steering wheel.’ I have a hunch this is going to be quite impressive.
He fires the engine, induction noise crescendoing satisfactorily on a throttle blip. ‘I like the fact it’s not overly insulated from the body.’ On the straight he nails the accelerator in second gear. ‘The engine is lovely, quite cammy insofar as the power comes in around 3500-4000rpm – that’s the point at which cooking versions would be running out. It’s very tractable up to then, but then you feel the oomph of the power coming in. The gearbox too, with very close-ratio gears, is nice and the brakes sharp. Even though the steering is assisted, there’s a reasonable amount of feedback.’
I’m thinking that it all feels a bit easy, though. Of course as soon as the thought lands, Patrick instantly heads cross-country to the tight and twisties. Through the first couple of mid-length sweepers I can feel him reacquainting himself with the chassis’ nuances. Stars aligned, he says, ‘Its virtues remind me of why mine was so competitive – the suspension was so sorted.’
Next corner he’s fully committed; on turn-in the suspension weights up and the mid-sized Pug whips round gripping like a full-bloodied Merlot to your palate. Compared with what came before, he proceeds to rip our cross-country course to elegant shreds.
‘Golfs and Astras had their engines out front, but Peugeot always canted theirs backwards. Look at Super Touring cars – they’re trying to get weight back for 50:50, but if you’re already there, it’s better. Rivals had more weight transfer forward, so their back wheels were off the ground under braking. They could only brake at the front, and into a corner the back end stayed light until you could transfer weight. It meant they had to run the rear relatively soft. That just wasn’t the case with the 309.’
‘The engine is lovely, quite cammy as the power comes in around 3500-4000rpm... then you feel the oomph’
A scruffy five-door GTI non-mot example will be around £1500, with good examples around the £4500k mark and mint ones £6k. Three-door prices can be a lottery, but generally are roughly 10 to 25 per cent higher, depending on specification and rarity.
The rear beam should be checked because the axle bearings can seize, requiring replacement of the whole axle at around £750. Sills, headlight panels and the seam between the front inner and outer wings are a few of the many rust-prone areas. But if you can find a good one you’ll have one of the best-handling hot hatches of all time. The 309 Owners’ Club estimates around 80 currently on the road with another 150 in various garaged states around the UK.
‘It’s not a car you can appreciate on the A3 or M25 – you have to start pushing it. Show it a few corners and you can see a definite advantage. I’ve not driven a road car version before, but it reminds me clearly why it won the championship. The suspension geometry just works so well.’ Praise doesn’t come higher than that.
BMW did a turbo turn in 1973 with its wild 2002 Turbo, but it was Saab that brought the medium to the masses. Taking its Saab 99 Turbo that continued the rally-proven layout debuted in the 96 – front-wheel drive, front double wishbones and a coil-sprung rigid rear axle – it endowed the fuel-injected 2.0-litre four with a small Garrett T3 turbocharger and walloping performance. BMW sold a parsimonious 1672 examples of its homologation special, but the Swedes shifted 10,607 – impressive, especially given its hefty £7850 price tag. Most 99 Turbos were two- or three-doors with saloon DNA, although around 100 five-door specials were made in 1978.
‘If you’re a fan, nothing else catches your eye in quite the same way,’ says Patrick. ‘It’s more functional than the BMW. You wouldn’t say it’s beautiful and it’s not ugly; it’s just different.’ That quirkiness continues inside with centre console ignition key and a dark-velour interior that ‘resembles the Queen Mother’s bedroom’.
Patrick raced one of these once for Lionel Abbott, so there’s an element of familiarity with the offset pedals and steering wheel marginally angled towards the door. We trundle out onto the highspeed bowl and it’s throttle down. ‘I remember now, you floor it and at any speed you can count two seconds before anything really happens.’ Right on cue, the revs hit 3500rpm, the turbo gauge starts its circular dance and suddenly we’re propelled forward at a ludicrous rate with only a mild whistling noise in accompaniment.
It’s comedy propulsion, like an intravenous caffeine hit – nothing, nothing, ooh everything. Hitting 60mph takes a smidge under nine seconds, which made it serious machine when new.
‘The gearbox has a nice action, although the ratios are wider than a five-speed. It’s definitely much more of a GT car than the previous three,’ says Patrick. ‘And when the power comes on – albeit in all of a rush – it’s beautifully smooth and progressive. In fact you’d think it has a six-cylinder engine. Being low compression it’s less harsh; the turbo is a much softer way of getting fuel through the engine than other methods like high compression or high-lift cams. At least when the boost comes up and it happens, it goes well.’
Time for things to get physical; he downshifts, then powers into a tight corner on the racing line. ‘The handling is surprisingly good; there’s plenty of grip from the front and I can feel the back edging round. It definitely doesn’t feel like an overweight frontwheel drive car that’s about to go into terminal understeer.’
The Saab devours a series of quick slaloms before we’re back on the straight and narrow and he eases off. I do likewise with my vice-like grip on the seats. ‘It’s a soft car down the road,’ he says. ‘But get it into corners and it belies that; it’s almost as if it has a limited-slip differential. The geometry obviously works with the roll centre in the right place, while the back feels quite stiff and keeps the rear end under control.’
The big challenge, if you fancy it, is finding one. The owners’ club says 2027 of the original production run came to the UK, estimating 150 survivors.
‘The handling is surprisingly good; there’s plenty of grip from the front and I can feel the back edging round’
Expect to pay around £3000 for a scruffy example and up to £14k for a really good one, with restored examples now being insured for up to £20k. The two-door is prettier, but there’s no real premium over a three-door (as here) or five-door variant (very scarce), with each having its champions.
Prospective buys need to be checked carefully for rust, because the design hides it well. A good maintenance record is also desirable; the engine and turbo aren’t complicated, but can have issues if not maintained properly. Find a good one like this, which owner Chris Mills drove down from Scotland last night, and you too will find out why Patrick’s been so impressed today.
‘It’s a very nice car to drive and has real character – something you’d like to take down to the shops or to the other end of the country. It’s lovely to watch the boost gauge, drop a gear and get it in the red. They were competitive in production racing in period. The one I raced was a quick car and if they’d known as much about the turbo back then as they do now, it’d have been a winner.’
Right, now it’s time for the Cosworth. Where’s the blue oval? Prior to 1984, the notion of Mercedes being in bed with the British engineering firm would have been dismissed as nonsense, such unlikely bedfellows they were. Yet, released that year, the 190E 2.3-16 featured a Cosworth-developed 16-valve cylinder head and free-flow inlet manifold. Originally intended to go rallying, instead its focus turned towards the track after Audi’s all-conquering Quattro put the kibosh on that. But there it found the immovable object that was BMW’S E30 M3. In Evo II form the ’Benz finally secured the DTM crown in 1992. The road-going 2.3-16 had a complex multi-link rear suspension set-up, lowered suspension, a Getrag gearbox and limitedslip differential as well as an aerodynamic bodykit. The 2.5-16 superseded it in 1989, retaining all the goodies but with a larger-capacity stroked engine and redesigned front air dam – which reduced front axle lift by 20 per cent – and a deeper rear apron.
And that’s exactly what we have here. ‘This is clearly a more expensive car,’ says Patrick as we climb aboard. ‘It has better-quality instrumentation, lashings of leather and lots of toys.’ The big fourcylinder fires up lazily and settles into a refined tickover. ‘You’re much more insulated; it’s one you’d choose for a long journey.’
He slots the auto ’box into drive and we pull smoothly out, before a flood of torque propels us forward. Instantly you get the feeling it could lap our track at 120mph for twenty-four hours
without the driver ever having to elicit a gesundheit. ‘The big engine isn’t as cammy as the others, and provides progressive power that increases as the revs rise. It feels sporty in the upper range, once those 16-valves come in. Though unlike the Saab it feels like a four-cylinder – it’s not smooth enough to mistake it.’
Patrick’s much harder through the bends in this car; it’s by far the weightiest here and feels significantly more planted. Yet does that correspond to fun? ‘Pick your line and it goes where you want it to go,’ he says. ‘There’s a lot of feedback from the steering, but it just feels heavier and I’m more isolated. The wide low-profile tyres give it greater grip and no matter how hard I push it there’s never a sign of an inside wheel spinning thanks to the limited-slip differential. There’s no wallowy understeer and it is fun, but if I’m honest I’m just sitting in it; it’s doing the work and I’m just putting in a bit of input every now and again. The brakes too are very powerful.’
There’s no doubt that efficiency is both a product of the marque and model, but also of the decade and continual improvements made in automobile manufacturing. If you sit more towards the modern-classic bent then the good news is that Mercedes-benz shifted more than 26,000 examples of both engine types so finding one is relatively easy, but picking a good one is a different matter.
You need to buy based on service history rather than mileage. As prices tumbled most owners chose not to shell out the cash necessary to maintain what is a complex car – particularly the cylinder head and rear suspension. So there are a lot of doggy examples out there – buyer beware.
For £10k you’ll get a runner, while £20k should bag you a decent car – expect to add another £5k-£10k for a top-notch example. They are quite colour sensitive, with Blue-black cars tending to be more popular. A manual 2.5-16 is probably the most sought after, but there’s no real price disparity between the models.
Rust can hide under the wheelarch cladding, an engine down on power will more than likely be a result of poor maintenance and listen out for clonks from the rear end. Putting these issues right can run deep into four figures in worst-case scenarios.
‘For me this car’s time hasn’t come yet,’ says Patrick. ‘It’s not different enough to every other car out on the road; it’s too good, too much like a modern car. I’d also prefer a manual. For ten per cent of my driving I prefer a manual and 90 per cent an auto, but because it wouldn’t be my everyday driver I’d use it ten per cent of the time. I raced against 2.3-16s in a Fiat Uno Turbo and regularly beat them – on a twisty or wet track nothing could catch the Uno.’
‘No matter how hard I push it there’s never a sign of an inside wheel spinning thanks to the limited-slip differential’
Our selected cars have been worked blooming hard and now sit parked up next to each other while Patrick mulls over his final opinions.
‘Ah, the limo,’ he says as he approaches the Mercedes-benz 190E 2.5-16 Cosworth. ‘This is the fastest around here and I could live with it every day, but it’s not far enough removed from my modern cars to be an enticing prospect as a classic.’
Next up, the Saab. ‘I was impressed with this – it’s deceptive. Like the Mercedes you could hotlap the Nürburgring and then drive home in luxury – but it won’t ever be as desirable because of the badge.’
What about the one he raced so successfully? ‘The 309GTI’S handling is unbelievable, but I wouldn’t be gagging to drive it at
the weekend unless I intended to drive a route that I knew had a lot of corners. It only starts to shine when things get twisty.’
That leaves two. ‘As a hobby car it’s the cars that are furthest removed from my daily driver that interest me. The 2002tii would get the most attention with the Alfa Giulia TI just behind, and you would enjoy driving both slowly too. They’re perfect for a 20-mile blast to meet your mates, crawling calmly through town and then opening them up once clear.’
Which would Patrick take home, though? ‘The BMW is great, but I think it has to be the Alfa. You can thrash it, put a huge grin on your face and still not be breaking the speed limit. It’s the very same reason I got rid of my Porsche 911 GT3RS and bought a Morris Mini Cooper 970S. It only has 65bhp, but it’s great fun.’
Factor in the affordability factor, and I reckon he’s got it spot on.
Thanks to: The British Racing Drivers’ Club (brdc.co.uk), Saab Owners’ Club GB (saabclub.co.uk), Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club (aroc-uk.com), Peugeot Sport Club UK (pscuk.net), Mercedes-benz Owners’ Club (Mercedes-benz-club.co.uk), BMW Car Club GB (bmwcarclubgb.uk), the International Peugeot 309 Owners’ Club (309ownersclub.com) and Charles Ironside (charlesironside.co.uk)