Nick Larkin
Our Nick has revised his opinions of certain classics
Our Nick reckons some classics are unfairly overlooked.
You’ll never guess what I thought to myself recently while I was taking my time over studying the most prestigious and historic line-up of E-type Jaguars that I have ever seen. ‘You know what, Nick?’ I said to myself. ‘I would rather like one of these!’ Yup, I really did, honestly. No word of a lie. I was covering the 25th anniversary celebration of the legendary restoration (and so much more), employee-owned company Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth, by the way.
The Jaguar E-type. Possibly the most beautiful and charismatic car ever made, even if you ignore the hype and the financial resource-challenging price tag.
However, I am quite possibly the only person in the entire cosmos who would clamber over Jaguar E-types to get to a seriously delectable and much less costly Wolseley 6/80 motor car. We all have our favourites and part of the fascination of classic cars is how and why some people are so fanatical about specific models. And most importantly, are we missing something?
Next day, with E-types still forming an enormous metaphorical cowpat in my field of clear and rational consciousness. I arrived at the Scimitar Owners Club’s Scimfest, an event that was celebrating 50 years of the GTE.
Some 25 examples of the model were invited on to the Curborough Sprint Circuit track for an anniversary photoshoot. I’ve always had a bit of a Scimitar soft spot but seeing such a large number together really opened up my mind to what a superbly-styled car that the GTE really is. Just look at them! No wonder I am among such a crowd of devotees.
And of course, Scimitars are completely and utterly unique. Who could not love that Ford V6 powerplant and richer in period interior detail than a contemporary Eccles caravan? There was even an example for sale and, believe me, after close inspection I nearly didn’t hand the keys back.
If they had made Scimitars from metal surely the world would have been conquered, but in any case, what an incredible achievement for Reliant.
I was almost expecting the cars’ most famous owner to bellow from behind me: ‘One really does appreciate these motor cars very much indeed.’ Sadly, HRH Princess Anne wasn’t present, though one of her old cars was.
This made me think about other classics that perhaps the world does overlook a tad but really do deserve to be held up to the light in their own right.
Without doubt in my opinion, Ford of Britain’s greatest star has to be the MKII Zephyr and Zodiac. Who would not want to cruise along in one of those to the silky sound of a pure straight-six?
Changing times
Just recently I was admiring an example of these cars’ less glamorous sister, the Ford Consul. Looking pretty in yellow, it suddenly struck me that the shorter front really balanced the car’s lines as a whole, while the lack of excess chrome gave the vehicle a clean, honest appearance.
Another candidate for top car we should really look at in isolation is the Austin 3 Litre. Yes, we all know that this model didn’t sell that well, partly because BMC never really seemed to promote it. What a missed opportunity. No British executive car of the era apart from the Jaguar XJ6 drove anything like it. And yes, we all know there’s a big section of BMC 1800 ‘Landcrab’ in the middle but forget that and you’ll see well-balanced, sleek, seemingly almost Germanic styling.
There are surely many other classics that deserve a bit of individual love. The superbly appointed frontwheel-drive Triumph 1300 for example. Or what about the deliciously Fifties Standard Pennant?
All the classics discussed here are very different but the non-jaguars have an important factor in common. You’d be on the road in any for £5000!
‘E-types formed a cowpat in my field of clear and rational consciousness’