THE EXECUTIVE CLUB

Our fast track leadership material and their cars

Alfa 164 QV: Nick Clode

Nick’s Alfa has done 111,000 miles but looks practically new. ‘I’ve owned it for 10 years,’ he says. ‘It had been repainted incorrectly when I bought it, with the grey bodykit glossy, so I had all of it painted again.’

BMW 520i SE: Rafe Abrook

‘I’ve owned it a month and I’ve bonded with it already,’ enthuses Rafe. ‘It’s unbelievably original, just 68,000 miles with a full history. It was owned from new by an elderly gent.’

Citroën XM Turbo SD: Will Brackenbury

‘It had sat outside for seven years after a headgasket failure and the owner was going to use it for parts,’ says Will who also has a rare V6 24V version. ‘When I bought it in 2011 there was grass trapped in the door seals.’

Ford Granada Scorpio: Martin Bridges

Martin says: ‘It belonged to an old chap in Southend and had done 79,000 miles. It has never been welded and all the paint is original. I just love it.’

Mercedes-benz 230E: Ian Nutter

Ian’s Merc has done over 150,000 miles, but you’d never know it. ‘I wanted depreciation-free motoring,’ says the former Jaguar engineer who bought the 230E five years ago, ‘and I didn’t want too much complexity. I taught myself to weld, repaired a sill, a jacking point and three rear subframe mounts, and remade the front crossmember.’

Renault 25 GTX: Steve Dale

MOT tester Steve has owned his R25 since 1992 but he doesn’t do many miles in it nowadays. ‘It has its original paint and has needed nothing technical apart from service items,’ he reports. How many of these are on the road now? Maybe 10?’

Saab 9000i: Simon Stokes

‘I’ve been all over Europe in this in the six years I’ve had it,’ Simon tells us with pride. ‘It’s 30 years-old but I just treat it like a modern car. It’s a lovely car… and basically worthless.’

Vauxhall Carlton CDX: Alistair Mitchell

‘I’m the second owner and have had it for two years,’ says Alastair. The first owner gave up driving at 90 after his daughter took away the keys. There’s only one other 2.6-litre CDX left, and it’s not on the road. The most numerous Carlton now is the Lotus.’

Volvo 740 Turbo: Peter Diestler

‘I bought it just over a year ago from a Volvo specialist in Rochdale,’ Peter tells us. ‘It had done 160,000 miles and needed brake calipers and hoses, tyres, an exhaust, piston rings, bearing shells, a refurbed turbo, headlamp wiper motors and suspension bushes. No welding – just a wash and a polish.’

Rover 820 Sterling: Mark Wells

Mark is very much smitten with his ex-rover fleet demonstrator with just 28k from new. ‘That Honda V6 is just so smooth!’

Peugeot 605 SRDT: John Burgess

‘John works for PC sister title Classic Car Weekly. He bought his 605 for £100 and is slowly improving it’

Jaguar XJ6 3.2: Craig Cheetham

‘Craig has a collection of old metal – the low-spec Jag is one of his favourites.’