Classic & Sports Car February 2022

Racer and motoring journalist Jerry Titus gives a spectacular demonstration of how to tame the mighty Shelby Cobra 427 during a test of both street and competition versions of this most potent snake of all, at California’s Riverside International Raceway, for the November 1965 edition of Sports Car Graphic magazine. So impressed was Carroll Shelby by Titus that the legendary Texan team boss would offer him a drive with his newly formed Terlingua Racing Team in the SCCA’s Trans-Am series for 1966.…

Few cars can claim a legacy like the Cobra – particularly those produced in such tiny numbers. Today, thanks to generations of reps, recreations and continuations, there are thousands more Cobras than were built in the ’60s by AC and Shelby. Yet few, too, have such inclusive fans –I’ve always loved that groups such as the 289 Register welcome quality replicas with open arms, recognising that, regardless of their origins, they are loved by their owners with the same passion as the real deal. While we’re on the subject of legacies, I was charmed by the story of the Hunter family’s Ford Model A Tudor (p98). We were alerted to the tale of their epic overland trip from Melbourne to London when Wal Hunter sent us a photo a few years…

MICK WALSH CAR OF THE YEAR A perfect tribute to the late Peter Giddings was the race debut at the Goodwood Revival of the Alfa Romeo Tipo 158 he instigated. The glorious sight and sound of this sensational machine were a credit to Jim Stokes’ team and its owner, Peter Greenfield. BEST DRIVE Finally getting to sample a Sunbeam 3-litre Twin Cam for the November issue (above) was a revelation, particularly its superb gearbox. Running it up the historic 1920s sprint course at Branches Park made the day even more special. BEST EVENT The novelty of a Goodwood Members’ Meeting staged in the autumn was wonderful, with many feeling that it was better even than the Revival. To see Alfa Monzas and GP Bugattis in action in the Earl Howe Trophy was marvellous,…

HOME-TOWN HERO STARS IN BELGIUM Following a pandemic-enforced break in 2020, InterClassics Brussels bounced back for its sixth edition from 19-21 November 2021. Some 25,000 visitors flocked to the 45,000m2 exhibition space of Brussels Expo to enjoy around 400 stands, but the star of the show was local boy, Formula One hero and Le Mans legend Jacky Ickx, as the event marked his 75th birthday. Ickx is actually 76 – the tribute was originally planned for the 2020 show – but that didn’t diminish the party, with a special pavilion gathering a selection of his career-making cars. These ranged from an Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 sports-racer to a Citroën CX rally car, along with the 1972 German Grand Prix-winning Ferrari 312 B2 and a gaggle of Porsches including the 959 in which…

SIR FRANK WILLIAMS 1942-2021 The death of Sir Frank Williams CBE at the age of 79 marks the passing of a Formula One giant. He ran his own F1 team from 1969 until he handed the day-to-day reins to his daughter Claire in 2012, and during those 43 seasons the team won 114 Grands Prix, seven World Drivers’ titles and nine Constructors’ Championships. That record is all the more remarkable because a road accident in France in 1986 left him almost totally paralysed, confining him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. His injuries were so severe that doctors gave him at best 10 years to live. But his iron will and optimism – he referred to his disabilities as “a minor inconvenience” – led him to inspire and motivate…

We at the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs are delighted to launch the first step in perhaps our most important initiative of the 21st century, one designed to help members and enthusiasts to offset their carbon emissions. Following the United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP26, we believe the time has come for us to act. After more than 18 months of research, including detailed examination of initiatives such as planting trees in Brazil and the provision of cooking stoves in Ghana, we have decided to start with a UK-based solution. Working with Tree-V, a motoring carbon-offset specialist based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, we arranged for 1000 trees to be planted in Tom’s Wood, near Castle Howard in Yorkshire, to coincide with National Tree Week in late November. This is…