Classic Cars October 2019
Classic Cars is the original classic car magazine. It defined the world of classic motoring 40 years ago and still does it today. Every issue is put together by our team of classic car experts and enthusiasts. Using the best expert writing and photography, the magazine helps you experience what it's like to drive, keep and restore the classic cars of days gone by. We bring the stories and people behind the cars to life - showing you how to buy, keep and enjoy your cars. Every issue of Classic Cars is packed with: - Road tests - Drive stories - Expert buying advice - News and events coverage Classic Cars is the original classic car magazine.
in this issue
welcome
You’ve probably seen those same cars that stick around in the advertisements for months, noticed models that go home from auctions unsold or barely squeak past their lower estimate, and heard the rumble that many classics have slipped from their 2015 peak. It would be all too easy to conclude that values are slipping back in one big slow-motion avalanche. If only life were that simple, we could all sit back and wait for that elusively expensive classic to fall into the welcoming embrace of our personal budgets. Aston DB4 Series II, here I come. Hold on a minute Phil. Plenty of cars are stubbornly clinging on, some have slipped a little, only to start climbing again, others have merely stalled and are showing early signs of moving up again. The tricky…
‘you can feel the shape around you’
Arriving at Bedfordshire-based Morgan and Lotus specialist Allon White Sports Cars, I feel slightly embarrassed ahead of today’s dream drive. Usually I like to form a welcoming committee when our lucky reader arrives ahead of the big reveal of the car they’ll be driving for the day. ‘I usually like early examples of cars – they tend to get messed with as they get older – but I feel the opposite way when it comes to Lotus Esprits’ But today, even though I’m half an hour earlier than planned, Classic Cars reader Simon Lister is already here, leafing through a Lotus brochure, determining the perfect specification for a new Elise. ‘There are eight Lotuses in my back catalogue,’ he explains. ‘Mainly Elites and Excels, plus the Holy Grail Elite – a Riviera –…
simon’s dream drive list
Ferrari F40 Self-explanatory. TVR 350T Car-gazing on the internet often ends up with me landing on these. Lamborghini Espada A low-down four seater, like my Eighties Lotus Elite, but with the famous V12 engine shared with the Miura and Countach. Ferrari 288GTO My money-no-object car. Brutalist beauty and brawn. Jaguar E-type Unrivalled styling with a great choice of engines. Iso Grifo 7.0 Admired since childhood. Italian design and American muscle – a great combination. Maserati Khamsin Origami design with a few subtle curves (and a V8). Porsche 928GT/GTS Such a different shape, which is still appealing to this day. Lotus Esprit V8 A Lotus, a V8 and two turbos; what’s not to like? Audi Quattro 20V Rally legend and a forerunner to the Mitsuibishi Evo VIs that I’ve previously owned.…
1999 lotus esprit v8gt
Engine 3506cc V8, dohc per bank, EFI Technology electronic fuel injection, two Garrett AiResearch T25/60 turbochargers Power and torque 350bhp @ 6500rpm; 295lb ft @ 4000rpm Transmission Five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive Steering Power-assisted rack and pinion Suspension Front: double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: transverse links, trailing arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers Brakes Ventilated discs front and rear Weight 1325kg (2919lb) Performance Top speed: 175mph; 0-60mph: 4.5sec Fuel consumption 21mpg Cost new £50,000 Classic Cars Price Guide £19,000-£70,000…
simon lister’s car cv
804 ECD - FORD ANGLIA ‘My first car, pictured on the sad day of departure to the breaker’s yard.’ ALC 989Y - LOTUS ELITE S2.2 ‘One of five series 2.2s that I’ve owned, this one the Holy Grail – a one-of-seven Riviera.’ K850 FVX - FORD ESCORT RS COSWORTH ‘An entertaining family hatch – having three young children at the time, it taught me how to pack for a holiday.’ YXP 63 - GP BEACH BUGGY LDV ‘Owned twice now, first when I was 21. Spotted it for sale online having been expertly restored – now enjoyed by my children.’ L894 XVV - PORSCHE 968 CLUB SPORT ‘Great car, the power could not overwhelm the excellent chassis – one of the cars I wish I could have hung on to.’…
a special space to move into
Looking at the plush six-cylinder W124 estates of the Nineties, I see the same sort of potential as R107 SLs. Back in the day the 300TE wagon was also glam, swift, middle class and, if you ticked all the options boxes, could cost big money – close to £40k. Many buyers ordered rafts of optional extras – it’s not unusual to find seven-seater 300TEs with air con, leather, airbags, heated seats, power sunroofs and electrically-adjustable steering columns. ‘As a family classic the W124 300TE is unbeatable’ I owned a ’91 24-valve in Blue-Black with black leather and fondly remember its capacious room, surprising turn of speed and distinct whiff of exclusivity. In the Nineties the 300TE 4Matic was the family car that company high-ups bought to accompany their 911 Carreras on the…
