Classic Cars March 2021

Welcome As carheads it’s all too easy to become obsessed with the numbers, but the real meaning comes from a deeper place What’s the best car you’ve driven? Or, the greatest classic car ever built? Inevitably, some variant of the big question is one that I hear often. Intuitively, the answer is never based on anything that can be measured or counted, like engine output, performance statistics, Nürburgring lap times or competition victories. Instead, it’s everything to do with the emotions that a car can fire up, even fear. Take Group B rally cars, long since surpassed by the performance of World Rally Championship descendants, but secure in their position as the most exciting machines ever to take on the most treacherous and demanding gravel, snow and tarmac stages on…

What’s the best car you’ve driven? Or, the greatest classic car ever built? Inevitably, some variant of the big question is one that I hear often. Intuitively, the answer is never based on anything that can be measured or counted, like engine output, performance statistics, Nürburgring lap times or competition victories. Instead, it’s everything to do with the emotions that a car can fire up, even fear. Take Group B rally cars, long since surpassed by the performance of World Rally Championship descendants, but secure in their position as the most exciting machines ever to take on the most treacherous and demanding gravel, snow and tarmac stages on the planet. We revere them for their raw, uncompromising approach to speed, but partly for the fact that they were compromised; flawed in…

Alvis had become something of an anachronism by the mid-Sixties. With an upright grille, pontoon wings and an overhead-valve engine from 1950, they were out of place in a fast-paced world of Minis and E-types. Alvis’s final roll of the dice, the TF21, saw just 106 built before it ceased making cars altogether in 1967. But it had no trouble finding 106 buyers willing to pay a healthy sum to keep one foot in a past that spoke of the importance of tradition and quality. For one man, Edward Farr, chairman of an eponymous Essex estate agents, even that wasn’t enough. He had bespoke requirements that led to the creation of the unique Alvis TF21 we’re taking for a spin today. For many, fishing is more than merely a hobby or pastime.…

[Alvis TF21 Fisherman’s Coupé] THE FISHERMAN’S TALE Dubbed the Fisherman’s Coupé, this unique Alvis TF21 was a bespoke build for a keen angler. We take it down to the river again and trace the car’s chequered past Words RUSS SMITH Photography JONATHAN JACOB Alvis had become something of an anachronism by the mid-Sixties. With an upright grille, pontoon wings and an overhead-valve engine from 1950, they were out of place in a fast-paced world of Minis and E-types. Alvis’s final roll of the dice, the TF21, saw just 106 built before it ceased making cars altogether in 1967. But it had no trouble finding 106 buyers willing to pay a healthy sum to keep one foot in a past that spoke of the importance of tradition and quality. For one…

I’m sensing pressure on Bentley Turbo R values. After a gentle rally in 2019 and 2020, prices appear to be softening, pulled down by over-supply. I counted 60 Turbo Rs for sale on one classic online platform, and 15 no-sales at recent auctions along with a couple of surprisingly reasonable hammer prices. H&H’s Masons Black ’86, sold in November last year, looked very good value indeed with 39,000 miles and two owners for only £10,125. In September, Bonhams MPH sold a black ’96 facelift RL with floor shift and 68,000 miles but only partial history for a landmark low of £7875 while in Wales a private seller has a cherished ’91 RL in grey with 65,000 and good history for £9950. ‘A watch-and-wait situation to see how prices fare’ These flat prices…

CHASING CARS Quentin Willson’s hot tips Turbo R values feeling the weight As the new-era Bentleys descend, old-guard values could be compressed further I’m sensing pressure on Bentley Turbo R values. After a gentle rally in 2019 and 2020, prices appear to be softening, pulled down by over-supply. I counted 60 Turbo Rs for sale on one classic online platform, and 15 no-sales at recent auctions along with a couple of surprisingly reasonable hammer prices. H&H’s Masons Black ’86, sold in November last year, looked very good value indeed with 39,000 miles and two owners for only £10,125. In September, Bonhams MPH sold a black ’96 facelift RL with floor shift and 68,000 miles but only partial history for a landmark low of £7875 while in Wales a private seller…