Classic Cars November 2022

November 2022 Issue 592 Vauxhall Chevette 2300HS, Messerschmitt Tg500, Ferrari 348, Pagani Zonda – ask a diverse range of classic car industry insiders which models best deserve your money right now and an eclectic mix of answers pops out. I could tie myself in knots trying to identify a unifying theme in their selections for Hot 30 each year, so I don’t. Instead, I simply enjoy the surprise. This year three of our panel are on a return visit – Donald Osborne, Emanuele Collo and Brian Page, but because we like to shake things up a little each time, Mathew Priddy, Rob Hubbard and Jonny Shears are making their H30 debut. Welcome aboard chaps. Fortunately, all of this year’s group stuck to the brief, identifying cars that they believe are…

Classic Cars reader Chris Dady wastes no time at all clambering aboard his steed for the day, a 1956 AC Aceca. His rich motoring life has taken him to all corners of the classic realm, owning rarities from an Elva Courier fastback prototype through a Saab Sonnet to an ex-works Riley Ulster Imp, yet he discovered the obscure Thames Ditton coupé just five years ago. ‘I’ve dreamed of driving one ever since. The fastback shape is such a beautiful, unfussy development of the earlier Ace and highly inventive with it. I can’t think of another Fifties sports car that spawned a grand tourer so successfully.’ He turns the ignition key. Today we’re making his wish come true… The 2.0-litre AC inline-six erupts through twin pipes. ‘What a fabulous sound! It’s…

This hasn’t been a great year for Range Rovers. Maybe it’s the price of fuel, the huge costs of a professional restoration or just weight of numbers, but prices have slipped noticeably. You can now buy a decent P38 for £3500, a four-door classic Vogue for £5000 and even a desirable, restored early A, B or C suffix [in the chassis number] for £20,000. The heady days of an A suffix making £85,000 may never return. Back in November last year Anglia sold a body-off restored, Tuscan Blue ’72 A suffix with 32,000 miles for £19,440, while this August it dispatched a restored ’74, C suffix, also in Tuscan, for £14,904. In August H&H knocked down another C suffix, an older restoration ’74 with 51,000 miles and a recent £4500…

I’ve told you about these before. The four-seater hardtop convertible California may seem a bit too civilised for hardcore prancing horse fans, but when it’s the later twin-turbo version, you’re looking at 60mph in 3.2 seconds and nearly 200mph. Which, compared to prices of the most modern, but not that much faster Ferraris, feels like an opportunity to me. In August Silverstone sold a gorgeous 2014 second-gen T, in special-order California Blu, with most option boxes ticked and just 31,000 main-dealer-serviced miles, for £74,833. Eight years ago, this car relieved its first owner of £185,000, so nobody was making any money here. The is completely different from the first-gen California, with an uprated 3.9 V8 pushing out 552bhp, a lower centre of gravity, stiffer springs, quicker steering rack and virtually…

MORE QUENTIN WILLSON P35 Iknow I’ve asked this question before, but how low can R170 SLKs go? Even exceptional, mint tiny-milers can be bought for less than £7000, and below-average, 100k-mile examples are down to five hundred quid – literally. And I’m not sure why. In June CCA sold a perfect, collector grade, Baltic Blue, 2004 ex-Jersey 230 with just 14,000 warranted miles for £7500, and in August Anglia sold a silver 2001, 200 Kompressor with just one owner and 34,000 miles for £3996. More amazing still was SWVA’s July sale of a 2003 200 Kompressor with a warranted 19,000 miles and totally perfect for just £4100. Beat that. How about Anglia’s August sale of a black 2003, 320 with service history and only 53k for £3132? In June CCA…

Aston realities I’ve fallen for the DB9’s looks and sounds, and would like to own an early one (budget restraints), but for the last five years I’ve owned a bullet-proof Mercedes 350SL which when it has needed attention it hasn’t broken the bank. I’ve heard horror stories about astronomical service and repair bills for the DB9 – if I owned one, would I be praying every time I turned on the ignition that all the warning lights would go out? Mark Richardson Running a DB9 will never be cheap and, worst case, you’ll need to budget £8k to £10k a year – if you need a major service, plus clutch, suspension or brakes, that’s the sort of outlay you’ll be looking at. This is the harsh reality of owning an…