Classic Cars December 2021

Welcome Full-size luxury classics have been the orphans of the classic car world, but their unique appeal is growing Stars of film, music and industry spend fast-paced lives racing between helipads, parties, appointments and romantic liaisons in a dizzying blur of wild V12 supercar fury, right? In the public imagination maybe. Reality for such exotic machinery is a life of air-conditioned storage, punctuated by rare trips out for a spot of posing. The greatest jeopardy is not somersaulting off the edge of a hillside road after an intoxicant-fuelled party, but having the wrong detailing products applied by the hired valeter. To arrive at those appointments fresh and ready to perform, life’s high achievers will waft in air-conditioned, air-suspended luxury. Greeting one’s followers with eyes out on stalks and shirt plastered…

Stars of film, music and industry spend fast-paced lives racing between helipads, parties, appointments and romantic liaisons in a dizzying blur of wild V12 supercar fury, right? In the public imagination maybe. Reality for such exotic machinery is a life of air-conditioned storage, punctuated by rare trips out for a spot of posing. The greatest jeopardy is not somersaulting off the edge of a hillside road after an intoxicant-fuelled party, but having the wrong detailing products applied by the hired valeter. To arrive at those appointments fresh and ready to perform, life’s high achievers will waft in air-conditioned, air-suspended luxury. Greeting one’s followers with eyes out on stalks and shirt plastered to your back with sweat doesn’t create the right impression. James Hunt ran a Mercedes S-Class, as did baseball star…

[The List] Honda NSX Your dream drive made real ‘lt’s surpassed all my expectations’ Eddie wanted to drive the supercar developed by Ayrton Senna so badly that he drove for 12 hours to try one out… Words: SAM DAWSON Photography NEIL FRASER How far would you go to drive your dream classic? ‘This is as far south as I’ve ever been in the UK,’ muses Scottish Classic Cars reader Eddie Ritchie as he emerges from his Infiniti outside HPC Classics in Eastbourne. ‘I drove all the way from Dundee yesterday – it took me 12 hours.’ But what car has Eddie piled on the miles in order to sample? He reveals a clue sitting in the Infiniti’s boot – an accurate replica Ayrton Senna helmet, complete with Nacional branding. He…

How far would you go to drive your dream classic? ‘This is as far south as I’ve ever been in the UK,’ muses Scottish Classic Cars reader Eddie Ritchie as he emerges from his Infiniti outside HPC Classics in Eastbourne. ‘I drove all the way from Dundee yesterday – it took me 12 hours.’ But what car has Eddie piled on the miles in order to sample? He reveals a clue sitting in the Infiniti’s boot – an accurate replica Ayrton Senna helmet, complete with Nacional branding. He digs out his phone and quickly finds a video of Senna at ten tenths round Suzuka in the car he’s come here to drive – the Honda NSX. ‘People hated him back then,’ says Eddie as Senna’s tassled loafers dance on the pedals and…

Ferrari 288GTO ‘I read CAR aged 12 in 1985 and was blown away by it.’ Simca 1000 ‘My gran had one. Embarrassed me as a kid but I see its charm now.’ Honda NSX ‘Developed by my all-time hero, Ayrton Senna. Need I say more?’ Fiat 130 Coupé ‘Styled like the cars I drew on my school books, yet oozing class’ Ford RS200 ‘Group B rallying was a huge part of my childhood. Seeing these in competition was awesome.’ Audi 200 Quattro 20v ‘I have owned 80s and 90s, but the 200 was exquisite.’ De Tomaso Pantera ‘I had a white toy one with an orange engine cover when I was a kid, always promised myself one.’ Opel GT ‘When I was an apprentice painter at a car dealer, the owner’s son had one. It really intrigued me.’ BMW M5 (E28) ‘I once had a 520i but…

EDDIE’S DREAM DRIVE LIST Ferrari 288GTO ‘I read CAR aged 12 in 1985 and was blown away by it.’ Simca 1000 ‘My gran had one. Embarrassed me as a kid but I see its charm now.’ Honda NSX ‘Developed by my all-time hero, Ayrton Senna. Need I say more?’ Fiat 130 Coupé ‘Styled like the cars I drew on my school books, yet oozing class’ Ford RS200 ‘Group B rallying was a huge part of my childhood. Seeing these in competition was awesome.’ Audi 200 Quattro 20v ‘I have owned 80s and 90s, but the 200 was exquisite.’ De Tomaso Pantera ‘I had a white toy one with an orange engine cover when I was a kid, always promised myself one.’ Opel GT ‘When I was an apprentice painter at…