Classic Cars October 2017

Jaguar-loving dinner guests at the Brecon Castle Hotel fell silent as Jonathan Heynes began to recall precious memories from the late Fifties when his father Bill created the first E-type prototype, E1A, 60 years earlier. We were all looking forward to recreating its seminal 1958 test run the following day (see News, p27) – and watching him unfurl a blueprint for a D-type coupé, engineering test reports and a series of early design sketches as he coloured in pivotal moments in E-type history had us transfixed. One of the four roadsters showed evidence of a coupé roofline crudely sketched onto the stylist’s rather more refined rendering. ‘Father used to bring home scrap paper from work for me to draw on,’ admitted Heynes sheepishly. Charming though the coupé efforts of Heynes Jr…

Welcome A weekend in Wales reaffirm’s Phil’s E-type love, before our lead feature reminds him of the opportunities he did miss Jaguar-loving dinner guests at the Brecon Castle Hotel fell silent as Jonathan Heynes began to recall precious memories from the late Fifties when his father Bill created the first E-type prototype, E1A, 60 years earlier. We were all looking forward to recreating its seminal 1958 test run the following day (see News, p27) – and watching him unfurl a blueprint for a D-type coupé, engineering test reports and a series of early design sketches as he coloured in pivotal moments in E-type history had us transfixed. One of the four roadsters showed evidence of a coupé roofline crudely sketched onto the stylist’s rather more refined rendering. ‘Father used to…

‘I still can’t quite believe this is happening – I’ve only seen these before at car shows’ Waiting with a welcome cup of tea for Classic Cars reader Chris Bale I can’t help but feel a little apprehensive about today. There are a couple of reasons for this – for a start Chris already owns a DeLorean DMC-12. That was a past dream drive car featured in these pages and about as iconic and attention-grabbing as any classic gets, as I discovered during our The List feature just over two years ago – we were practically mobbed every time we stopped. Chris has also driven all the way from Norwich to our rendezvous in Somerset with Montreal owner Derek Johnson. I’m nutty enough about these Alfas to think that’s OK, but…

[ The List ] Your dream drive made real ‘You can just keep looking at it all day long’ Chris Bale asked us if he could drive an Alfa Montreal. Would it really excite this DeLorean owner? Words RUSS SMITH Photography: LAURENS PARSONS ‘I still can’t quite believe this is happening – I’ve only seen these before at car shows’ Waiting with a welcome cup of tea for Classic Cars reader Chris Bale I can’t help but feel a little apprehensive about today. There are a couple of reasons for this – for a start Chris already owns a DeLorean DMC-12. That was a past dream drive car featured in these pages and about as iconic and attention-grabbing as any classic gets, as I discovered during…

BMW 316I E30 ‘My first car, in 2004, because of my love of BTCC racing. I started looking for something sensible but that all went out of the window when I spotted a 316i at a local showroom. It was my daily driver until the winter off 2008 when I skidded off the road and hit a tree.’ DELOREAN DMC-12 ‘Since seeing Back to the Future as a child I set my heart on owning a DeLorean and in 2007 I made it happen. I’d joined the owners club and drove from Norwich to Sheffield to look at one only to find it had been sold. A couple of weeks later one came up for sale ten miles from home, so I didn’t hesitate to buy it. During the decade I’ve had it…

CHRIS BALE’S CAR CV Based heavily on childhood influences, Chris has ranged from flux capacitor to rally limo. BMW 316I E30 ‘My first car, in 2004, because of my love of BTCC racing. I started looking for something sensible but that all went out of the window when I spotted a 316i at a local showroom. It was my daily driver until the winter off 2008 when I skidded off the road and hit a tree.’ DELOREAN DMC-12 ‘Since seeing Back to the Future as a child I set my heart on owning a DeLorean and in 2007 I made it happen. I’d joined the owners club and drove from Norwich to Sheffield to look at one only to find it had been sold. A couple of weeks later one…