Classic Motor Show kicks off

Cars on show include rare Maserati

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 5 October 2005 / Loading comments

Maserati MC-12 at Goodwood FoS 2004

Not a Maserati MC-12

A feast of Ferraris, Maseratis, Porsches, Jaguars and Lamborghinis will be on the road and on display at this year’s Classic Motor Show, the largest motor show of its kind in the UK.

The show runs from Friday 4 until Sunday 6 of November at the NEC, Birmingham.

The ultimate classic experience, the show has over a thousand classic cars on display covering half-a-million square feet as well as classic car dealers, car clubs and motoring merchandise.

The extremely rare and striking Maserati MC-12 ‘Stradale’, considered the supercar of today and definitely one of the great classics of the future, will be there, courtesy of the Maserati Club UK. It made its first European public appearance at the Festival of Speed last year. There are only two MC-12s in the UK of the 25 made (and all are sold). Valued at around £600,000, the MC-12 reaches a top speed of 205 mph, going from 0-62 mph in just 3.8 seconds.

As well as high-speed performance cars, visitors will be able to see some of the rarest and most unusual classic cars available such as modified Morris Minors used for rallying and drag racing (see pic), the complete collection of Jaguars manufactured at the Browns Lane plant, based in the West Midlands, and racing cars that have been made road legal such as the Ferrari 355 with full racing trim.

The ‘autojumble’ returns with the largest indoor collection of new and used car parts, auto memorabilia, books and manuals, toys, models and rare motoring collectors items. If you are planning to restore your own vehicle and don’t know where to start or need help on a specific part or problem, our experts will be on-hand to answer all your questions. They will also give useful tips on the latest products and techniques, all of which will be available to buy at the show.

Mark Evans, presenter of A Car is Born and restoration enthusiast, will be on hand to offer advice in the seminar theatre as well as leading practical demonstrations. Mark will give visitors an insight to want goes on behind the scenes of his TV programme along with updates on his new series An MG is Born, which sees Mark restoring a 1974 MGB Roadster back to its former glory.

A number of classic marques such as Jaguars and Aston Martins will be available to buy at the show, with advisors on hand to answer any questions you may have about owning a classic car of your own.

If you can’t afford to buy your dream classic, then you can have a ride in one, courtesy of The Sporting Bears Motor Club. Dream Rides allows you to have a ten-mile ride as a passenger in one of their fantastic range of cars in return for a donation to charity – and you get to choose the car. The choice ranges from Morris Minors and Sunbeam Alpines right through to the ultimate buzz of an exhilarating spin in a Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini or Porsche.

Also on display will be some of the legendary marques featured in well known films and television programmes such as the Ford Mustang from Steve McQueen’s Bullitt, a selection of Jaguars and Aston Martins used in the James Bond movies, the Austin A35 van from Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazard and the time-travelling DeLorean featured in the Back to the Future trilogy. Classic car clubs from across the UK will pay tribute to the cars made famous on the big and small screen.

If you prefer to be in the thick of the action, a high-speed car chase maybe or driving on two wheels then stunt driver extraordinaire Russ Swift will be on hand to demonstrate handbrake turns, wheelies and the cleverest parallel parking ever seen! Russ is the British Autotest Champion, holds the Guinness World Record for parking, and regularly performs his breathtaking stunts and doughnut spins on TV programmes such as Top Gear and Driven.