Last Sunday's 'Supercar Sunday' show at the Heritage Motor Centre was another
major success for the venue. It was another year of glorious sunshine and a
fantastic array of sports and supercars from the last few decades. From AC to
Zagato there were examples of most of the supercars made including some rare
examples of exotica.
The Jalpa was a Bertone designed
successor to the Silhouette which itself was a development of the
Urraco. The 2 seater Jalpa appeared at the 1981 Geneva Show
featuring a 3485cc V8 good for 255bhp. It remained in production
until 1988, selling 416 examples in that time. Two convertible
prototypes were made but didn't make it into production.
Link: www.jalpa.ch |
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Lamborghini was particularly well represented with a good selection of
Countachs, Diablos and one Murceliago. Older examples of the marque included a
couple of Jalpas and a Urracco.
There was also a stunning example of the Islero present - a car
which makes many modern cars look overstyled and fussy. Only 225 Isleros were
made in the late 1960's. The V12 GTs had over 300bhp and represented the true
space and grace that a Grand Tourers should possess unlike so many modern lardy
GTs.
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Lamborghini 400 GT Islero |
Type |
60° V12, Front Mounted, DOHC per bank |
Valves |
2 per cylinder |
Bore/Stroke |
82mm x 62mm |
Capacity |
3,929cc |
Carburation |
6 Twin-throat Webers, 40 DCOE 20 |
Max power |
325bhp @ 7,000rpm |
Torque |
289 ft/lbs @ 5,500rpm |
Compression |
10.5:1 |
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TVR were well represented as ever with dozens of owners having
polished and prepared for the weekend and the marque outnumbered all others.
Lotus owners were also there en-masse with a healthy contingent of Elises, a
supercharged Exige and Esprits from all generations.
Attracting a lot of attention again this year was the Europa 'LM
350' fitted with a rather tasty looking V8.
Amongst the beautiful De Tomaso Panteras was this very rare and
very 1970's Longchamps with its 5.7 litre Ford V8. It was the only De Tomaso
ever produced with an front-mounted engine. Around 400 were produced including
just 14 convertibles.
All in all it was another fascinating collection of cars and a
very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The Sporting Bears were there
offering passenger rides in the supercars and there's also the Heritage Centre
museum which houses many interesting prototypes and examples of British car
manufacturing over the years.
Although the day is very similar each year, with many of the
same cars turning up, it's still a great day out. Rarely do you get to see such
a huge range of exotica in such an accessible and friendly environment. Roll on
next year!
Additional pics courtesy of Jeremy Copp