The NEC Classic Motor Show

Posted on November 17, 2018.

Report and pictures by Keith Bluemel

As Sunday 11 November was Remembrance Day and also the centenary of the end of the First World War, commemorative poppies were in abundance at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show over the weekend of 09-11 November. Those who fell and fought in the Great War were remembered with a 2 minute silence on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. If it hadn’t been for their valiant efforts and sacrifices, it is unlikely that many of the vehicles in the show would exist today. Fortunately they do, and it is a remarkable trip down memory lane to see so many long forgotten (but not by the few who restore and maintain them) vehicles, that were once common sights on the roads the length and breadth of the country, and beyond.

The show was further expanded from previous years, with the addition of an extra exhibition hall to satisfy demand from exhibitors, thus making a total of six halls crammed with classic vehicles, associated products and facilities. Within this number there were some 300 one make or model car clubs, with around 3000 vehicles on display, ranging from bubble cars to a leviathan Fowler steam engine. There was certainly a great variety on offer for visitors, and there were over 71,000 over the course of the weekend. This year’s show theme was ‘Built to Last’ and there were various interpretations on this, some displays featuring “Old and New”, and others very original preserved examples, whilst the Veteran Car Club had an impressive “Coming Home” tribute to the end of the Great War.

Within the cars in the show there were some real rarities and also some oddballs and intriguing engineering feats. Amongst the former were a twin engine Mini and the 2nd Talbot Sunbeam Lotus Prototype, whilst one of the oddballs was the Thunderbirds 2 Replica built on a Toyota Previa. Engineering-wise, how about the modification of a 6 cylinder Jaguar cylinder head to fit a 4 cylinder home cast block, then repeat the exercise and drop the pair of power units into a Mini bodyshell, along with many other detail modifications to make the “Twin Jag Mini”, which competed in touring car races in 1965!

These days no show is complete without an anniversary, and the Ferrari Owners’ Club celebrated the golden anniversary of the Dino with a quartet of 246 GTs flanking a 308 GT4 model. In the corner of the same hall the TVR Car Club display featured a “Pub2Pub” Chimaera model, which claimed the longest journey made by a sports car, covering 25,000 miles through 27 countries and 3 continents, as the sign said “one tough TVR”.

Of course 2018 celebrates the 70th anniversary of Porsche and there were impressive displays of models courtesy of Porsche Cars Great Britain, Porsche Club Great Britain and the Porsche 924 Owners’ Club. Porsche Cars had a display of specially commissioned by them restored cars, all finished in “liquid metal” silver paint, a colour normally only available on the 918 Spyder, together with a vast colourful grid of racing Boxsters finished in iconic Porsche racing liveries, think “Pink Pig”, “Martini”, “Psychedelic” etc. 2018 is also the 50th anniversary of the Ford Escort, with numerous examples on display from “humble” standard cars to all singing and dancing rally cars. There also seemed to be a theme of “bare bones” running through a number of the displays, with a variety of bare body shells and rolling chassis’ around the halls.

The show also featured the final of the Meguair’s Club Showcase, with 16 exceptional classics from car clubs around the country for the judges to chose the recipient of the overall trophy, which went to the 1964 Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle. Another trophy up for grabs, this time by people’s choice, was the show’s title partner, Lancaster Insurance’s Pride of Ownership competition. With over 100 entries, the 20 finalists were on display for visitors to choose from, and it was a rare 1969 Ford Cortina Savage Mk2 that took the award.

Within the show there was also a Iconic Auctioneers auction where total sales exceeded £4million including buyer’s premium with the biggest seller of the sale being a 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Automatic Sports Saloon which achieved £214,313.

There were also a number of cars from the collection of musician Jay Kay, including a 1967 “Bullitt” Mustang replica, which sold for £54,000, and a 1989 BMW M3 E30 Johnny Cecotto Ltd Edition which made £85,500. Other lots sold at the sale were an ex-Frank Sinatra 1984 Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible which was gifted to him by fellow Rat Pack members Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, which sold for £140,625, whilst an ex-Steve McQueen 1945 Willys Jeep sold for £84,375.