With everything from a Matra Bagheera and Amphicar to a 15-litre Berliet truck, a couple of Ferrari F40s and a two-stroke Trojan, this year's Classics on the Common blew thousands of visitors away with its unrivalled diversity.
The amazing turnout for the long-running (now in it's 18th year) annual Harpenden event on 27 July was boosted by fine weather and the growing enthusiasm for classic owners to display their cars, be it a six-figure exotic or bargain basement classic.
An estimated 1500+ cars were packed into the two fields with the numbers boosted by new organisers, the local Rotary Club’s decision to open the gates a couple of hours earlier at 2pm.
And as usual it wasn't just the amazing diversity that impressed but the juxtaposition of different makes and genre of cars: where else would you see a Matra Bagheera parked up next to an Allard (below) or a Lancia Lambda alongside that famous iron-curtain icon, the Trabant?
The Bagheera (above) is one of just five road-worthy examples left in
the UK. Owner Marion Quarrington swapped her husband's MGB GT V8 to get the keys for the freshly-restored three-seater six years ago. "We've taken it back to the factory in France and it gets looks wherever it goes," explained Quarrington.
Other unusual delights included Frazer Sloan's vintage Trojan (below), which he drove over from Hertfrod ford.
Sloan bought it from its first owner (from the New Forest) and refreshed it to get it back on the road. “It’s only done 45,000 miles,” said Sloan who intrigued show goers by removing the car’s floorboards to reveal its mid-mounted engine and chain drive transmission. "It's my second - my Dad bought me one when I was eleven which I learnt to drive with on the farm."
Arguably even more unusual was Dave Morris’ 1959 15-litre, six-cylinder Berliet lorry (below), which Morris snapped up on ebay four months ago.
“It runs on mixed petrol and diesel,” said Morris, “which costs nothing because garages would otherwise pay to have it taken away which is just as well as it only does 5mpg!” Being a pre-1960 military vehicle means Morris doesn’t need an MoT for the Berliet.
Another oil burner was Bob Coxshall’s much-travelled, MB club concours-winning 1953 Mercedes-Benz 170SV (below). One of a handful of right-hand-drive diesel examples, Coxshall’s car was a daily driver for ten years before he restored it over seven years from 1990.
More conventional classics included Alex’s Twitchell’s gorgeous 1965 Giulia Sprint GT while his father Barry brought his Champagne-coloured Iso Grifo along (below - see C&SC Dec '06 for a feature on it).
Another exotic crowd-puller was John Bonafoux's recently-restored 1960 AC Ace (below) which he drove up from Southampton. "It's only done 22,000 miles as it was off the road for over 40 years," explained Bonafoux who has kept it as original as possible. "The leather and carpets are as they left the factory."
And there was plenty of competition fare on display too: regular and well-known Lotus racer Malcolm Rickett brought his Lotus IX while Simon Diffey both thrilled and alarmed spectators with a burnout in his race-prep’d BMW 2002, which was hauling his Formula Junior 1961 Lotus 20 racer fresh from the Silverstone Classic.
Photos of other highlights follow. Double click on the lead image at the top of the page to view a slide show of all the images.
Stylish picnic!
Amphicar added to the amazing diversity of the displays.
As did Triumph Dolomite alongside a Jaguar C-type!
Malcolm Ricketts' Lotus IX
