Bicester Heritage Classic Drive-In Weekend.

Bicester Heritage once again opens up it doors to the public for its Classic Drive-In weekend. My friend Jonny decided to take the dust sheets off the S2000 and head down. Here’s what he had to say.

I’ve committed the ultimate car show sin! I forgot (never have the time) to clean my modern classic! So faced with the dilemma of turning up in the daily family wagon or possibly worse, turn up with dirty car, I chose at least to get the S2000 out for one of the last few times of the year before it gets tucked away for winter.

So my son and I headed out, taking care to cover our faces to avoid embarrassment. As we parked up on the outskirts of the airfield we could already hear the glorious sound of straight 6’s, V8’s and the familiar burble of boxers rumbling around the hangers. It feels like a very long time since I’ve been to a car show and first impressions certainly made me feel like it was worth the wait.

Prodrive had brought along their famous collection of Impreza rally cars from the era in which they did so well. The classic GC8 series from the 90’s had influenced a lot of my own choice in modern classics, so seeing a fleet of them in the flesh was very special. It was also great to see Road Rat magazine, now settled in to there new home on the airfield.

As usual at these types of car events the public car park can reveal many hidden gems, and this classic drive-in didn’t disappoint with a weird and wonderful collection of some of the most cared for cars in the country. After a good wonder around we grabbed some food from a local friendly pizza stall and headed over to the drive in cinema area of the airfield. The film on offer was Le Mans 66, it’s a great film which really captures the passion of building, driving and winning in a racing car (not that I’ve had the pleasure of the last one of those.).

It did occur to me that running a drive-in cinema at an event largely attended by classic car owners, some of whom may not have car stereos may have been a bit short sighted, however luckily for us I had recently reinstated my OEM stereo in the S2000 and got it working again so we were able to watch the film properly. It was a first outing for my son watching a grown up film in a retro classic car, and I must admit it was for me also, but never the less a very enjoyable experience and I hope to do it again soon.

Now if only the recently postponed (twice due to COVID) Sunday Scrambles could actually go ahead, because after all these are the meat and potatoes of the heritage centre for meets and in my opinion amongst the best of the gatherings in the UK.

Cheshire Classic Car & Bike Show

One of a couple of Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2’s on show.

Sunday August 30th was the Cheshire classic car and motorbike show at the wonderful Capesthorne Hall. A relatively small local event but attracted a good mixture of cars, bikes and a few other things between. As I understood it anyone could bring along there pride and joy and display it on the lawn. The cars were mainly grouped together by make nearest the hall but towards the rear of the field they were in more of a random order. Starting closest to the hall and indeed in the driveway we had a group of Mercedes ranging from 80’s C Class’s to more modern SLK’s, all very neatly turned out and taking pride of place beneath the main entrance. Then moving away from the hall you entered the main paddock/field where you had food and drinks stands to your left, which carried on in to small car parts dealers and other vehicle related merch. Directly in front of the food and drink was the roped off showground where cars and bikes were invited in and the owners would get the chance to talk a little about there vehicles to the crowds over the PA. The first row of cars was from the American contingent, Mustangs, GT’s, Chargers and some large 50/60’s cruises that were so clean you could eat your dinner off. Just behind them was a couple of nice examples from Germany and Japan. First up was a almost standard looking Subaru Impreza RB5 with what looked to be GB270 or RB320 alloys on and next to that was a Porsche 964 Targa, actually one of the first ever Porsches and sports cars I ever sat in when growing up. Then a row further was the BMW section which had a couple of gems including the pictured below super clean E46 M3 in Imola Red, which to this day is still my favorite color for the E46.

E46 M3 in Imola Red.

Behind the E46, which you can just see in the above picture was also a lovely 850i which sadly I didn’t get a shot of but certainly stood out from the crowd for me. Moving a little further on we came to the Audi A2 owners club, which was a new one for me to see, however good to see these little eco boxes are still very much being used and loved despite there marmite looks. Now moving over the path to the other side of the field the first car we come to is an Audi Quattro S1 followed by a Peugeot 205 GTi, both very much 80’s royalty these days. I remember a 205 GTi not long ago went under auction and hit over £37000 which sent prices through the roof in the used market for them. I digress, moving further along the next car that stands out to me and hard to miss quite frankly but nevertheless a modern classic in my eyes, a bright yellow Lotus Esprit. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Esprit ever since they were released, I would even choose the Esprit over the Diablo on the original need for speed on the Sega Saturn even though actually the big lambo was the quicker car. A glance to the right of the Esprit then brings up some show winners. First a car that I don’t feel gets much love but its a proper old school pocket rocket, the Fiat Uno Turbo. This particular one was immaculate and looked in great condition, a real tribute to its owner for the time spent keeping it that way. Next was an early 90’s classic, a fatory fresh looking Lotus Carlton. The 3.6 twin turbo inline 6 super saloon commanded a fair bit of attention, and who can blame it. My final highlight of the show was a gorgeous looking Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2. In fact there were 2 at the show, 1 was a rally replica and the aforementioned one was the standard road car. Superbly turned out looking very much OEM from the outside, yes they had done well with this one. Walking further towards the car park there was a section for replicas and kit cars which had a nice Ford GT40 and Cobra kit car, not to mention the little Westfield my son took a liking to, good lad! There was also a few supercars namely, a Lamborghini Urus, Ferrari 458, Ferrari 458 Aperta and a McLaren GT series car, possibly a 540 but don’t quote me.

Lotus Carlton

At this point lunch was very much calling, so we made the walk over to the Hall and grabbed some coffee and sandwiches form the café. After we had a leisurely walk back through the show towards the car park to eventually jump back in the family wagon and make the journey home. A nice morning out had by all and a good turn out for a small local show.

Lotus Esprit

Subaru Impreza RB5

Porsche 964 Targa

Fiat Uno Turbo

Audi Quattro S1

Peugeot GTi 1.9

VW R32 sitting pretty in the car park.