The Broadway Car Show – the ultimate village car show?

Two years ago I went to my first Broadway Car Show asa spectator – this year, I was an active participant.

Broadway is a picturesque Cotswold village some 18km from where I live, full of independent shops, hotels, restaurants and houses all built out of golden Cotswold stone – it’s an idealised version of what many tourists picture as a typical English village, attracting visitors from all over the world, with Americans pointing at buildings older than their country and saying “isn’t that cute” a lot, and Japanese tourists taking photographs of themselves in front of old cottages.

Every two years the village hosts the Broadway Car Show, a weekend divided into a Supercar Day and a Classic Day – obviously I took part in the latter.

The day began with a drive down to the Cotswold Manor Barn near Moreton-in-Marsh (coincidentally, where the Porsche Club GB is based) where a number of the event’s participants gathered for breakfast – this was the last time it would be possible to take photos without people in them. Some of my favourites of the day included an immaculate metallic blue 1974 Lamborghini Uracco, an absolutely beautiful 1960 Mercedes 220S Ponton in cream, and a stunning 1964 Maserati 3500GT among others. This was a good start!

After breakfast we set off towards Broadway for what was labelled a Cotswold Drive, taking a roundabout route through pretty villages in a very impressive classic convoy before meeting again with the rest of the participants at the top of Broadway High Street. From there we paraded down and then back up the High Street, watched by an enthusiastic crowd – I don’t think I’ve ever been photographed so much – seemingly every spectator had their mobile phone at the ready – although it was of course the cars rather than the drivers that people were actually photographing. My brother-in-law – in the passenger seat – really didn’t need his sunglasses!

After the parade, we were divided into groups and allocated areas of the village to park up for the day – I was in a group that included the Uracco, 220S Ponton and 3500GT from breakfast, as well as an exquisite 1969 Pagoda and a very smart 1959 metallic blue MGA 1500. I was parked next to a very lovely Porsche 356, making a perfect Porsche pair. Once parked, we caught up with my partner and my sister and we spent a couple of hours checking out the classics on display before taking in an excellent pub lunch to fortify us for the rest of the day.

For a village event, this attracted some seriously high-quality classics. Last time around, a line-up of ten pre-war Bugatti’s on the central green stole the show; this time, the highlights were perhaps not quite as glamorous, but there was nevertheless a fine collection of desirable classics.

Near the organisers’ tent were some very fine pre-WW2 Bentleys and Aston Martins such as a 1923 Tourist Trophy Bentley, a Blower Bentley of the type Ettore Bugatti allegedly termed “the world’s fastest lorries” and a fine 1939 Derby Bentley 4 ¼-litre saloon in green caught the eye.

Among the Astons was the oldest surviving example of the marque and just the third one made, a 1923 1 ½-litre prototype (more accurately, a Bamford & Martin) alongside a dark green 1934 Aston Martin Ulster and a stylish black 1938 2-litre 4-seater Tourer. Pre-WW2 cars interest me less than those of the later 1950’s and onwards, but they’re nevertheless a treat to see.

A number of those later period cars were also found arranged round the village green, including a pristine 1960 Mercedes-Benz 190SL in red with tan upholstery, a powerful 1967 Corvette Sting Ray in a shade of metallic purple, and a handsome Volvo P1800ES in metallic blue were among my favourites.

Elsewhere around the village could be found a ViaRETRO favourite, a 1965 Gordon Keeble in green (not the best colour for these superb cars, in my opinion), a charming 1930 Singer Junior in red and a couple of gorgeous Jaguar XK Dropheads, as well as a perfect 1972 SAAB 96 V4 in metallic blue that had apparently taken over 20 years to get to this condition – the restoration was done between other jobs.

There were also some interesting classics in the car parks – a VW Corrado G60, a mint condition 1952 Citroën Light Fifteen in what seems to be the traditional black, a huge ‘64 Jaguar Mk 10, also in black, and a near- future classic, a 1996 Rover 200 coupé – it’s been a while since I’ve seen either of the last two.

This quartet were among numerous classics brought along by visitors to the show, all adding to the garden party atmosphere of the day, which was greatly helped by the summer sunshine. The show wound down from about 4pm, with the village still buzzing with people, and it seemed that a grand day out was had by all – the gallery below will show you more of this delightful, and very English, event.