Bicester Heritage welcomes the unofficial start of the classic car “season”

Sunday April 27^th was “Drive It Day” in the UK, something started back in 2005 by the British Historic Vehicle Club to celebrate the One Thousand Mile Trial held in 1900.

The idea of the “One Thousand Mile Trial” way back then was to demonstrate the viability of the motor car – I think the case has since been proven! The much more modern “Drive It Day” is besides mentioned celebration not least designed to encourage classic car owners to get their treasured classics out of storage and out on the roads and in effect marks the unofficial start of the classic “season”. Each year it supports a chosen charity – this year it was Childline, an organisation set up to provide help, support or assurance for children in need.

Lots of classic car events are held across the country on this day and I attended the Bicester Scramble held at what is now called Bicester Motion (previously Bicester Heritage), the former WW2 RAF bomber training station that first re-opened in 2013 and has since got bigger and bigger, creating a major centre for historic motor and aviation engineering.

Sunday’s event was probably one of the biggest of the day in all of the UK, with over 1500 cars and 6000 people attending; indeed, some feel that Bicester events have become both too big and too expensive, but I have to say that they attract a huge range of classics and the fact that many of the on-site workshops open their doors adds to the appeal, and tickets continue to sell out fast – this Scramble sold out in just a few days.

Thankfully, Sunday was a lovely Spring day, the morning sun glinting off the long line of cars queuing to get in as I arrived in my 280CE – the 911 is still in car hospital. Either side of me were a BMW E30 M3 and a dark blue Triumph GT6, and after a coffee, I set off to see what delights I could find – with some 1500 cars parked around the site, it’s impossible to mention everything, so here are my personal highlights.

I have to start with what was for me the Car of the Day – an utterly fabulous 1968 Lamborghini 400GT in dark blue, with the perfect number plate; LAM 1. I last saw this stunning car at Brooklands almost exactly six years ago. For me, the proportions are perfect, and while it’s obviously a very powerful car (for its time, with 325bhp), it’s also very elegant, especially the rear, a characteristic I think it shares with the BMW E9. According to the owner, he’s aware of only one other in the UK, so it was a rare treat to see it here.

Almost as special – some would argue, more so – were a pair of 1930’s Alfa Romeo’s; a supercharged two-tone blue 1934 8C 2300 Monza that was due to take part in a 1000km Mille Miglia warm up event in a few weeks’ time. It made a glorious sound as it was driven in. The other was also an 8C 2300 from the same year, in dark blue, one of only 188 produced for regular road use. Seeing rare and valuable cars like these, and the Lamborghini 350GT, driven in to the event and parked just randomly alongside other more ordinary classics – and yes, in this context, the lovely E9 next to the blue 8C is relatively ordinary – is one of the joys of an event like this.

I have to mention the amazing turnout of Lancia Montecarlo’s, assembled to celebrate 50 years of the model and arranged in rows by colour and completed with a pair of dramatic 037 Rally recreations in Martini colours – they made quite a sight, and that so many showed up was a tribute to the owners’ club, the Lancia Montecarlo Consortium. I’ve always liked them, just not quite enough to actually want one.

At the risk of making this sound like only Italian classics were present, there were many more, so let’s stick with that country, and enjoy a gallery of Ferrari’s, Lancia’s, FIAT’s and yes, more Alfa’s. The 1978 Dino 308GT in dark blue (an unusual colour for one of these) alongside a silver ’83 400i made a striking pair – two more straight-edged designs from Bertone and Pininfarina. A lovely Fulvia HF and a very pretty orange FIAT 124 Spider as well as a delightful and delicate 1958 Alfa Giulietta Sprint Veloce in pale blue in a row of other lovelies caught the eye, and there were plenty more Italian beauties on show, as you will see in the end gallery.

There was a good showing of American classics from the 1950s through to the 1980s, including a 1958 6.3-litre Oldsmobile Super 88, a blue with white roof 1960 6.4-litre Pontiac Catalina and a novelty for me, a 1958 South African-built and therefore RHD Pontiac Strato Chief with a relatively modest 4.7-litre unit – turns out this was the car’s first UK outing since being brought into the country. These had enough chrome to keep a small army of polishers busy.

There were plenty of traditional British sports cars scattered around the site, with lots of classic show stalwarts such as MGB’s, Triumph Stags, Austin Healeys as well as any number of “unexceptional” classics. Surely no car is more unexceptional than a Morris Marina? It has to be said that the orange one displayed a lot of patina…as did the many shades of orange 1974 Audi 80LS, which seemed to have had different panels painted at different times. The Austin Metro is certainly unexceptional but this one was far from unassuming in it’s vivid Applejack Green; this 1981 example is apparently one of only 10 standard Metro’s left in the UK, and the only useable one in Applejack.

More ordinariness could be found in the shapes of an orange 1978 Mazda 323 and a basic 1975 Austin Allegro 1100 in white, and surely no car is more understated than a VW Polo, also celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year, but unlike the Montecarlo’s, much more quietly, at Bicester, at any rate.

Among the classics that I considered really cool were the spectacular metallic green BMW 633CSi – a great colour on a superb car, one of my favourites on the day – and the 1977 Renault 16TL, also in metallic green but a very different shade! The E24 isn’t particularly rare here, but the Renault 16 is an uncommon sight, with fewer than 100 on UK roads. I’d have either of these two in a heartbeat.

A few other notables…the ultra-luxurious, extravagantly-equipped 1997 (so still a “youngtimer”) V12 Toyota Century made quite a contrast to the modest 1979 Lancia Beta 1300 next to it, but one thing they have in common in the UK is their rarity – 23 Century’s are currently licensed for UK roads, while about 50 or so of Lancia’s saloon remain, more than one might think considering it’s reputation.

The Bristol 406 SWB Zagato in a very smart two-tone blue colour scheme seems to be one of a small number of examples built with “leftover” Zagato bodies from a venture between Zagato and former racing driver and owner of the Bristol Cars showroom in Kensington at the time, Tony Crook. This one has been seen on the track at Silverstone and for me is the prettiest of the few examples I’ve seen, with elements of the DB4 Zagato and Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato in its rounded lines.

I don’t remember seeing an Alpine GTA convertible before and can’t seem to find any reference to such a model, so I’m assuming this striking metallic red example was a one-off conversion. I’m not sure I liked it, but it’s certainly different.

This was one of the best Bicester Scrambles I’ve been to, and I could write another 500-plus words about the day, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so what follows below is about 50,000 words worth…