Little Classics News: 11 January 2015

Classics Steal the Show at Autosport International

Yet again, Autosport International, held from 8th to 12th January, attracted thousands to the NEC in Birmingham seeking parts, advice, services and entertainment around many aspect of motorsport. Yet throughout all the latest technology and machines, it was the cars of the past that drew the biggest interest.

Alongside classic rally cars, vintage custom dragsters and even a few classics from the prestigious history of Le Mans and F1, Coys drew in big crowds (below) for a tempting selections of classic cars for their special auction.

Amongst the vehicles on sale were a few machines from Channel 4’s For the Love of Cars, with Philip Glenister and Ant Anstead hoping for some strong results from their most recent restorations. Of course, there are no spoilers here, so you’ll have to wait until series two starts soon.

One of our favourites from the show included Lister’s new reborn classic(above), echoing the famous and hugely successful Lister knobbly. Celebrating Lister’s 60th anniversary, the reborn ‘Knobbly’ is built to the very same specification as the original 1958 ‘Knobbly’, using the late Brian Lister’s original drawings and manufacturing jigs. It’s even powered by a race-prepared Jaguar D-Type 3.8-litre straight-six, producing 330bhp.

Over the last couple of years Alvis have also been giving birth to one of their famous cars of the past, with the Alvis 4.3 Litre Continuation Series (above) – bringing the 1930s back to life, but with the benefit of a few modern tweaks, such as fuel injection, to ensure they’re meeting all the regulations required to become road registered.

Classic Team Lotus (above) also stood out, bringing four historic racing cars together for the first time - all from the Jim Clark era, celebrating his clean sweep 50 years on. It was in 1965 Jim Clark won the Indianapolis 500 in the Lotus type 38; he took the Formula One World Driver Championship in the Lotus type 33; the Formula Two Championship in the Lotus type 35; and even the Tasman Championship in the Lotus type 32B.

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