CAR STUDDED CLASSIC SHOW AT BIRMINGHAM NEC

The NEC in Birmingham was the venue for the UK’s biggest and best Classic Motor Show from 14-16th November 2014 and for the first time I decided to make the trip over in the hope that I would see some shiny, some rare and some very collectable cars. I wasn’t to be disappointed. First of all the size of the show and the variety of cars on show was on a scale that we simply don’t have in Northern Ireland.  There was no shortage of rare marques on display from Alvis, Allard and Jowett Jupiter to Bristol, De Tomaso and Tatra (to mention but a few). There was so many appealing cars to look at that I was like a child in a sweet shop when I walked in, wanting to sample everything on display. As well as the stunning variety of cars on display there were also plent y of interesting characters to talk to, each one passionate about their particular vehicle (or vehicles) and each one keen to tell the story of their ownership experience. I was soon very glad that I had decided to go for two days as I quickly realised that the prospect of doing the show justice and covering everything that I wanted to see in one day would be virtually impossible.

Obviously I was interested in the Italian marques and Italian beauties were in plentiful supply. The Alfa Romeo Owners Club had an interesting selection of 10 cars there ranging from older classics like the Alfa Giulia Sprint GTC  to the modern and instant classic that is the 4C. Adjacent to the Alfa display was the De Tomaso stand – any De Tomaso is a rare sight but on the stand there was an ultra rare De Tomaso Vallelunga from 1968 which I had never seen. With only 53 production cars ever built the Vallelunga is a  mid-engined , rear wheel drive sports car produced by De Tomaso from 1964 until 1968 and was the predecessor to the De Tomaso Mangusta.

Looking across the hall and I was amazed at the range and quality of Maseratis on display. It was without doubt my favourite stand and clearly the judges thought the same as Maserati was awarded the best large stand at the show – an award that was richly deserved.  Maserati is one of the most historic and hallowed motoring marques in the world. Since being founded in 1914 the company quickly achieved legendary status on the world’s racetracks and roads.Victories in the early Targa Florio and Mille Miglia classic races were followed in the fifties by countless sportscar triumphs at venues such as Sebring and the Nurburgring plus two Formula One World Championship titles with the great Juan Manuel Fangio. Over the past 100 years, Maserati has also produced some of the world’s fastest and most desirable sports and luxury road cars and what better place to showcase such an amazing pedigree both on and off the racetrack than with a stunning display at the NEC.   I particularly coveted some of the stunning road cars such as the Mexico, Mistral, Khamsin, Quattroporte, Bora,  Indy, Sebring and the rare and exquisite 5000 GT.

Bizzarrini, Lancia, Fiat, Abarth, Lamborghini and Ferrari were also well represented and some of the Ferraris for sale were amongst the most appealing at the show. My favourites were the 250 SWB and the 275 GTB.  If you fancied bagging a bargain at the show there was always the Silverstone Classic  auction. There was no shortage of interesting vehicles to tempt prospective buyers over the two day auction.  As well as a selection of Ferrari 308’s, including a number of rare “Vetroresina”(fibre glass bodywork) examples (one of them previously owned by Mohammed El Fayed) there was a 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, a Ferrari 328 GTS, a 512 TR, an Alfa Romeo GT Junior 1300 and a rare 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500S Pininfarina Cabriolet. There was also an adorable 1959 Fiat Abarth 750 Zagato which was affectionately known as the “double bubble” – it sold for just shy of £60k.

There were so many show highlights that it is impossible to cover them all but it is evident that the show gets bigger and better every year. I enjoyed poking around the autojumble section and looking for some model car bargains as well as doing a bit of celebrity spotting over the course of the weekend . The usual suspects were there – Mike Brewer, Ed China and Quentin Wilson and I even got to have  a chat with Fuzz Townsend of Car SOS fame.

I’ve included some of the photos that I took while at the show and you’ll forgive me if I have focused primarily on a selection of Italian cars  – it is after all the Italian Motor Club website!!

Tim Logan

Club Secretary