Churchill Classic Car Show 2008
The Churchill Classic Car Show, in the Cotswolds, is a bi-annual event. This year's show was held on Sunday 8th June 2008. It was a sunny day and there were hundreds of classic and vintage cars packed into a field and all shining to perfection in the bright sunlight. You could imagine it was forty years ago and these cars were parked for a village fete.
People had their sun umbrellas and picnics lunches. There were tombolas, raffles, books and plant stalls and a jazz band that kept everyone's feet tapping. It was thirsty work out there in the sun, even the beer tent ran out of lager!
The classic car show is a typically British event, part of the summer season. There was a huge selection of vehicles from all eras on display, including many fine examples from the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Sports cars were well represented at Churchill, including the classic British sports cars made by MG, Jaguar, Triumph and Sunbeam. There were a number of classic car clubs represented at the show including the Oxfordshire MG Owners Club. A car club is the best way to find out information about classic cars if you are new to ownership. Clubs are also good for technical advice, but the main reason for joining a club is the events that they organise: shows, runs and club meetings.
At Churchill, there were prizes for the best pre-war and post-war cars. The judges must have had a difficult time. The winner of the best post-war car was an Austin 3 litre. The winning car was a superb example, finished in black with a beautiful walnut interior.
The Austin 3 Litre was the last of the big Austins. It was replacement for the A110 Westminster, which was a conventional six cylinder car of similar appearance to the Farina Austin Cambridge/Morris Oxford. The Austin 3 Litre had the same passenger cabin as the Austin 1800, but with a much higher standard of finish. It also had a longer nose and boot to the Austin 1800. The interior was in finished in walnut and leather and the car was usually supplied as an automatic.
The Austin 3 Litre did not sell well in the late 60s. It offered no more room than the much cheaper Austin 1800 and many buyers could not see the point of buying a more expensive car. Especially as the 1800S, with its B-series engine tuned to MGB levels, offered similar performance and more economy.
Also at the show were a number of big Austins illustrating the progress of the company's most prestigious model through the fifties and sixties.
This Austin Hereford, left, was the second generation of Austin's counties series, which began with the Devon and Hampshire. The Hereford was a scaled up version of the Somerset. The rounded, curvy look was typical of the early fifties' transition from vintage car to full width body styling. The Hereford could seat six passengers and had a top speed of 80mph.
Also at the show was the very rare and unusual Austin Atlantic. The Atlantic was Austin's attempt to make a car for the American market. They added plenty of chrome and two flying A badges. In spite of setting records for endurance, the Austin Atlantic was not a great success. (Austin Atlantic, right and dashboard, below)
Fast forward to the mid fifties and the Churchill Classic Car Show was graced by this very lovely Austin A105. The A105 was the top of Austin's range in the 50s. It was a high performance version of the six cylinder Austin A95 Westminster. The A105 had a tuned up engine with twin carburettors and a top speed of 96mph. There was some extra chrome trim to distinguish it from the Westminster, which also had a very respectable performance for the 50s. A small number of A105s were given a special treatment by coachbuilders Vanden Plas at Kingsbury in London. They had a luxurious interior with a walnut facia, leather seats and deep pile carpets. These cars were the inspiration for the Vanden Plas Princess.
This beautiful Vanden Plas Princess is a superb example of BMC's flagship car from the sixties. It is a successor to those specially converted A105s from the fifties. The final incarnation of the breed was the Vanden Plas 4 Litre R, with a 4 litre Rolls Royce engine. It was intended to be the the most luxurious car you could buy for under £2000, the limit for a company perk in those days. Although it had a good top speed and was very posh, it did not sell in the numbers expected by BMC at the time. The whole Westminster/Princess range was finally replaced by the Austin 3 Litre.
Steam car
One of the more unusual vehicles at the Churchill Classic Car Show was this steam car, right. It was made recently as you can see from the registration plate, but is reviving an old idea. Steam was at one time a rival for petrol powered cars. Perhaps this is the car of the future....
The Churchill Classic Car Show will return in 2010.