Once again both Silverstone’s National and new International Wing pits and paddock complexes will be maximised to house more than 800 of the world’s finest historic racing cars with a packed schedule of races all staged on the full Grand Prix circuit. Adding to the spectacle more than 7,000 classic cars will be displayed over the weekend on the infield with many hallowed marques celebrating important milestones in their evocative histories.

Other highlights include live rock concerts, a special star-studded celebrity race, air displays, a vintage fun fair, a host of retail opportunities and rally car rides plus the exciting new interactive AA World automotive theme park. With so much to experience at the Silverstone Classic, it’s no surprise that advance ticket sales are 31 per cent up on the same period last year – itself a record.

“The Silverstone Classic just gets bigger and better every year with even more for all ages to see and do,” confirmed Event Director Nick Wigley at today’s (Wednesday 9 May) media preview at Silverstone. “The quality and quantity of our grids and car club displays is second to none while our new partnership with the AA is playing a significant role in extending the event’s massive appeal to an even wider family audience. We thought last year’s blockbuster was going to be hard to match but, with so many unmissable highlights already confirmed, it’s clear that this summer’s festival is going to be the best yet.”

The corroded 1959 Mini was described by Bonhams as the oldest surviving unrestored car of its type. It beat the 37,950 pounds paid for a dark-blue 1950 Chieftain Silver Streak used by guitarist Richards at a time when the Rolling Stones recorded “Exile on Main Street” at his south of France home in the early 1970s.

Both cars were bought by private U.S. buyers at an auction at the RAF Museum in Hendon, England. Classic cars often get a premium if they have interesting stories attached to them, such as famous owners, years spent in storage before being discovered in original condition.

The Austin Mini Se7en De Luxe Saloon, registration number XLL 27, was the eighth car of its type to come off the production line at Longbridge in May 1959, three months before the official debut of the Mini on Aug. 26 of that year, according to correspondence from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust. It had a presale estimate of 12,000 pounds to 15,000 pounds.

The collection of 24 Lotuses consigned by Bonhams is owned by the Dutch textile magnate Olav Glasius, who in addition to being a collector is a vintage-racing enthusiast and the chairman of Lotus Club Holland.

The British sports-car marque will be this year’s featured brand at the Festival of Speed, an honor rendered somewhat inelegant by Lotus’s financial troubles. This month, Dany Bahar, chief executive of Lotus Cars, told Evo magazine that development of new models was being held up for three months as the company awaited either an infusion of cash or a sale by its Malaysian parent, Proton.

In a telephone interview, James Knight, the group motoring director of Bonhams, called the Glasius Collection “a tremendous selection of what Lotus is all about, with competition, road and concept cars.”

“There is no duplication in the Glasius Collection,” he added. “Each car is a bit of Lotus history.”

The sale includes cars dated to 1954, two years after Colin Chapman founded Lotus Engineering in North London. Racecars among them include a 1955 Lotus-MG Mk VIII Sports-Racing Two-Seater, one of just nine built, with six surviving, according to Bonhams. The Lotus-MG carries a preauction estimate of £120,000 to £150,000, roughly $191,000 to $238,000. Another two-seater, a 1956 Lotus-Climax 11 entered with Team Lotus and driven by Cliff Allison and Keith Hall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1956, is estimated to sell from £135,000 to £175,000.

Of the 12 racecars offered, however, a 1961 Lotus-Climax Type 18 Formula One car driven by Ian Burgess for Team Camoradi is expected to be the top seller, with an estimate from £175,000 to £225,000.

Three prototype or concept cars are to be offered as well, including a 1982 Lotus Etna V-8 Coupe concept, which is restored to operational order. The Etna appeared in 1984 at the British International Motor Show in Birmingham, England, but was never placed into production. Another fully operational concept owned by Mr. Glasius is a 1991 Lotus M200 Speedster concept, estimated to sell from £80,000 to £120,000.

Road cars make up the balance of the offerings from the collection and many are very low-mileage, left-hand-drive examples. They include a 1986 Lotus Esprit Turbo Coupe and a 1962 Lotus Elite Series II Coupe. Not without its quirky bits, the collection also includes a replica of the Thames Ford van used by Team Lotus in the early ’60s, which carries a preauction estimate of £15,000 to £20,000.

Bonhams expects the collection to bring £1.5 million.

I have absolutely no knowledge of this auction, car, or its owner. I have no vested interest in this. I just wish I could make that beauty mine!

According to the auction, “The Lanchester car company was owned by Daimler. The last Lanchester made was in 1957. This car was imported a few years ago. It is right hand drive. It has a Delaware title. The car was on the Isle of Mann till 1998. [The seller] bought her with 16000 miles on her. If you are over 6 feet tall, plenty of room. It has a pre select gear box which is kinda like a semi automatic. It is a 4 cylinder 2 litre motor.”

There is free entry between 10am and 4pm, during which any classic car owners can partake of light refreshments and the opportunity to see one of the largest manufacturer’s heritage collections in the UK.

Vauxhall’s Heritage Centre can be found on Park Street, Luton LU1 3HG, behind the main Griffin House headquarters on Osborne Road, where there is ample parking.

The annual Drive It Day, which is organized by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs, encourages owners and enthusiasts to take their own classic out on the road to celebrate motoring heritage at its finest.

It was launched to celebrate the Thousand Mile Trial in 1900 in which 64 cars set off from London on a three-week reliability test promoting the motor car and its reliability. All owners of non-modern cars are encouraged to take to the roads to demonstrate how many classics and interesting cars are still on the road today.

The company was established 21 years ago and held a party to celebrate the opening, with guests including Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez and Director of Works Service and Parts Operations, Kingsley Riding-Felce.

Riding-Felce said: “Aston Martin takes its heritage very seriously, and it is crucial that current and prospective owners of our Heritage models are able to receive the kind of levels of service and specialist knowledge that is expected of the Aston Martin brand.

“Up until now our heritage network has not had such prominence in London and it is wonderful to see Nicholas and his team investing so heavily in the future of Aston Martin’s Heritage business.”

Nicholas Mee added: “It seems essential to us that Aston Martin Heritage has a dedicated showroom in the heart of London. These premises will be London’s focal point for showing and dealing in these beautiful, collectable cars. Perfectly located at a central point between Heathrow and Mayfair, our new high street showrooms offer collectors, buyers and sellers an ideal environment to showcase their cars.”

Long-term MGB stalwart Barry Sidery-Smith and Julius Thurgood, founder and race director of the HRDC, hosted this special gathering at Goodwood, with the support of long-term HRDC sponsor CCK Historic. Guests included: works driver Alec Poole, BMC Competition Department guru Bill Price, BMC Competition Department Manager Peter Browning, BMC ‘Comps Shop’ Manager Basil Wales, BMC ‘Comps Shop’ mechanics Den Green and Brian Moylan, MG guru Malcolm Beer, veteran MGB racer Paul Campfield and MG historian John Baggott.

The Works MGB cars were not just on static display, but were put through their paces on the Goodwood circuit by Barry Sidery-Smith, Tony Dron and Paul Campfield, to the amazement of the many MG aficionados present, who all agreed that this was probably the first time that the four works cars had ever run together.

WORKS MGB COMPETITION CARS AT GOODWOOD:
  DRX255C – Le Mans car – Owner: Barry Sidery-Smith
  GRX307D – ‘Old Faithful’ Marathon de la Route car – Owner: Malcolm Beer
  BRX854B – Spa-Sophia-Liege rally car – Owner: Paul Campfield
  1964 #47 – Sebring car – Owner: Anthony Binnington

The HRDC MGB50 Series will consist of six rounds, each a 30-minute, single-driver race for pre-’66, FIA-specification MGB race cars, with an invitation class for historically important MGBs which do not comply to FIA Appendix ‘K’.

The first round of the series takes place at Castle Combe on 9 April 2012.

Further details and driver registrations can be obtained from either website:

www.hrdc.eu or www.mgb50.eu

Media & competition enquiries to:

JULIUS THURGOOD direct@juliusthurgood.co.uk

Tim Bryan and Stephen Laing from the Heritage Motor Centre are hoping to put more historic British cars on display.

Funding of £51,100 has been awarded to help the Trust progress their plans to apply for a full grant in 2012. If two more rounds are awarded building work on the new project could begin in 2013.

The Trust has a collection of almost 300 cars, telling the story of the motor industry in Britain from the 1890s to the present and although more than 160 of these vehicles can be seen on display at the Heritage Motor Centre, the rest of the collection remains hidden in store.

The project will allow people to see the whole collection for the first time in a purpose-built facility that will also include a vehicle restoration and conservation workshop.

In addition the Trust will launch a new volunteer programme allowing people to get more involved with the collection by helping with its conservation and interpretation and will also run a series of events and other activities as part of the project.

Tim Bryan, of the Heritage Motor Centre, said: “We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has pledged their support for our project which will help us make our collection far more accessible than before and enable people to learn more about the motor industry which has played such an important role in the West Midlands.”

The MG SV-R was supposed to be a sort of halo car to fill the bedroom walls of kids and empty the pockets of the gentlemen wanting a bit of ‘ugly but brutish’ in their driveway. With the chassis from another car you’ve never heard of, the Qvale Mangusta, and the 4.6-liter and 5-liter V8 engines from a Ford Mustang, this cocktail of all world was good for either 320 hp or 385 hp.

With strange looks and lack-luster performance figures, it’s no wonder that only 82 were ever sold, of which 42 were the SV-R version with 385 hp, like the one in the picture. However, that doesn’t mean that this particular one, which will go under the hammer early next month, isn’t worth your time.

Expected to fetch somewhere in the region of $55,000 (about €44,000), this example is a left-hand drive model that should make some lucky owner happy if he decided to buy it at the upcoming Silverstone Auctions on November 4, 2011.

It’s got lots of quills on the side, a badge few people will know outside Britain and track car looks, so there’s plenty of reasons to like it.

Bugeyeparts.com is a web site developed to assist people buying or selling used Austin Healey and MG parts and cars. There are thousands of people trying to sell or buy these classic cars and parts. The methods to advertise are limited and difficult. Ebay, Craigslist and AutoTrader have been primary choices but each comes with challenges of too many fees, spams and scams that are not only annoying but can be costly. Bugeyeparts.com has become the largest trading site for these items in the world. The customer base is growing and never-ending. Those who drive a British sports car are always going to be in the market for parts.

Bugeyeparts.com has had thousands of people visit the site looking for Austin Healey and MG specialized cars and parts; type search word, “bugeye parts” into “Google,” the company is in first position.

Gary De Roos, CEO, states, “We are very happy to have John Felts’ expertise with us to build and maintain websites like bugeyeparts.com. We are exploring self replicating sites with this model in other car industry sectors. John Felts site is like a Craigslist for Austin Healey, MG parts and cars with a very interactive community of enthusiasts. John Felts’ experience as being a pioneer in internet radio as well as building sites for KABC will only enhance our overall business model of success and growth into the future.”

New and used parts are what are found on bugeyeparts.com in addition to the popular cars for sale section. It’s free to place a classified ad and you need to become a member in order to do so. Thousands of people search through the ads monthly and members upload photos of their cars and trade technical advice.

Gary DeRoos, CEO, further states, “We believe that this recent stake in bugeyeparts.com will add to the bottom-line revenue numbers at Citadel EFT Inc. Additionally, as the Company’s CEO, I’m excited to announce another profitable fiscal year. We continue to grow our core business and customer base and we are proud to be a debt- free company.”

Bugeyeparts.com founder, John Felts, has been involved in advertising for over 25 years. In 1995 he co-founded ONRadio, a web development company that created over 650 top radio stations web sites including Dr. Laura and KABC. He went on to become Vice President of Sales with a small start up called Kerbango which was the first company to develop an Internet radio. He was instrumental in the company going public in 2000. After taking a 10 year “vacation” Mr. Felts has started bugeyeparts.com. Mr. Felts currently owns six Austin Healeys.

Citadel EFT Inc. cautions that the statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, and not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from the projections in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management at the time the statements are made.