JustBritish

RM Auctions, the world’s largest collector car auction house for quality automobiles, is now on the countdown to its inaugural sale at London’s Salon Privé luxury car show and Concours d’Elegance on 23rd June, 2011. The sale, which is only open to British-built automobiles, has attracted fifty-seven stunning examples of ‘Quintessentially English’ cars including some significant collections of Aston Martin, Jaguar and Rolls Royce automobiles.

Max Girardo, Managing Director, RM Europe says, “What is nice about this sale is that we have selected some genuinely rare and interesting cars and motorcycles while also offering a very comprehensive selection of British marques that represent a wide cross-section of some of the best loved and most keenly collected models.”

The star Rolls Royce lot is unquestionably the unique and historic 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Experimental Sports Tourer, ‘10 EX’, the first prototype Phantom I Continental to be fitted with sports body ‘torpedo’ coachwork by Barker. This unusually rakish and sporting pre-war Rolls has a fascinating and well-documented history and is estimated to fetch between £400,000 – £800,000. It is fitting that in Rolls-Royce’s centenary year, the iconic British manufacturer is represented in the sale by a total of nine exquisite examples, ranging from an1924 Rolls-Royce 20 HP Open Tourer (Estimate: £60,000 – £85,000) to a late 1993 Rolls-Royce Corniche IV Cabriolet (Estimate: £58,000 – £70,000). Other Rolls’ highlights include a 1926 Rolls Royce Phantom I Tourer with coachwork by Smith & Waddington (Estimate: £100,000 – £140,000), once driven by Prince Michael of Kent during a visit to Australia, and a desirable 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Drophead Coupé, (Estimate: £380,000 – £420,000), one of just three produced with attractive Freestone & Webb coachwork.
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I have to admit it, I am a die-hard fan for the BMC 1100 family of cars. Say what you want about the British Motor Corporation, BMC, and its later incarnation BLMC, British Leyland Motor Corporation, these were innovative cars. This includes the MG1100 Sports Sedan, MG 1300, Austin America, Morris 1100, Vanden Plas Princess and even Wolseleys! To that end I want to call your attention to the fantastic site by my friend Todd Miller at AustinAmericaUSA.com. Not only does he have repair information, historical details, and an Austin America registry, but he also has reproduced some hard to find parts such as rubber vent window inserts.

Oh, and want something really wild? He has been in personal contact with Dr. Alex Moulton, the inventor of the revolutionary hydrolastic suspension system used in these cars. Some of the emails back and forth before them are reproduced on his site. Don’t worry that the site is named for the Austin America, Todd supports the MG 1100 and all the other varieties as well.

A Mini mad student has photographed one of the original cars back at the plant where it was built 50 years ago – alongside an engineer who worked on the first prototype. For the last project for his University of Derby BA (Hons) Commercial Photography degree course Simon Thompson took his own 1960 model Mini – one of the first sold – back to the Longbridge Plant in Birmingham where it was built.

Simon photographed his car at the plant alongside Doug Adams, 91, who worked on the Mini prototype alongside its creator Sir Alec Issigonis, when the two men became friends. Doug still lives on the Longbridge Estate in Birmingham, established by the Austin motor company at the end of the First World War.

The photos by Simon will be on public display at the University’s Markeaton Street site in Derby as part of its annual Degree Shows, which began on Saturday (June 4) and runs until Saturday June 11. Hundreds of students’ work in crafts, fashion, textiles, fine art, film, design, theatre, visual communications, architecture, music technology, creative expressive therapies and art therapy will be on display for the public to come and see for free at the University’s Markeaton Street and Britannia Mill sites in Derby, and elsewhere.

Simon, 25, originally of Henllan in Wales, said: “I’ve always been interested in Minis. My dad used to race them and when I learned to drive I bought a 1960 model. “I learnt about the history of the Mini’s production. Two years ago I was at an event at the Heritage Motor Centre for British cars, in Gaydon, in Warwickshire, when I met Doug and heard all about the car’s early design. “We kept in touch and, when I was putting together my degree project, it seemed only natural to get Doug into the photos of where it all began.” Doug added: “It was interesting to see how the plant had changed. I remember being there with Sir Alec Issigonis, who was quite a character.” Simon was helped with his project by MG Motor UK Ltd. It is now based at the Longbridge site and gave him access to the original Mini factory site, much of which is still standing.

Ian Pogson, MG Motor UK Ltd’s Chief Engineer (After Sales Engineering), said: “MG Motor UK is well aware of its proud past associated with the Mini and Sir Alec Issigonis, and has preserved some original Minis in a small museum which also includes Lord Austin’s office.

“We were able to allow Simon very special access to these areas and for Doug Adams to once again walk into the old Mini Design Studio. Simon was able to photograph his Mini alongside the assembly line of the recently launched MG6, causing quite a stir amongst our assembly team.”

The University of Derby is also proud to be part of Universities UK-led Universities Week, which will run from June 13 to 19, 2011. It will be getting involved with national activities highlighting the surprising links and relationships that universities have with the people and businesses in their local communities, of which this story is just one example.

On a recent Saturday, Blaine Benson sifted through a folder of documents, the remains of a road trip taken 40 years ago. Among the ephemera were Pan Am airline tickets, ferry receipts, invoices for car repairs and a mileage log, handwritten on white notepad pages.

“It’s the family story,” Mr. Benson, a computer systems engineer, said of the archive. It is the chronicle of a continent-crossing journey, stretching nearly equator to pole, that his parents once made in a 1962 MGB roadster.

“My dad had a thing for sports cars,” Mr. Benson, 41, said. “He had a Triumph TR3. He was a bit of a car freak.”

Mr. Benson’s father, Skip, bought the MGB
in 1967 for about $1,000 in Puerto Rico, where he and his wife, Barbara, were training Peace Corps volunteers. When their work contract expired later that year, the family — Joel, Blaine’s older brother, was born during that time — travelled to Nome, Alaska, where Skip was going to work for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Read the full story of Mr. Benson and the 1962 MGB over at The New York Times. But before you go, tell us something about your companion and automotive member of the family. What cars have transcended transportation for you and become integral to the story of your travel itself?

You may think of the French as producing the most strikingly streamlined cars of the 1930s, in lyric teardrop bodies hammered out with doses of Italian style and German science. But in his book “Art Deco and British Car Design: The Airline Cars of the 1930s“, Barrie Down reminds us that streamline design was the rage among car buffs everywhere in the ’30s, even in upright, country-house, Evelyn Waugh Britain.

Mr. Down reminds us that at the same time streamline cars were going on the market, ocean liners and trains were being streamlined, the better to compete with the nascent airline industry. His book also reminds us that the automobile industry of the time in Britain had yet to embrace mass production. Cars were sold to the few, and the sellers were coachbuilders as much as chassis or engine makers.

To compete, each British car company had to offer a version of the season’s fashionable cut, and so each one presented an airline or streamline body or two. The resulting cars are rare, with wonderful names like the Triumph Gloria Flow-Free and the Riley Kestrel.

Many of these companies would not survive. But there are also glimpses of the future. We meet the young William Lyons, who impressed a man named William Walmsley. Together, their Swallow Sidecar company moved from teardrop add-ons for motorcycles to aero bodies for popular auto chassis. Swallow became Jaguar, of course, and two decades later produced more serious streamlining, driven by aerodynamics and racing.

“Art Deco and British Car Design: The Airline Cars of the 1930s” by Barrie Downs was published in December of 2010 by Veloce Publishing. It is a gorgeous book of 144 pages with a suggested retail of $44.95.

Hagerty, those fine purveyors of classic car insurance, have put together their list of the top ten British cars that you should buy now – before their values go up even higher. While they are all fantastic, of course, I am not sure I totally agree with the ones they include, nor especially the ones Hagerty left off.

Much like the earlier mentioned contest for the “Best British Sport Car”, this is a fun list to fight over more than anything. I don’t know of anyone who would actually use this as their shopping list. And if there were someone with that kind of money, they probably already have that list in their head anyway.

So, what do you think of the list? What would you put on that isn’t listed, or take off that is here?

1968-2006 Morgan Plus 8: An aluminum V8 in a car similar to an MG TF is a recipe for big fun, and the Moggie delivers. Recently out of production and always in demand, there’s nowhere to go but up. $35,000-$65,000

1978-79 TVR 3000S roadster: A bit obscure, but this car really has it all–great looks, a sophisticated tube chassis and plenty of power via a 2.9-liter Ford V6. Low production numbers mean a potentially long search, but this is one vehicle that’s bound to appreciate in the long run. $16,000-$20,000

1967-74 Lotus Elan +2: One of if not the only case of the 2+2 coupe being prettier than the roadster, the Elan +2 might well be the prettiest collector car you can buy for less than $25,000. Rare, from a storied marque, quick and very attractive make a good proposition for future appreciation. $15,000-$22,000

1977-80 Lotus Esprit S1-S2: Another Lotus, this one the wedge-icon Esprit by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Good enough for 007 to use in several outings, Esprits are the supercar bargain and are not likely to stay inexpensive forever. $12,000-$15,000

1995-2004 Aston Martin DB7: The DB7 sits on the cusp between used car and collectible–it’s finished depreciating, and nearly anything Aston Martin has been hot in the collector-car market of late. Hold time may be a bit longer, but it seems a relative certainty for collectability. Opt for a manual-transmission coupe. $26,000-$60,000

1989-2000 Aston Martin Virage: The DB7′s predecessor was a hand-built car in the tradition of the David Brown-era cars. It’s big, brawny and fast and stands out as undervalued among Astons and supercars in general. Like the DB7, a manual-transmission coupe is the way to go. $35,000-$70,000

Triumph TR8: Sub-$15,000 V8 roadsters are thin on the ground these days. While the wedge styling of the TR8 is a bit polarizing and quality-control issues were legendary, survivors have been sorted out and can be quite entertaining. $9,000-$15,000

Jensen Interceptor: A British interior complete with Connolly leather and a polished walnut dash, Italian styling by Vignale and a Chrysler 440 V8 can only be a Jensen Interceptor. These cars are worth twice in the U.K. what they’re bringing now in the United States. This situation won’t last indefinitely. Buy one right now. $15,000-$25,000

Alvis TD/TF21: Relatively unknown in the States, the Alvis TS21 has the same upper-crust British look as a Rolls-Royce or a Bentley, but with available ZF five-speed gearboxes and wire wheels, it’s much more sporting. The cars generally are priced at about half of what you’d think to look at them. $25,000-$50,000

Jaguar E-type SIII: Some people compare the SIII E-type to the 1970s version of Elizabeth Taylor. Still, the complex V12 SIII has its merits. Anything else with a V12 in front, wire wheels and a manual transmission will set you back more than $600,000. Prices have been on the rise lately. $25,000-$65,000