Car valuation specialist CAP HPI has given the new Range Rover Evoque a glowing prediction in terms of its residual (resale) values.
Get into a new top-of-the-range Evoque and it’s predicted that, after three years, it will retain 67 percent of its list price. That puts it on par with a Ferrari 488.
That’s good news for consumers. The more money a car holds after a three-year PCP finance deal, for example, the less the manufacturer has to charge per month to cover the depreciation.
Good residuals = great deals
The new Range Rover Evoque starts from £31,600. In that form, it’s predicted to hold 63 percent of its value after three years or 36,000 miles. That means it can be offered for £245 per month
The headline 67 percent residual figure belongs to the high-spec D180 AWD S. It starts from £39,000 – or a competitive £371 per month.
Styling-wise, the new Evoque isn’t an enormous departure from its predecessor, and that’s no bad thing. Land Rover’s best-seller has evolved nicely, adopting certain features from the Velar, as well as the larger Range Rover models. Mild hybrid tech has also brought the Evoque bang up to date in terms of performance and emissions.
“The new Range Rover Evoque is an improvement on Land Rover’s biggest selling model in the UK every way,” said Jaguar Land Rover UK MD, Rawdon Glover.
“It’s more refined, with relevant and clever technology, features our cleanest petrol and diesel engines ever, and achieves lower running costs.
“All of that means that not only is it incredibly desirable, but it’s also a very logical choice for buyers too. With these class-leading residual values, new mild hybrid powertrains and excellent finance offers, buyers could be saving hundreds of pounds a month when compared with competitor models.”
Prices for the new 2019 Mazda 3 start from £20,595 and it arrives at UK dealers in May. The all-new car is open for ordering now, initially as a five-door hatchback, with a four-door saloon launched later in the year.
Mazda’s rival to the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf is offered with a simple two-engine range at launch – one petrol, one diesel. An advanced Skyactiv-X motor also arrives later in the year: this revolutionary engine is world-first technology from Mazda.
The new Mazda 3 is available in five trim lines. All are well equipped: Mazda says very few people bought base-spec versions of the old car, so it has lifted equipment levels (and entry-level prices) to reflect this.
Every new Mazda 3 is therefore equipped with a head-up display, LED headlights, radar-controlled active cruise control, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. An improved 8.8-inch Mazda Connect infotainment display is also standard across the range.
2019 Mazdas 3 variants open with SE-L and SE-L Lux, moving to Sport Lux, GT Sport and GT Sport Tech. Mazda expects Sport Lux and GT Sport to be the best-sellers (full prices are below).
Two engines
Engine choice is a 122hp 2.0-litre Skyactiv-G petrol or a 116hp 1.8-litre Skyactiv-D diesel. Barely more than 5 percent of buyers will choose the diesel which, like the petrol, is available as a manual or automatic across the range.
The diesel averages up to 56.5mpg via the new WLTP combined fuel economy test, and emits as little as 107g/km CO2. It takes 10.3 seconds to reach 62mph from rest, although the auto is a lot slower, doing it in 12.1 seconds.
Most buyers will pick the petrol. This comes, as standard, with a Mazda M 24V mild hybrid system. This converts brake energy into electricity, stored in a high-capacity lithium ion battery, to boost the engine under acceleration.
The tech helps take the load off the petrol engine, improving fuel consumption. It also gives an electrical ‘boost’ at lower speeds, giving it more pulling power and better responses. 0-62mph takes 10.4 seconds and the 122mph top speed is almost identical to the diesel.
Petrol engine buyers also get cylinder deactivation as standard. When cruising, two cylinders are shut down, imperceptibly, to save fuel. The 2.0-litre motor averages up to 45.6mpg on the combined cycle and emits 117g/km CO2.
Sport focus
Standard Mazda 3 come with 16-inch alloy wheels, while Sport Lux grades and up have 18-inch dark grey metallic wheels. The sporty versions are also marked out by rear privacy glass and piano black window trims.
The only option on the 2019 Mazda 3 range is paint colour; all other features come as standard as part of the five trim lines. Mazda is proud of its new Bose premium audio system, for example – this is standard on GT Sport models.
As for the price difference between diesel and petrol, diesel versions carry a £1,800 premium, despite petrol coming as standard with the mild hybrid tech. Automatics cost £1,300 more than manual on petrol models, £1,340 on diesels.
New research has revealed which times of day are most dangerous for driving, in terms of the risk of having an accident.
The actual time it’s most dangerous to drive is the first 10 minutes after 5pm. It’s when many road users are perilously determined to get home from work. Add to that the sheer volume of cars taking to the road, and the risks are self-evident.
Of course, rush hour is any time between four and six in the evening. Yet the figures show that one in six prangs during that two-hour period happen within this 10-minute window. That’s 16 percent of accidents within an 8.3 percent window of time. Leaving just 10 minutes later can, according to AX research, halve your chances of being involved in an incident.
School-run troubles
The second most dangerous time to drive is during the school-run period, between 2pm and 4pm, when 16.04 percent of accidents happen. This compares with 17.47 percent for between 4pm and 6pm.
Between 3pm and 3:10 is the second most dangerous window. That’s unsurprising, with cars flooding the roads on the way to and from picking up young ones. No doubt, some of those young ones will be provide a significant distraction from the job of driving, too…
“It is little surprise to see the majority of accidents take place during the afternoon and evening hours when many of us are busy trying to get home or rushing to pick up our kids,” said Scott Hamilton-Cooper, director of sales and operations at AX.
Treacherous conditions
Of course, existing dangers are only exacerbated when things get dark and slippery. As such, accident rates are reported to rise around 7.4 percent during the winter months.
Rear-end collisions make up 34 percent of traffic incidents during winter. Keep a sensible gap between you and the car in front, as stopping distances increase markedly in cold conditions.
Aston Martin, or rather, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer, has revealed more photos of Project 003, the third mid-engined hypercar from the British luxury brand. And all before the first example of ‘001′ – the Valkyrie – has arrived on its owner’s drive.
Still, Aston’s ambition in recent years has always been followed up with action. Thus we’re confident the company is well on its way to bringing a three-tier hypercar range to production.
What will its rivals be?
We say ‘hypercar’ because, in spite of being somewhat junior compared to the Valkyrie, Project 003 will still be contemporary with the upcoming McLaren P1 successor, Ferrari’s latest and greatest supercar – plus any other challengers not up to the God-like loft of the Valkyrie.
It won’t be a series production car either, with a 500-unit production run rumoured.
A baby Valkyrie?
As the teaser image shows, it takes a great deal of inspiration from ‘001’, with shrink-wrapped super-smooth bodywork, slim aggressive lights and a cockpit to make a fighter jet canopy look porky. Also evident is a serious, Valkyrie-inspired rear diffuser.
Project 003 will join the Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren 600LT twins in the exclusive upward-facing exhaust club. Two tailpipes are clearly visible above where the engine will be.
What engine will it have?
We can pretty much guarantee the Valkyrie’s Cosworth-developed 11,000rpm V12 will not be making its way into any other cars. As such, what will power Project 003 is a bit of a mystery, aside from the fact it’ll be turbocharged.
Both V6 and V8 powertrains have been speculated upon. A V12 related to the 5.2-litre unit found in the DB11 and DBS is unlikely for packaging reasons. They need to squeeze hybrid bits in there too, you know…
Will it be at the Geneva Motor Show?
THE WAIT IS NEARLY OVER. 003 will be the 3rd mid-engined hypercar to be developed by @astonmartin after the Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro. Project 003 has its DNA deeply rooted in concepts & technology currently being developed for those revolutionary road and track-only machines pic.twitter.com/v3PLDGZuuO
It’s rumoured a prototype will make its way to Geneva. Indeed, Andy Palmer’s Tweet accompanying the teaser image opens with “the wait is nearly over”. A concrete date for the production car debut still isn’t certain.
As for a long-term timeline, we’d be surprised if customers weren’t taking delivery within two years.
Volkswagen has announced its response to a hard Brexit and, unfortunately, customers will feel it first. For anyone who ordered for a new Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda or Porsche after 1 February, a 10 percent price increase could be on the cards.
Customers do, however, have the opportunity to terminate their order free of charge in response to the potential price hike.
No-deal car import tax
It’s all to do with delivery windows, the possibility (probability, now?) of a no-deal Brexit and tariffs on imported goods thereafter.
Volkswagen has therefore warned its customers that a 10 percent price increase could be levied on cars entering the UK after the split with the EU goes through.
This follows leaked news several days ago that Porsche would pass similar costs on to customers. We can now confirm the same also goes for fellow VW Group brands, Seat and Skoda.
As for Audi, a spokesperson has said that “Audi UK will price-protect all orders until further notice.”
“We strive to keep customers as informed as possible during the buying process,” said a Volkswagen UK representative.
“This includes being clear on any potential changes outside of our control that may affect the price of the car they’re interested in purchasing. So customers will be given the opportunity, free of charge, to cancel their order should prices increase as a result of import duty changes.
“It is important to remember in all this that transaction price, and indeed the sale (in a retail environment), are agreed between the dealer and customer. However, we have reminded our networks of the importance of being transparent with their customers on any of our price protection policies which may have an impact on their sale.”
While Jeep promises it will be the most capable version of the trusty Wrangler yet, prices are certainly more luxury than utilitarian in value.
Entry-level Sahara specification two-door Wranglers will cost £44,865, rising all the way to the range-topping four-door Rubicon model at £48,365. Curiously, pricing is the same regardless of which engine choice you plump for.
Hell yeah and Hellayella
Diesel fans will receive a 2.2-litre MultiJet II four-cylinder engine, producing 200hp and a respectable 332lb-ft of torque. A 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo unit is the petrol choice, with 272hp and 295lb-ft.
Both versions receive an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard, connected to a full-time four-wheel-drive system. The pricier Rubicon version gains an uprated ‘Rock-Trac’ 4WD setup, in comparison to the Sahara and Overland-spec Wranglers.
All Wranglers come with an 8.4-inch multimedia touchscreen, featuring satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and an eight-speaker Alpine audio system. A rear-view camera and parking sensors are also part of the deal.
There is also a choice of ten exterior colours, including the wonderfully named Hellayella and Punk’n Metallic options.
All new Wranglers come with Jeep’s 5-3-5 package. This offers a five-year vehicle warranty, three-year servicing programme, and five years of roadside assistance.
The new Wrangler is live on the UK configurator, giving plenty of opportunities to create the Jeep of your dreams. Even if cruising along the British seaside is not quite the same as living out fantasies of sun-drenched California highways…
There is still one piece of news we are waiting on though. Confirmation that the wonderful Jeep Gladiator pickup truck will come to the UK, and how much it will cost. We’re waiting, Jeep.
Just occasionally, a car manufacturer will wander off-piste, surprising the world with something a little unexpected. Like turning up at a goth festival dressed as Hello Kitty. OK, so maybe not that leftfield, but here are some examples of cars built when a manufacturer wandered down an untrodden path.
BMW i3
The i3 wasn’t BMW’s first electric car – that accolade belongs to the 1602e of 1972 – but it was the company’s first production EV. It looked quite unlike anything like BMW had built before, while bringing a new breed of premium buyers to the electric car segment. For BMW purists, it seemed to fly in the face of the ‘ultimate driving machine’ proposition, but a near 50:50 weight distribution, rear-wheel drive and whippet-like off-the-line pace meant that it was more on-brand than it first appeared. A few years later, BMW ventured even further off the beaten track, when it launched its first front-wheel-drive car. But we’re not including the 2 Series Active Tourer, because while it might be leftfield (for BMW), it’s not what you’d call cool.
Ferrari FF
FF – Ferrari Four. Four, as in four seats. But, more importantly, four, as in four-wheel drive. This was Ferrari’s first foray into the world of four-wheel drive, with a car that offered space for four people and their luggage, and enough power to get to the top of a ski slope before those who took the plane had collected their oversized baggage from the airport carousel. The FF was also the first and only V12 supercar to sport a seven-speed dual clutch F1 transmission. Seven years on from its launch, it looks and feels less radical, but at the time it caused quite a stir.
Honda NSX
Honda didn’t build supercars. Honda built small cars, hatchbacks and saloons. So, in 1990, the arrival of the NSX was a little like turning up at the station to catch the 8.20 stopping service to Waterloo only to find the Japanese bullet train waiting at the platform. Sure, in typical Honda fashion, the NSX was a useable, everyday supercar – with touch of Ayrton Senna for good measure – but it allowed a brand most famous for the Civic and Accord to rub shoulders with the supercar elite.
Hyundai i30N
To the average car enthusiast, looking at a Hyundai is akin to spending a couple of hours at a soulless retail park perusing washing machines. You buy a Hyundai because you like peace of mind, long warranties, beige slacks and Simply Red. Or least, you did. The Hyundai i30N is like a washing machine on a fast spin cycle with only one thing on its mind: messing with the hot hatch establishment. No amount of Persil Non-Bio is going to clean up its act. The dirty little hooligan.
Kia Elan
In 1995, Kia added the Sportage to its UK range, with the value-driven compact SUV sharing showroom space with the Pride and Mentor. A trio of worthy cars, if totally devoid of excitement and thrills. Which kind of makes the Kia Elan – a badge-engineered version of the Lotus with the same name – stand out as being a little leftfield. As indeed was the idea of a front-wheel-drive Lotus.
Kia Stinger
In truth, the Kia Elan was little more than an end-of-season repackaging deal, but the Stinger is a rather different proposition. Kia’s growth has mirrored that of the budget supermarkets, stealing sales from the established giants and winning a legion of loyal fans. Which is great, but it’s not what you’d call sexy. Which is where the Stinger GT-S comes in, with its fancy key, brutish styling, rear-wheel-drive joy and missile-like pace. It is, quite frankly, the most exciting seven-year warranty in the world.
Lamborghini LM002
The Urus: Lamborghini’s first SUV. Yeah, whatever. The LM002 was devouring sand dunes and lining the pockets of Middle Eastern oil companies a full generation before the Urus was exciting YouTubers and Instagrammers. The V12 engine at least gave it a whiff of supercar, but the ‘Rambo Lambo’ stood out from the rest of the Lamborghini range like a… well, like an LM002 parked in a field of Countaches.
Porsche C88
Looking more like a mid-90s Daewoo, the C88 was actually built by Porsche in response to a brief from the Chinese government. Twenty car manufacturers were invited to submit their ideas for the China Family Car Project, which was focused on the design of a cheap, five-seater family car for the Chinese market. Although the C88 did not feature any references to Porsche, it was very much an in-house job. Sadly, when China cancelled the project, Porsche was left with a design for a car that was rather off-brand. Having no success selling it to Indian car manufacturers, the C88 was consigned to seeing out its days in the Porsche Museum.
Proton Satria GTI
For most Proton owners, a trip to Norfolk meant the coast at Cromer, tea from a Thermos flask and a late lunch in the garden centre on the way home. Not in the case of the Satria GTI, which went via Hethel, stopped off at Lotus for some suspension wizardry and cosmetic surgery, and emerged ready to terrorise unsuspecting junior hot hatches. This thing was good – Mitsubishi Lancer chassis, 1.8-litre engine, Recaro seats – but traditional Proton owners weren’t quite sure what to do with it.
Renault 5 Turbo
In the case of the 5 Turbo, it’s not so much the motorsport connection – Renault had a long and distinguished sporting heritage – but more the sheer lunacy of the thing. Conceived in 1976, unveiled in 1978 and on sale in 1980, the Renault 5 Turbo was a supermini in a supercar suit. The ‘Supercinq’, long before the name was used for the second-generation R5 of 1984.
Saab Sonett
Think Saab and images of large, executive cars might come to mind, along with aircraft-inspired cabins, big bumpers and turbocharging. Things were a little different in the days of the Saab 92, but the Sonnet – or 94 – remains Trollhättan’s most leftfield creation. Designed for the 1956 Stockholm motor show – and with one eye on the American market – the original Sonnet was an experimental race car built for the track. A road-going Sonnet II followed in 1966, before the Sonnet III arrived in 1970.
Skoda 110 Supersport ‘Ferat’
Tell another lame joke about Skoda and this thing is likely to visit you in the middle of the night and haunt your dreams for eternity. First introduced in 1972, and based on the 110R Coupe, this was the first and only Skoda with a door that tilts up with the windscreen and roof. Ten years after making its public debut, the concept was transformed into the ‘Ferat’ for use in the Ferat Vampire movie. Today, it runs on human blood and hangs upside down in the Skoda Museum.
SsangYong Kallista
SsangYong: famous for its difficult to spell and hard to pronounce name, 4x4s and, in the case of the Rodius, arguably one of the least attractive man-made objects in the world. Not a company you’d associate with squint-and-it-looks-like-a-Morgan two-seater sports car. But that’s precisely what this is: a badge-engineered version of the Panther Kallista, built following SsangYong’s purchase of the Surrey-based company. A total of 78 were built in South Korea, and you can find one in the Samsung Transportation Museum.
Subaru XT
The XT came straight out of the leftfield, even if it did offer Subaru’s staple of four-wheel drive. Before its arrival, if you’d asked a motorist to summarise Subaru in a few words, they’d have muttered things about rugged dependability, four-wheel drive and practical interiors. They’d have struggled to say much about the styling, because Subarus were largely forgettable. The XT was a different beast, offering flat-four, turbocharged, four-wheel-drive performance for the road, all dressed up in a space-age suit.
Subaru SVX
Does the fact that the SVX followed the XT make it less leftfield than its predecessor? Perhaps, but in just about every other respect, the Subaru SVX is more leftfield than a Labour party conference in a grassy paddock. A 3.3-litre flat-six engine offers a decent turn of pace and a distinctive howl, while the ‘windows within windows’ are the kind of quirky details loved by car enthusiasts. Few manufacturers could offer two leftfield cars in quick succession, but Subaru did.
Vauxhall VX220
When you want to sharpen up your image, you might head to the high street for some new bib and tucker. For Vauxhall, no amount of retail therapy was going to provide a much-needed image makeover, so it turned to Lotus for some help. The VX220 was built alongside the Lotus Elise in Hethel, but shared just 10 percent of its parts with its more famous sibling. It was a terrific car, but the strategy never really paid off. Buyers of hardcore sports cars prefer Prada to Primark.
Volkswagen Phaeton
People’s car? Yeah, about that. Much to the annoyance of his colleagues in Wolfsburg, Ferdinand Piëch developed a car that was so far removed from the founding principles of Volkswagen, you’d need a map to find your way home again. The Phaeton was a fine car, offering levels of refinement previously unseen at VW. But it was too expensive, looked too much like a Passat and, perhaps most importantly, buyers prefered the cachet of an Audi or Bentley, both Volkswagen Group brands.
Volvo 480
What’s more leftfield, the P1800 or the 480? We’re opting for the 480, not least because it ushered in a new era of front-wheel-drive Volvos, along with a pair of pop-up headlights. We’ll never see the likes of a wedge-shaped Volvo again, but Sweden hasn’t turned its back on good-looking cars. Which is why the 480 gets the nod over the P1800.
Zagato Zele
Established in 1919, the Italian coachbuilder Zagato has jumped into bed with some of the biggest names in the automotive industry to create some of the most beautiful and iconic cars of the past 100 years. The tiny Zele electric car is like the mole on Cindy Crawford’s face – a charming distraction from an otherwise flawless display. Or something. This 1974 Zele 1000 sold for £11,500 at the RM Sotheby’s ‘Weird & Wonderful’ sale in 2018.
The Dino 246 GT made its debut at the Turin Motor Show in November 1969, succeeding the Dino 206 GT, a car named in honour of Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari, who died in 1956. As the name suggests, it was powered by a 2.4-litre engine, and although the cars look visually similar, the 246 GT was longer than its predecessor.
This 1972 example is arguably the star lot at the Silverstone Auctions Race Retro sale on 23 February 2019. It is expected to sell for between £240,000 and £280,000. Now keep scrolling as we guide you through our auction highlights.
Porsche 356 A Speedster – £280,000 – £320,000
Jockeying for position with the 246 GT as the retro headline act is this 1958 Porsche 356 A Speedster. It was supplied new by Hoffman in New York and was acquired by the vendor at Pebble Beach in 2015. Having arrived in the UK, the Porsche was sent to JD Classics for conversion to right-hand drive and has remained in professional storage with little use.
Vauxhall Lotus Carlton – £65,000 – £75,000
One of three Lotus Carltons at the Race Retro sale (although one is a left-hand-drive Opel Omega), this looks like the best of the trio. The first owner was a managing director of a Lotus main dealer, but it has been owned by the vendor for the past 17 years. During that time, it was listed as SORN for six years, which suggests that the owner must have incredible willpower. Imagine owning such a legendary performance car and not using it.
Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTI – £17,000 – £22,000
There aren’t many opportunities to buy an original, one-owner, low-mileage Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTI, which means that the pre-auction estimate for this 1979 example might be a tad pessimistic. It was supplied new to its original and only owner in Sheffield, but has spent the past two decades on axle stands in storage. Try finding another one-owner 1.6-litre GTI with just 53,000 miles on the clock.
Saab 900 Turbo – £22,500 – £27,500
Bidding is likely to be less frenzied for this Saab 900 Turbo, but that doesn’t mean this former racing car is any less special. It was built by Abbott Racing to compete in the 1994 Foxboro Production Saloon Championship and the Group N specification Championships in 1995/96. It also has N24 pedigree to its name, running as high as ninth before an accident forced it out of the race an agonising 30 minutes from the end.
Subaru Impreza – £20,000 – £30,000
This 1993 Subaru Impreza was first registered and owned by Prodrive, and was used as a recce car by the Allstars Team and on national stage rallies in the UK. As pointed out by Silverstone Auctions, many of the body panels have been replaced, and there’s a good chance it has an entirely new body shell. Surely only giving it further rally-special kudos?
Ford Escort RS Cosworth – £80,000 – £90,000
We’ll be watching the sale of this 1996 Ford Escort RS Cosworth Lux with interest, as it’s no stranger to the auction circuit. Back in 2017, it sold for a staggering £91,125 at the NEC Classic Car Show, but the pre-auction suggest that it might not fetch quite the same amount at Race Retro. It has covered 838 miles, which means it has travelled just a single mile since November 2017.
Audi R8 Sport Performance Parts Edition – £160,000 – £180,000
The newest car in the auction also happens to be one of the most expensive. Launched in 2018, this is one of only five Audi R8 Sport Performance Parts Edition models sold in the UK, with only 44 cars sold worldwide. A price tag of £176,560 meant that it was £35,360 more expensive than the regular R8 V10 Plus, but Audi chucked all but the kitchen sink at this special edition. Exclusivity is guaranteed, but it comes at a price.
Peugeot 207 THP Spider – £22,000 – £26,000
If exclusivity is what you’re after, this is one of two Peugeot 207 THP Spiders in the UK. The track-only car is powered by a mid-mounted 175hp 1.6-litre turbocharged engine from the Peugeot 207 GTI, but this thing is far more agile than its supermini sibling. For a start, it weighs just 720kg, but it also features a Sadev six-speed sequential gearbox. Car number 18 of 50 was purchased by a UK Peugeot dealer and has lived in the showroom ever since.
Honda NSX – £35,000 – £40,000
Recently, our Tim Pitt was able to grab a seat in a Honda NSX convoy travelling to Retromobile in Paris. If, like the rest of us, you were a little bit jealous, this is your chance to follow in Mr Pitt’s footsteps. Sure, it’ll cost you the best part of £40,000, but we can’t think of a better way to celebrate 30 years of Honda’s iconic supercar. This 1991 example was delivered new in Japan before spending time in the U.S. and Belgium.
BMW M3 CSL – £35,000 – £40,000
In an age of inflated classic car valuations and crazy auction prices, a pre-auction estimate of £35,000 to £40,000 looks like exceptional value for money for a BMW M3 CSL. Whether it fetches such a relatively small amount remains to be seen, because we’ve seen some of the best examples on sale for figures nudging £100,000. Just 422 M3 CSLs were sold in the UK, of which 106 were finished in Sapphire Black.
Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth – £40,000 – £50,000
Google ‘E55 DGU’ and you’ll discover that this is a very famous Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth, with a history of magazine appearances in the likes of Max Power and Performance Ford. When it was new, ‘E55 DGU’ was sent to Graham Goode Racing to be turned into a street-legal version of the RS500 BTCC race car. It has a history to die for and will almost certainly be the centre of attention at any fast Ford meet. Having sat in storage for nine years, it requires some recommissioning, hence the ‘low’ pre-auction estimate.
Ferrari F430 – £100,000 – £120,000
Fifteen years is a long time in the car industry, and yet the Ferrari F430 still looks fresh and relevant today. In fact, you wouldn’t bat an eyelid if it was lined up alongside Ferrari’s current range of supercars. It was, at the time, as close to automotive perfection as you could get, benefiting from Ferrari’s F1 expertise, with a V8 engine that was more powerful than the turbocharged F40. While we’d never call a six-figure sum ‘cheap’, you’ll struggle to find a Ferrari as polished as this for less money.
De Tomaso Longchamp – £100,000 – £125,000
Launched at the 1972 Turin Motor Show, the De Tomaso Longchamp was a two-door coupe based on a shortened version of the Deauville chassis. Eight years later, De Tomaso introduced the modernised Series 2, complete with GTSE and Spyder variants. According to the De Tomaso Drivers Club, of the 410 Longchamps built, just 16 were convertibles, making this GTSE Spyder an incredibly rare vehicle.
Speaking of rare drop-tops… This is one of only 456 Jensen Interceptor Convertibles, with the vast majority exported to the U.S. and the continent. A mere 87 were produced for the British market, although this 1975 example was sold in the U.S. and subsequently converted to right-hand drive. Yours for around half the price of the Longchamp.
Austin Mini Cooper 970 S – £36,000 – £42,000
The Austin Mini Cooper 970 S was a homologation special built to allow BMC to compete in the 1000cc circuit racing class. Just 963 units were produced between June 1964 and April 1965, making it one of the rarest and most sought after classic Minis. This Surf Blue example was originally Old English White and has spent its entire life in the south of England, including a period under the ownership of Chris Middlehurst, the son of racing driver and famed Nissan tuner Andy Middlehurst.
Ford Falcon Sprint – £65,000 – £75,000
The Ford Falcon was a victim of the Mustang’s success, with the pony car utilising its platform to devastating effect. Not even the Sprint package, complete with a V8 from the Fairlane, stiffer suspension and louder exhausts could prevent the Falcon Sprint from a premature death in 1965. But as anyone who has witnessed classic motorsport will testify, the Falcon is a formidable competition car, which is why this is such a compelling prospect.
Aston Martin DB7 Vantage ‘Keswick’ – £26,000 – £30,000
In March 1999, Aston Martin unveiled the DB7 Vantage, complete with a 6.0-litre V12 engine. The ‘Keswick’ was a limited edition produced for the Lancaster Group, with only ten units produced – five coupe and five Volante models. All were finished in Ferrari Nero Daytona Black, with a host of cosmetic upgrades and 19-inch wheels. Owners were treated to a numbered IWC wrist watch.
Ferrari F355 GTB F1 – £85,000 – £95,000
“This example is one of the finest we have seen,” says Silverstone Auctions. Hardly surprising, given the fact that it has covered just 4,985 in its pampered life. The F355 may have been an evolution of the 348, but it moved the game on to such an extent, it felt like an entirely new Ferrari. In an era of dual-clutch transmissions, the F1 automated manual gearbox might seem a bit old-school, but when the car looks this good, who cares?
Sunbeam Tiger – £45,000 – £55,000
Launched in 1964, the Sunbeam Tiger was a development of the Alpine and featured a 4,261cc V8 engine. This example was built in 1965 and marked for export to South Africa, where it spent the best part of 25 years in the sunshine. Over the course of the next two decades, the Tiger was transformed into an historic race car, with the work totalling tens of thousands of pounds.
MGC GTS – £40,000 – £46,000
Only two lightweight versions of the MGC GTS were built by BMC Abingdon, including ‘RMO 699F, a car affectionately known as ‘Romeo’. This 1969 MGC GTS was built as a kind of homage to ‘Romeo’ and it saw plenty of competition action in the 1980s. Today, it is suitable for hill climbs, circuit racing and, according to Silverstone Auctions, “fast road use”.
McLaren MP4-12C – £75,000 – £85,000
Amazingly, this 2012 McLaren MP4-12C wasn’t registered until last year, having spent the first six years of its life in a private collection in Hong Kong. It has since covered 5,000 miles and is presented, we assume, in an as-new condition. The MP4-12C might have been eclipsed by McLaren’s more recent models, but this remains a tantalising prospect. Just be sure to check out Hoovies Garage YouTube channel before you part with your cash.
Lotus Elan Sprint – £40,000 – £50,000
A Lotus Elan Sprint in Gold Leaf Team Lotus colours – where do we sign? The Sprint was introduced in 1971, which makes this 1972 example one of the first to leave the factory in Hethel. Amazingly, it appears to have been owned by the same person until 2015, but has been fully restored, with the work extending to a replacement chassis.
BMW 1800 – £40,000 – £45,000
This 1965 BMW 1800 was originally a German-registered road car and remained so until 1992. Frick Motorsport then converted it into an FIA race car and it has remained in competition use ever since. Its last race was in 2012, so the FIA papers will need renewing.
Land Rover Series III – £18,000 – £22,000
When all is said and done, nothing is cooler than a Land Rover tow truck. Just think how useful it would be if your auction purchase lets you down on the way back from Race Retro. Speaking of which, the Silverstone Auctions Classic Car Sale gets underway on 23 February at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.
New research by Parkers has revealed that car finance costs have increased by as much as 48 percent since Britain voted for Brexit and to leave the European Union. All of sudden used cars look a lot more appealing…
This is thanks, in part at least, to the drop in the value of the pound against other currencies, particularly the Euro. In May 2016, the Euro was 1.30 to the pound, while in February 2019, it sits strong at 1.10. Given a large number of cars are imports from the EU, costs to buy and lease have, at best, risen commensurately and are, at worst, significantly more.
The scary thing is that these figures aren’t with reference to big-ticket cars – quite the opposite, in fact. Take the BMW 1 Series, a car at the end of its life cycle that ought to be a value proposition right now. If you signed a £200 per-month contract for a 1er in January 2017, the same car would cost you £298 per month now.
In total, you’d end up paying £4,606 more over the course of the contract. That is an astonishing increase, giving credence to that 48 percent increase figure.
The BMW seems a somewhat lofty proposition, so for comparison purposes, consider the humble and appallingly unsafe Fiat Panda. January 2017 cost: £119 per month. February 2019 cost: £153 per month. That’s an increase of £34 per month, adding up to a total of £1,580 extra over the course of a contract.
Given we’re approaching the three-year mark since the Brexit vote was passed, many PCP contracts taken out around the time will be coming to an end. PCP buyers will invariably be facing marked increases if they want to replace their car like-for-like on a new contract.
Honda’s decision to close its Swindon car factory in 2021 will inevitably be blamed on Brexit by many. Some are already highlighting the Swindon region’s 54.7 percent leave vote in the 2016 European Union Referendum.
However, a Honda spokesman today insisted Brexit is not a factor in the shock move. Rather, it’s the unprecedented challenges of electrification that’s behind the decision.
And figures released by Honda suggest this may be correct – because only 2 in 10 cars built in Swindon are actually exported to the European Union.
The vast majority, around 55 percent, go to North America, and 8 percent are exported to Japan. 15 percent of British-built Honda Civics remain here in the UK.
So the threat of trade barriers with the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit may not have factored as heavily in Honda’s dramatic decision as some have assumed.
Indeed, added the spokesman, Swindon is Honda’s sole factory in the European Union, and ‘only’ builds around 160,000 cars a year, rather than the millions built in Asia and North America.
The idea of moving production elsewhere in Europe was therefore not considered. Honda added it is restructuring its small-scale manufacturing operations in Turkey too: the Civic saloon will cease production there in 2021.
Honda will, instead, build the next-generation Civic hatchback in other regions, including North America.
‘Deeply regret’
The challenges of electrification “will see Honda revise its global manufacturing operations, and focus activity in regions where it expects to have high production volumes,” explained the Japanese company in a statement.
“It is vital that we accelerate our electrification strategy and restructure our global operations accordingly,” said Katsushi Inoue, Honda’s chief officer for its European operations.
“As a result, we have had to take this difficult decision to consult our workforce on how we might prepare our manufacturing network for the future.
“This has not been taken lightly and we deeply regret how unsettling today’s announcement will be for our people.”
The Japanese car maker began building engines at Swindon, a former airfield, in 1989, and started building cars in 1992. Since then, it has built more than 3.5 million vehicles, and today builds the Civic hatchback, including the high-performance Type R.
3,500 people work there and it exports to more than 70 countries.
Honda will still keep its European HQ in the UK, at its large facility in Bracknell, Berkshire, added the firm.
Prices for the new 2019 Mazda 3 start from £20,595 and it arrives at UK dealers in May. The all-new car is open for ordering now, initially as a five-door hatchback, with a four-door saloon launched later in the year.
The Dino 246 GT made its debut at the Turin Motor Show in November 1969, succeeding the Dino 206 GT, a car named in honour of Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari, who died in 1956. As the name suggests, it was powered by a 2.4-litre engine, and although the cars look visually similar, the 246 GT was longer than its predecessor.
Honda’s decision to close its Swindon car factory in 2021 will inevitably be blamed on Brexit by many. Some are already highlighting the