The Classic Car Show 12th March 2015

Tonight's episode begins with Quentin Wilson's article about the MGB. In 1962 this car was a massive hit and cost £950, today a good one will cost £10,000. It came equipped with a 1.8 litre engine and it is a great looking car. America took 50% of every years production. So during the early 60's this was a cool car. The MGB came with leather seats, a big steering wheel and a dash full of gauges. The body was also one of the stiffest ever  so body roll is very minimal. During this time, the top bosses were traditionalists who did not like risk, it took them three years to add the Pinninfarina styled MGBGT to the line up in 1965. If they had launched it in 1962, they would have taken customers from Jaguar Who had the E-Type Coupe and would have beaten the Ford Capri release by seven years. In 1967, the MGC was released. This had a 3 litre engine, however, the engine was made of iron so this added weight in the wrong place and it handled badly. During the press launch someone  got the front tyre pressures wrong and the handling was even worse. In 1973 British Leyland released the MGB V8. This had a 3.5 litre V8. This gave the car a top speed of 125mph and 0-60 in 8 seconds. This was released during an oil crisis, no convertible was made and they did not sell it to the Americans. This was the car that could have saved British Leyland. In 1976, British Leyland updated the MGB for the final time and in 1980 the car was withdrawn. 

Next up, Alex Riley goes to Le Mans to meet Derek Bell who will be driving the Porsche 962 for the last time. Porsche are returning to Le Mans after a 16 year absence. The day before the race, the drivers parade through the town in classic cars. Alex catches up with Derek at a hotel where they briefly play with a Scalextric and then they chat about why Le Mans is Derek Bell's favourite track and why the Porsche 962 is his favourite car. Derek says that the Porsche 962 made him famous due to the amount of wins it gave him, 5 of these were at Le Mans. As the chat ends, Derek invites Alex to be his pit board holder. During qualifying however, Derek pits the 962 with a problem. The water pump has broken and the 962 can't be raced. Alex has a quick chat with the mechanics before finding Derek to find out how he is. Derek is philosophical about not being able to race and puts it down to this. "That's racing".

Next up, Jodie Kidd drives a Jaguar in the Mille Miglia. In 1927, the first Mille Miglia took place. 1000 miles of racing around open roads through towns and villages that every year would guarantee celebrity like status to the winner. It was so dangerous that after 30 years and with almost twice as many deaths, the Mille Miglia was cancelled. They have now revived the Mille Miglia and turned it into a four day grand tour. The car that Jodie will be driving us a 1953 Jaguar XK120. This car has a straight six engine that produces 160bhp. Jodie is at Goodwood to test drive and get used to the car. Jodie struggled to get into the car. Taking around Goodwood it looked fantastic but some alterations will be needed if Jodie is going to drive the car for 1000 miles. The car goes to JD Classics where the car is altered. The seat is moved back by three inches and a slightly smaller steering wheel is installed. The Jaguar is then shipped to Italy in preparation for the Mille Miglia. The second part follows later.

Bruno Senna is next up for a flying lap. Today Bruno is driving a Lightweight E-Type Jaguar. In 1963, Jaguar made 12 Lightweight E-Types. Made from an aluminium alloy, this E-Type had a 3.8 litre engine, that produced 370bhp, a top speed of 160mph and 0-60 in seven seconds. Bruno flies around the track, by the half way point, he is 1.5 seconds faster than the Austin Healey. By the end of the lap the E-Type is 2.7 seconds clear of the Austin Healey finishing the lap in 48.284 seconds.

Lastly we have the second part of Jodie Kidd's Mille Miglia drive. Jodie  and her co driver David Blakeley arrive in Italy and collects the XK120 and gets ready for the Mille Miglia. Day 1 begins with 432 cars leaving Brescia at around 7:30pm for the first leg of the Millie Miglia driving to Albano Montegrotto. They arrive at the end of the first leg at 1:30 am. A party was waiting but with only three hours sleep until day 2, the party is skipped to get some sleep. Day 2 begins and a day of street racing lay ahead. This stage is a 710 kilometers race to Rome. During day 2, Jodie is navigating and plotting the time trials while David takes the wheel. Fatigue is beginning to creep in as instructions are misunderstood. 17 hours after the start, Jodie and David pull into Rome. With two and a half hours sleep, day 3 begins. Fatigue is really setting in now when Jodie and David get completely lost. They return to the hotel and start again. Today's leg is 552 Kilometers and could take up to 18 hours to complete. Leaving Rome the pair head to Bologna. They make up lost time by eating while driving. Some of the scenery is breathtaking. The longer the day goes on and tempers start to rise when some time trials go badly. As the sun sets on day three, Jodie and David kiss and make up. Day 4, and it's the final leg. Due to an admin error, all of the time they made up was lost and you can see that Jodie is angry. 218 kilometres will see them at the finish line in Brescia. The XK120 was also suffering with braking problems. This did not stop the car and it's safe to say, that Jodie and David were happy to finish the course. 

This has been a great episode and I am really enjoying the show. I look forward to next weeks episode. Last week on the blog I invited the hosts to be interviewed, as of yet I have not had a response. I extend that invite again.

Below is a link to the episode

http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-classic-car-show