The Classic Car Show Channel 5 5th March 2015

Tonight's episode starts with Quentin Wilson's article, set in Monaco about the Ferrari Dino. This Dino was owned by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. In 1974, Richards paid £7,500 for the Dino in Beverly Hills, California. He kept it for 14 years and then had it shipped to his house in Chelsea. He has taken far better care of the car than he has of himself and currently the Dino in increasing in value by around £50,000 per year. The Dino was launched in 1968 and was named after Enzo Ferrari's son Alfredo Dino who died of Kidney Disease. This car was designed to compete with the Porsche 911 and to open Ferrari to younger clientele, die hard Ferrari purists  were not convinced about the small size of the car or the six cylinder engine. The 2.5 litre  V6 was a great engine and helped the car handle well. The Dino was the forerunner to all the mid engined supercars we have now. The car is light and has pin point response. The Dino was the best selling Ferrari of its era selling 2,700 cars.

Next up is Chris Routledge on his barn finds article. Today Chris has had an email from a man about a Morris Eight. These cars are very rare and hard to find.

The Morris Eight is a prewar car that helped Morris become the biggest manufacturer in the country. During World War 2, the Morris was a work horse for the brittish war effort. It's popularity continued in 1945 after its production was restarted. It was replaced in 1948 by the Morris Minor. Turning up at the garage where the Morris has been kept, it is burried under a fair amount of clutter.

On closer inspection the car could be very rare as the Morris has a body of a tourer but the front end should not look like it does. Either the car has been modified or it was built in Australia. The only way to tell us to get into the car and find the Chassis number. This will answer lots of questions. Chris unpacks the garage to get to the car and opens the bonnet. The car is a prewar car but the front has been modified post war to give it a fresh look. The car is painted in a distinct RAF blue so it is likely that the car would have seen service during World War 2. In its current state the car would be worth £2,000 - £3,000, fully restored the car would be worth around £25,000.

Jodie Kidd is up next with some classic car adverts, first up is an advert for the Austin Allegro, this is followed up by an advert for the Austin Cambridge. 

Alex Riley is next with his £5,000 classic. Today, the subject is the 1958 MGA. Today Alex will be a co driver in The Rally of The Malts, starting on the Isle of Skye. The MGA is a small car that comes equipped with an 1800 MGB engine. This rally is a regularity rally. This is a combination of driving and maths. The idea is to maintain an average speed along the course. Penalty points are awarded if you go too fast or two slow. It is Alex's job to tell the driver if he is going to fast or to slow and also to keep the car pointing the right way. First up is a short speed test. Once finished they leave the Isle of Skye on a 150 mile adventure. The next trial is the Pass of the Cattle, 11 miles of hairpin bend that rises over 600 meters above sea level. On the final leg, Alex once again has to work out the average timings so he can tell the driver the speed needed. As the leg goes on, Alex's sums start to work and they complete the course successfully.

Bruno Senna is next with a lap around the Brooklands test track in a classic car. Today Bruno is driving as Austin Healey 3000. This car was produced between 1959 - 1967 and has raced at Sebring and Le Mans. This Healey has a 2.9 litre engine that produces 250 BHP, 0-60 in eight seconds with a top speed to 140 mph, so the car will be quick and nimble. The car to beat at the moment is the Mustang. At the half way point the Healey is slightly quicker. With the lap ending the Healey's lap time in 51:002. This is .175 of a second quicker than the Mustang. 

Next up Quentin Wilson takes us through some future classics. Firstly we have the Honda NSX. The car is capable of 165 mph and a 0-60 in 5.7 seconds. In the early 90's you could buy one for £15,000, now you will be paying around £25,000 upwards. Next is the Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V Mk2. 1.8 litre engine, top speed of around 135 mph and s 0-60 of 7 seconds. You can buy a good one for around £5,000 but prices are expected to go up. Last is the Jeep Wagoneer V8. This has a top speed of around 100 mph and a 0-60 in 15 seconds. 

Last up is Jodie Kidd who pays a visit to the banked track at Montlhery in France. Montlhery was built by Alexandre Lamblin to be the fastest circuit in the world. The seven mile course featued a 1,6 mile banked oval track. The first event for cars and motorbikes took place in October 1924. Less than a year later it would host the inaugural French Grand Prix. The banking on the track is at a 51 degree angle. For those of you that have been to Brooklands, the banking there is 30 degrees. I have climbed the banking at Brooklands and it was not easy. In the first Grand Prix in 1925, Antonio Ascari was killed in his Alfa Romeo P2 and in 1935, this was the track that the Nazi sponsored Silver Arrows made their foreign debut. 

The car that Jodie Kidd is driving a Type 35 Bugatti driven by French driver Helene Delangle. This Bugatti set land speed records and is worth around 1.5 million pounds. During Montlhery's Era, Delangle mixed with the best drivers of her time, won several races and set Land Speed Records. More information of Helene Delangle's story can be found in a book called The Bugatti Queen by Miranda Seymour. If you can track it down, I highly recommend it. 

During it's time, the Type 35 Bugatti was a successful racing car clocking up over 1800 victories during its production. 

The cars owner shows Jodie the basics about the car. First you have to pump the fuel pressure to 50 and press the ignition. The fuel pressure has to be maintained while driving or the car will stall. Once away, Jodie gets used to the gearbox and stalks the car as the fuel pressure goes low. Once happy with how everything works, it's time to drive on the oval banked track. The car on the track looks as it should but driving the car on this kind of track looks terrifying. The  angle of the track, it's bumpiness,  the speed, the drum brakes which don't slow you down make this a challenge. Jodie looks like she has really enjoyed driving the Bugatti.

This has been another great episode with lots of information. After the series has concluded on Channel 5, I would love to interview Quentin Wilson, Jodie Kidd, Alex Riley, Will Best, Chris Routledge and Bruno Senna about their experiences on the show. The question is would they be willing to be interviewed for the blog?

Below is a link to the episode

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