Classic Car Club London

Did you ever want to drive a classic car but not want the responsibility of ownership and all of the maintenance that goes with owning a classic car?

Well now you can by joining a classic car club. 

I am writing today about the Classic Car Club London. This was formed in 1995. The club is based in Pitfield Street, London and over the years, they have bought together an impressive collection of cars and motorcycles for the enthusiast to drive. Their fleet of classic cars includes a 1965 Ford GT Recreation, a 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible, a 1967 Ford Mustang Notchback, a 1963 Jensen CV8, a 1964 MK2 Jensen CV8, a 1974 Jensen Interceptor Series 3, a 1959 Jaguar XK150 DHC, a Series 1 E-Type Jaguar, a 1963 Karmann Ghia Coupe and a 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera to name a few. They also have modern cars including, a TVR Tuscan SpeedSix, a TVR Chimera, a Nissan 350z, a Jaguar XK8 Coupe (X100) and a BMW M3 E46. The motorcycles of the fleet are a 2005 Ducatti Monster 620, a 2008 Triumph Bonneville 'Black' and a 2008 Triumph Bonneville T100. There is something for everyone.

To get access to this you can join the club through the website http://www.classiccarclub.co.uk

You pay a joining fee (renews after a year if you want to) and this gets you an allocation of points. These points are then what you use to book the cars. The Classic Car Club also offers driving experiences. Theses come in the form of day drives and night drives. The idea is that there are 10 drivers to 5 cars, you get to drive and be a passenger in each car. The day drive is designed to go around some country roads around London and you stop for a pub lunch. The drive starts at 9am and finishes around 4:30pm. The night drives take you around many of London's iconic landmarks. There is a stop for coffee and snacks at the midway point. The drive begins at 7pm and finishes around 1:30am. How much does this cost I hear you asking. £295 per person. This to me is great value for money. 

If you are in America there is a Classic Car Club in New York. For information on them please visit http://classiccarclubmanhattan.com

Below are more photos I took while on a visit to the club.

The Classic Car Show - Channel 5 12th February 2015

This episode starts with Quenten Wilson talking about and driving the Rolls Royce Corniche convertible. This car was the ultimate luxury car in the 1970's and it's easy to see why. The outside is easy on the eye, the interior is stunning. This car was owned by the super rich and famous. The Corniche has a 6.75 litre V8 engine. It is 17ft long and around 6ft wide. It has cruise control, electric seats and windows. The Corniche saved Rolls Royce as it's jet engines forced the company into administration. When this car was released it doubled Rolls Royce sales and saved the company.

Will Best visits The Classic Car Club in London to find out if a classic car gets a better reaction from people than a modern car. Will Best first drives an Audi R8 V10 Spider around London to see what reaction it gets. To be fair, it's underwhelming. He starts at a junction to see if anyone would let him out, no one did and in general he did not get a good reaction. Will then makes a good point, if you are going to hire a car for a day you want it to feel special. He then hands the Audi over and then gets into a 1967 Corvette Stingray. The reaction is amazing, people are waving at him and at the same junction where he was made to wait, a van lets him out. People do seem to love classic cars.

The next article is about Concours D Elegance. This is where people display rare cars and they are kept in beyond  pristine condition.

Alex Riley then introduces his under £5000 classic. In this episode it is a Jaguar XJ-S. This car was the replacement for the E-Type Jaguar and was designed to take customers away from Mercedes. The XJ-S came equipped with a low driving position and an 5.3 Litre V12 that could take it beyond 150mph. In 1979 a fuel crisis struck and with the XJ-S only capable of 14mpg, something had to be done. Enter Swiss engineer Michael Mays who created the High Efficiency version of the XJ-S and saved the car. The car was a success and stayed in production until 1996.

The next article is by Chris Routledge Introducing his barn finds. This week he has been given a tip about an Amilcar that is in a garage. Amilcar were bespoke racing car makers based in France. They were only made for 3 years. Chris arrives at a garage with a car parked in front of it not convinced about how much of the original car will be left. He scrambles in to find an all original Amilcar. Some of the paint is peeling but all in all the car has remained untouched. The dials are all in place and in good condition. The last time the car was belived to be on the road was 1957. The car outside moves away and the garage can be opened. Chris then moves the car into the drive and takes a proper look. The car is complete but what if the future for the car. This question remains unanswered.

The owners do not want to sell but this is an important car.

Quenten Wilson introduces the future classics. First we have the Renault Clio Williams. Only 390 of these were made and they are gaining in value. Next is the Datsun 240z. Prices are around £25,000 and rising. Finally we have the Jeep CJ.

Jodie Kidd then introduces the final article on the show. Jodie travels to The Champagne Region of France to visit the Reims circuit. Reims has a legendary relationship with Grand Prix racing. In 1926 the winner of the first Reims Grand Prix was presented with a bottle of local produce. The rest as they say is history. Jodie is driving a stunning Ford GT40 replica, the last car to win at Reims, around the French countryside, Jodie then spies what looks like a grandstand and finds the start/finish straight. Jodie then walks around the abandoned buildings and grandstands its quite haunting. It's also easy to imagine it back in its heyday full of people. No visit would be complete without a lap of the track. The Ford GT40 replica looks and sounds the part while the start/finish straight is closed to the public, the other parts of the track are on public roads and motorways.

The Classic Car Show has again given us a wide mix of classic cars and another brilliant episode. Below is a link to the programme.

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