Classic car events calendar: great events for spring and summer 2018
The classic car calendar is packed with events large and small, with something for everyone whether you're a marque aficionado or general enthusiast. Here are a few throughout the UK that are deserving of your attention, whether you're away on holiday or simply fancy a destination for a day out.
We will be adding to the list every week as more events are confirmed.
Until March 2018: British Motoring Treasures: the British Motor Car in Fifty Objects, British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire
This special exhibition at the British Motor Museum tells the story of Britain’s motor industry using 50 key objects. In turn each object will have its own story, whether it is of a ground-breaking invention or a piece of social history.
The aim is to celebrate the rich history of an industry that has dominated the economic and social history of the West Midlands region for more than a century.
One example on display is an original sketch from 1944 by Alec Issigonis of the ‘Mosquito’, a car that would be the prototype for the Morris Minor. The Trust archive is home to a large collection of items relating to the life and work of Issigonis, who designed many famous cars including the Mini, but this is the first time an original sketch has been on show. Some his drawing tools and a slide rule also feature.
The display includes a 1899 Wolseley Voiturette, the first four-wheel car that Herbert Austin designed, and a 1965 sectioned Austin Mini which was a revolution in terms of automotive packaging.
The displays also feature lesser known aspects of the story, especially the role of the people who designed, built and used the products of the British motor industry in its prime.
Full details at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk
March 3: Inside British Motorsport lecture, British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire
The British Motor Museum has launched its popular series of motoring-related lectures and workshops for this spring, covering photography, creative writing, drawing and classic car ownership. The series starts with a full-day lecture exploring British Motorsport.
It is claimed to offer a rare opportunity to gain an insider’s view of this dynamic industry. The day features many speakers from the world of motorsport and will be hosted by Steve Cropley, Editor-in-Chief of Autocar magazine and Stephen Laing, curator of the British Motor Museum.
Early-bird discounts of £10 off per ticket are available until February 9 – full-priced tickets are £40 adult, £35 concession and £20 child, and include admission to the Museum, lunch and refreshments and a full day programme.
The fantastic museum also contains the world's largest collection of historic British cars; full details of this and other events throughout the year at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk
April 21: 'Classic Virgins' Experience Day, British Motor Museum, Gaydon, Warwickshire
This popular, hands-on, informative day is aimed at those considering buying and owning a classic car.
A variety of experts will offer guidance on buying and running a historic vehicle, while the programme also includes practical, workshop-based sessions covering routine maintenance and more.
There will also be the opportunity for passenger rides in a variety of classic cars.
The cost is £90 per person, including lunch.
The fantastic museum also contains the world's largest collection of historic British cars; full details of this and other events throughout the year at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk
April 22: Rotary Club of Croydon Charity Classic Car Run, Dorking to Goodwood
The 2018 edition of this annual classic car run starts at Denbies Wine Estate just north of Dorking and takes a stunning scenic route through two counties through the high grounds of the Surrey Hills and country lanes of parts of “Old Surrey & West Sussex”, incorporating the most beautiful villages and hamlets.
Participants can picnic at one of the beautiful locations on the way or enjoy a lunch at one of the plentiful pubs. The run ends at the Goodwood Motor Circuit outside Chichester, venue for the annual Revival historic race meeting.
The entry price is £45 which includes the car, the driver, one passenger, a run pack, route guide and finisher’s plaque. Additional passengers are £15 each. Space is limited to 150 cars.
To take part, email dhiraj@dsandco.com or croydonjubilee@virginmedia.com
May 26-27: Land Rover Legends, Bicester Heritage, Oxfordshire
A new event for Land Rover connoisseurs, collectors, preservationists, restorers and enthusiasts that celebrates everything special about the famed 4x4 maker past and present.
This year is the 70th anniversary of the introduction of the first Land Rover in 1948, and this event sets out to showcase the very best examples, from original vehicles to renovated and restored ones. As well as production models, the line-up will also include prototypes and pre-production vehicles, rare and bespoke conversions and military derivatives from the 1948 Series 1 to the very latest upmarket models.
Forums and presentations will allow enthusiasts to hear fascinating stories from Land Rover experts such as engineers and designers, as well as explorers who have taken the marque to the most inhospitable places on the planet.
The event takes place against the appropriately authentic and beautifully restored backdrop of the former military buildings at Bicester Heritage, which is well worth a visit in its own right.
There will be priority parking for anyone arriving in a Land Rover, while Land Rover clubs will display and demonstrate members' vehicles, while leading Land Rover restorers, specialists and associated suppliers will be located in and around Bicester Heritage’s magnificent main exhibition hangar.
Full details at the www.landroverlegends.com official website.
May 26-27: La Vie en Bleu/La Vita Rossa, Prescott Hillclimb, Gotherington, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
The home of the Bugatti Owners’ Club will once again be transformed into a celebration of fine French and Italian cars and motorcycles, action-packed motor racing on the hillclimb course, along with entertainment for the whole family.
The spectacular, 261mph Bugatti Chiron will be taking to the hillclimb and be on static display in the paddock, accompanied by the no less impressive Bugatti Veyron Supersport and Veyron Pur Sang. There will even be an opportunity to win a passenger ride in the Chiron.
Other Bugattis on show will include many vintage models, more Veyrons and the first of the modern Bugattis, the EB110 from the 1990s, while the race programme will feature special classes for French and Italian marques, including a round of the Ferrari Hillclimb Championship.
The paddock will be packed many of the world’s most desirable, rarest and significant French and Italian cars, as well as other supercars by invitation only.
The heroic Duncan Pittaway will perform demonstration runs in his mighty 1911 Fiat S76 land speed record contender, the Beast of Turin. With about 300bhp from a 28.5-litre, four-cylinder engine the thing has to be seen to be believed.
Fans of British racers will be treated to a special class for ERA voiturettes which includes the iconic ex-Raymond Mays R4D, the most celebrated chassis in the marque's history, and - for the first time - an ERA E-Type.
Advance tickets cost £15 per day or £25 for the weekend – on-the-gate prices are £20 and £35 respectively. Entry includes free parking and all entertainment. Under-16s are admitted free.
Full details at prescott- hillclimb.com/events/tickets/la-vie-en-bleu-2018
June 2-3: Argyll Festival of Performance, Inveraray Castle, Argyll
The magnificent, fire-breathing Beast of Turin, the Fiat S76 record-breaker from 1911, makes its first ever appearance in Scotland for this new festival celebrating the country's contribution to motorsport.
With a 28.5-litre, four-cylinder engine developing 300bhp and capable of 116mph, the Beast set the one-mile land speed record in 1911.
It was more than a century before the Beast was run again, following an intensive and meticulous restoration by its owner Duncan Pittaway. The current Beast comprises the chassis of one of only two Fiat S76s built and the engine of the other.
The Beast joins a stellar line-up of cars for the Festival including a Lotus 18 raced by Innes Ireland, Scotland’s first GP winner, and later raced by Jim Clark. Also confirmed is the Tyrrell 001, Ken Tyrrell’s first F1 car, as campaigned by Jackie Stewart.
An iconic Porsche 917K, stunning Ferrari F40, Cooper-Bristol T-51 and a Maserati Tec Mec will also be on show in the grounds of the historic seat of the Clan Campbell.
And to mark 50 years since the untimely death of one of the sport’s most famous sons, Jim Clark, a one-off Lotus 32B constructed for Jim to race in the 65 Tasman Series will join the line-up. The Jim Clark Trust is the event’s charity partner with a donation from every ticket sold going to support the Trust’s plans to further develop a heritage centre to celebrate this great Scot’s contribution to motor racing.
Full details at www.argyllfestivalofperformance.com
June 30-July 1: Heveningham Hall motorsport and aviation concours d'elegance, Heveningham Hall, Heveningham, Suffolk
The Heveningham Hall concours d’elegance returns for its third year alongside a country fair in the Grade 1-listed Georgian mansion’s 5,000 acres of parkland, featuring 50 of the world’s most iconic cars exhibited on dramatic grassed terraces.
Also, following a successful inaugural event last year, there will be a simultaneous aviation concours featuring some of the world’s rarest aircraft.
New for 2018 will be the opportunity for concours’ owners and specially-selected guests to demonstrate their cars on timed sprints within the Capability Brown-designed landscape.
The Heveningham Tour also returns following a successful inaugural event in 2017 that saw around 25 concours owners and guests - their cars including a 1951 Ferrari 212 Barchetta, 1985 Lancia Delta S4 Corse and 2017 Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta - make their way through the Suffolk countryside.
This year's 50-mile tour takes place on Friday, June 29, taking in Suffolk’s renowned Heritage Coast.
Full details at www.heveninghamconcours.com
August 31-September 1, 2018: Déjà Vu Ulster rally reunion, Titanic Quarter, Belfast
Rally legend Walter Röhrl will return to the scene of his dominant win in the 1984 Ulster International Rally for the latest in Déjà Vu Motorsport’s popular rally reunions, in aid of charity, which have already raised £70,000.
It’s 34 years since Walter and his co-driver Christian Geistdörfer blasted their Group B Audi Quattro S4 over the Antrim, Down and Fermanagh stages to obliterate the opposition. Those who witnessed their performance rate it as one of the greatest drives in Irish rallying history. The unbeatable duo defeated luminaries such as Russell Brookes, Jimmy McRae and local hero Bertie Fisher by more than four minutes.
The Porsche-contracted driver will return to Ulster to head a cavalcade of historic rally cars over famous Antrim stages such as Glen Dunn and Torr Head. He will be joined by many of his contemporaries and a host of other rally stars.
The cavalcade starts at the Titanic Quarter in Belfast at 10am, taking in a 150-mile route over classic rally stages used in the Circuit of Ireland and Ulster Rally.
Afterwards, there is a gala dinner in Titanic Belfast with classic rallying videos, interviews with star drivers and other entertainment.
Registrations and tickets for the gala dinner can be reserved at the RPM Motorsport website below. All profits will go to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Full details at www.rpm-motorsport.com/tours/ or email alan@rpm-motorsport.com
Cloverlands Model Museum, Montgomery, Powys
This charming museum has a display of about 2,000 model cars, some of them up to three feet in length.
Well worth a visit if you're in or near mid-Wales - and the area also has some of the finest driving roads in the UK.
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