What I saw today....

[oneofapair]

Have just been travelling south on the A1 from Lincoln to Kent.Typical rush hour volume of traffic moving briskly past the truck etc. Looked in the mirror to see in the distance what looked like an Austin A35 pushing the traffic along.Did the decent thing and pulled over to let the traffic by and yes sure enough, an immaculate Grey?(taupe?) complete with skinny("bacon"slicer)wheels A35 pushing the traffic along!! Give away was a discreet "GOODWOOD" sticker in the back window. The ultimate wolf in sheeps clothing,driven by a grey haired boy racer,out running a new 5 series BMW on acceleration up to a VERY brisk pace as the traffic flow cleared . great little hot rod.
Many Thanks ,whoever you are, brightened my day no end.

[broadrun96]

Somehow in ONE day, less than 6 hours, I managed to see TWO different Fisker Karmas in and around Atlanta. Of the 1000 some odd cars delivered in the US, that's a pretty remarkable density in one day.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Alfaholic

Spending the weekend at the Silverstone Classic brings about a "oh no, not another <insert classic/exotic car> " mentality, but I'm sure I caught a brief glance of a Lotus Elan Estate which was unusual as I've never seen one before.

Then near home a mint Ford Consol was seen on the outskirts of Ipswich possibly returning from a different classic event. There's also a Ford Anglia 105E in use as a daily driver in the Felixstowe area.

The Lotus Elan Estate is indeed unusual; London Lotus dealer Hexagon of Highgate, no doubt inspired by the Reliant Scimitar GTE, set-out to build a run of them but in reality it is thought that only two were completed. It quickly became known as the 'Elanbulance'.

...and as a fellow East Anglian & Alfa enthusiast, I was pleased to see a T-reg 146 here in France the other day. It's one Alfa I never owned but wish I had, having very much enjoyed the use of a Ti version for a week back in the day.

Don't suppose the Anglia you see in Felixstowe is primrose yellow, reg 9618 EV? That was my great uncle's car many years ago! (He lived in Ipswich). There's a LHD blue Anglia owned locally here, looking remarkably original; it's a regular at many of the local shows etc & is used on the road.

[Alfaholic]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

The Lotus Elan Estate is indeed unusual; London Lotus dealer Hexagon of Highgate, no doubt inspired by the Reliant Scimitar GTE, set-out to build a run of them but in reality it is thought that only two were completed. It quickly became known as the 'Elanbulance'.

...and as a fellow East Anglian & Alfa enthusiast, I was pleased to see a T-reg 146 here in France the other day. It's one Alfa I never owned but wish I had, having very much enjoyed the use of a Ti version for a week back in the day.

Don't suppose the Anglia you see in Felixstowe is primrose yellow, reg 9618 EV? That was my great uncle's car many years ago! (He lived in Ipswich). There's a LHD blue Anglia owned locally here, looking remarkably original; it's a regular at many of the local shows etc & is used on the road.

John,

Thanks for the detail on the Elanbulance, I'm glad I wasn't seeing things.

As far as Alfa's go I had the pleasure(?) of owning a 1.8 145 which is the 3 door version of the 146. Lovely car spoilt by having to have the engine replaced - twice!

Regards the Anglia - it is primrose yellow surprisingly, but I don't know what the registration is. When I see it again I'll have a look.

[nicanary]

There must be a good Maserati salesman round here - I've seen in the last 12 hours a 3200GT and two different 4200GTs. And I've just been over the Holywood hills (The inspiration for Bob Seager) and passed a Triumph Stag, with top down of course.

On the way there I saw that pesky A30 again, towing a 'bike trailer which had on it a beautifully restored Manx Norton. So I saw one-quarter of a Vanwall engine.

[Salamus]

I saw a Carrera GTS today at my university! Porsche's and sports cars in general are not abundant in Hamilton, Ontario, so it was a pleasant surprise.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by nicanary

There must be a good Maserati salesman round here - I've seen in the last 12 hours a 3200GT and two different 4200GTs. And I've just been over the Holywood hills (The inspiration for Bob Seager) and passed a Triumph Stag, with top down of course.

On the way there I saw that pesky A30 again, towing a 'bike trailer which had on it a beautifully restored Manx Norton. So I saw one-quarter of a Vanwall engine.

Funny you say that, I just saw a Maserati GT today in a rural US town where you'd last expect to see one. I've only ever seen a few Maserati's on the road ever and mostly in big cities on the coasts.

[Alfaholic]

I saw this car or one virtually identical to it in Felixstowe town centre this afternoon!

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Alfaholic

I saw this car or one virtually identical to it in Felixstowe town centre this afternoon!

A nice car - a music teacher at my old school had one in the same red colour back in the 1960's. The drop-top version is rather lovely too. Skoda really did not deserve to be the butt of all those jokes.

...and speaking of drop-tops, a Dutch-registered Citroen DS Decapotable caught the eye in town the other day. Fabulous!

[nicanary]

Parked next to a Series3 lotus Esprit at Tesco just now. Nice, and I was followed home by a Maser 3200GT, (non-hockey stick, for the afficianados).

last night was hot and sunny, and I saw a small convoy of two Caterham Superlights (sounds like a packet of fags), one of which was painted in Dayglo lime. Nothing like attracting the attention of Mr. Plod. They were heading for the Portaferry road, which to Ulster readers will mean a fine twisting coast road along the Ards peninsula - very popular with bikers, who manage to "lose" one or two of their members each year on this stretch of road.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by nicanary

Parked next to a Series3 lotus Esprit at Tesco just now. Nice, and I was followed home by a Maser 3200GT, (non-hockey stick, for the afficianados).

last night was hot and sunny, and I saw a small convoy of two Caterham Superlights (sounds like a packet of fags), one of which was painted in Dayglo lime. Nothing like attracting the attention of Mr. Plod. They were heading for the Portaferry road, which to Ulster readers will mean a fine twisting coast road along the Ards peninsula - very popular with bikers, who manage to "lose" one or two of their members each year on this stretch of road.

The Esprit really should've been at Brands Hatch this weekend (& so should I) for the Lotus Festival, where 50 Years of the Lotus Elan is being celebrated.

I saw my very first Nissan Leaf this afternoon - hope he was well-charged up as the traffic jams coming away from our beautiful Cote d'Opale are mega this evening.

Also saw what I assume was a new Chevrolet Camaro; low 'n wide head-on but smaller than I expected.

[wheelsportaddict]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

The Esprit really should've been at Brands Hatch this weekend (& so should I) for the Lotus Festival, where 50 Years of the Lotus Elan is being celebrated.

Shelsley Walsh hill climb was also having it's own celebration for the Elan as well.

[dwh43scale]

Lancia Hyena a few weeks ago near Paddington Station

[nicanary]

In the 60s our family had a series of annual holidays exploring England and Wales by hiring motorhomes, known commonly in those days as "dormoblies" or "caravettes". It's the best way to get to know your own country - most kids today have only the vaguest idea of what's out there.

Anyhoo, I've just seen a Commer "forward-control" motorhome of the type we sometimes hired. They were renowned for propensity to rust, and I couldn't tell you when I last saw one. VWs, Bedford CAs, even Thames all seem to still be about.



For your amusement... went to a council estate last night and passed a guy working on his pride and joy. Typical tattooed, tight T-shirt, shaved head type (probably with a pit-bull in the back yard) and checking a new roof spoiler he'd fixed on his car. Car all polished and gleaming, a reflection of his own image etc. What was the car?......... Daewoo Matiz.

(Apologies for stereotyping).

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by nicanary

In the 60s our family had a series of annual holidays exploring England and Wales by hiring motorhomes, known commonly in those days as "dormoblies" or "caravettes". It's the best way to get to know your own country - most kids today have only the vaguest idea of what's out there.

Anyhoo, I've just seen a Commer "forward-control" motorhome of the type we sometimes hired. They were renowned for propensity to rust, and I couldn't tell you when I last saw one. VWs, Bedford CAs, even Thames all seem to still be about.



For your amusement... went to a council estate last night and passed a guy working on his pride and joy. Typical tattooed, tight T-shirt, shaved head type (probably with a pit-bull in the back yard) and checking a new roof spoiler he'd fixed on his car. Car all polished and gleaming, a reflection of his own image etc. What was the car?......... Daewoo Matiz.

(Apologies for stereotyping).

I am obviously of a similar age and also remember when growing up many of the larger families used Bedford and Ford Dormobile type of vehicles as a normal estate car wasn't big enough.
Then many years later Renault release the Espace and claim to have invented the People carrier!