Tag Archives: GT

Ferrari Friday – Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham

Among the 1700 classic cars on display at last weeks Classic Motor Show at the NEC Birmingham there were at least a dozen Ferrari’s and for Ferrari Friday I have selected half a dozen of the best.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Having survived the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the 1992 Hurricane Iniki this Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta has a few stories to tell, amazingly it’s history is known right back to the individual Ferrari employees names at the factory responsible for putting individual components together.

Ferrari 275 GTB/2, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

By way of complete contrast this 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/2 has had a quiet life it was sold originally to an owner in the UK and in 1982 was transfered to German ownership until October 2013 when it was acquired by restoration experts DK Engineering on behalf of it’s now third owner.

Ferrari 365 GTB/4, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Anyone carrying £625,000 pounds in their back pocket could have bought this 1973 Ferrari Daytona, one of 158 original right hand drive examples that can whisk the occupants up to 60 mph from rest in just 5.4 seconds and on up to 174 mph.

Ferrari 512BBi, Classic Motor Show, NEC,

Only 42 RHD Ferrari 512BBi’s were built and after a £45,000 recommissioning this 1982 example with 16,700 miles on the clock was being offered for £260,000 a veritable bargain if one is not in the market for a V12 powered Ferrari aside from the bargain basement 400/412 models which rarely fetch close to even £50,000.

Ferrari Testarossa, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Looking like it might have just come off the Miami Vice set, yes I know it’s the wrong colour, was this 1989 Ferrari Testarossa with just 13,000 miles on the clock.

Ferrari F40, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Surprisingly given the models reputation for being one of the all time greatest drives the 1991 Ferrari F40 above has covered just 1,100 miles with it’s owner in Italy and more recent collector in Japan.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ferrari Friday” edition of “Gettin’a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow, don’t forget to come back now !

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Hollywood to Withywood – Ford Mustang GT 35th Anniversary

In 1999 Ford upgraded the fourth generation Mustang with a minor, more aggressive, face lift know as ‘New Edge’.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

Being the 35th Anniversary of Mustang production all 1999 Mustangs left the factory with 35th Anniversary wing / fender badges.

02 Ford Mustang GT_2614sc

There were also 4,628 US$ 2,695 Option Code 54Y 35th Anniversary Limited Edition models all powered by the GT 4.6 litre / 280 cui V8 of which 515 were white, 1,259 in silver, 1,299 in black and 1,555 in Performance Red.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

Official documentation on today’s featured Mustang GT show’s it was purchased in 2000 by the First Entertainment Credit Union, an organisation that was originally founded to serve employees and former employees of Warner Brothers, for the first registered keeper in Hollywood.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

It was my great privilege to be allowed to drive this car for a couple of miles on Bank Holiday Sunday from Redhill Village Hall south of Bristol to it’s current home near Withywood.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

As it appears the vehicle is currently fitted with a non cat exhaust, not required of a personal import of this age, the consequent sound it emits was music my ears.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

So long as left hand drive is not too alien to the driver the car is surprisingly easy to drive, the pedals are taught and the gear change is slick, with the tremendous torque of the V8 it will pull effortlessly in any gear from 1,000 rpm.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

The steering is typically vague as per many US vehicles I have driven be they blue oval or bow tie, but apart from that this car is great fun to drive, as it should be with less than 40,000 miles on the clock.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

Seating is infinitely more comfortable than my Euro box and I’m sure I could spend a couple of hours emptying the fuel tank and get out afterwards completely relaxed.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

The car is fitted with a Ford Mach Sound System which includes radio/cd and compact cassette, as initimated earlier, for the purposes of the test the hi fi was completely superfluous.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

The current owner reckons he gets around 22 mpg which given the weight of this Electric Green beast is not too bad.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

When I had finished backing the car into the owners drive I was left wishing I did not need a vehicle capable of carrying 4 passengers or a couple of hay bales, as this car would never cease to put a smile on my face.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

Alternatively I wish I could afford a second car for cruises, the occasional spit and shine event, bring what you brung and or a bit of track day fun all of which this car could be suited to without much in the way of additional work.

My thanks to Nick, who is currently offering this car for sale, for further details get in touch in the comments box below or see the new GALPOT classified ads page.

To hear this great car in action check out this youtube link.

Thanks for joining me on this “Hollywood to Withywood” edition of “Getting’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again for a look at a Speciale Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Classic Clubs – Silverstone Classic

Today’s blog is dedicated to all the hundreds of car clubs and thousands of classic car enthusiasts who brought classic cars along to Silvertone Classic as we take a look at some of the clubs present.

Aston Martin Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

No less than three, from a total production of 100, of the 2002 limited edition Aston Martin DB7 Zagato’s headed the Aston Martin Owners Club parade.

Berkeley Enthusiasts Club, Silverstone Classic,

Celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary in style was the Berkeley Enthusiasts Club, above a Berkeley Foursome and B105 lap the Silverstone Circuit.

BMW Car Club, Silverstone Classic,

Complementing the 40 metre BMW wheel and Village Green the BMW Car Club was out in strength, above a Z3 and Z1 lap the circuit during one of the parades.

Classic Corvette Club UK, Silverstone Classic

Classic Corvette Club UK was celebrating it’s 35th anniversary, the ’78 Indy 500 Pace Car Limited Edition above was built a year before the formation of the club. This one has the desirable 220hp L82 motor option, the 1978 Indy 500 was won by Al Unser in his Cosworth DFX powered Lola T500.

Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

The Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club always have a fine display of SP250s at this event and this year was no exception.

Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain, Silverstone Classic

The Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Pony Car, above a ’70 convertible stands next to a ’69 Shelby GT 500.

Ginetta Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of the Ginetta G33, one day when I’m in a position to buy one I’ll become a member of the Ginetta Owners’ Club.

Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, Club, Silverstone Classic

John James of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club was able to help me out with an Otter Switch for GALPOT’s most famous XK140 owner Geoffrey Horton in California.

Lamborghini Club UK, Silverstone Classic

The original competition spec prototype Lamborghini Muira Jota burned to the ground on the, unopened, Brescia ring road in April 1971, a member of Lamborghini Club UK has built this wonderful replica of the Prototype originally built by Bob Wallace.

Mercedes Benz Club, Silverstone Classic

Amongst the Mercedes Benz Club members vehicles was this imperiously tailfined 1967 Mercedes Benz 200.

Morgan Sports Car Club, Silverstone Classic

Wecoming Morganeers was the Morgan Sports Car Club with 5,000 owners world wide.

Piper Sports And Racing Car Club, Silverstone Classic

Catering for just 80 examples ever built is the Piper Sports And Racing Car Club which is primarily concerned with preserving the marque for whom Tony Hilder designed the 30″ GT’s first seen in 1968.

Porsche Club Great Britain, Silverstone Classic


Porsche Club Great Britain
is the UK’s only officially recognised club for the marque and has close links with Porsche AG and the marques official importer Porsche Cars Great Britain.

Stag Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

Driven by a zest for life for those united by a common interest in the Triumph Stag classic car is the Stag Owners Club.

Karmann Ghia Owners Club, Silverstone Classic

The Karmann Ghia Owners Club attempts to support all aspects of ‘KG’ ownership from purists who want to see original cars to those whose interests include customisation, lowering and performance modifications.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Classic Clubs’ edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Americana Thursday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Hi-Tech Perana – AC 378 GT Zagato

At the 2009 Geneva motor show a South African company Perana Performance Group showed it’s Zagato designed Z One on the Zagato stand and announced it’s intention to have the cars built by Hi-Tech Automotive in East London South Africa.

AC 378 Zagato, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

In 2012 AC announced that the former Perana Z One was to be built under license with the AC 378 GT Zagato name at the same Hi Tech facility in South Africa.

AC 378 Zagato, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

To date I appear to have seen this 2012 Geneva show car twice, once as seen in these images at last weekends Classics at the Castle and the first time at Auto Italia Brooklands a couple of years ago.

AC 378 Zagato, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

I’m not sure if any further of these Chevy V8 powered machines have been built, but if I had £100K burning a hole in my pocket I might be tempted to offer AC Cars a substantial sum as a deposit as encouragement for them to build me one, the only problem I might have is choosing a colour, perhaps a moody dark metallic British Racing Green, or metallic Red would do the trick, what do you think ?

Thanks for joining me on this “Hi-Tech Perana” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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To Finish First – Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato #0180/L

Heading the entry list of the 1961 Le Mans 24 Hour race was the 4 litre / 244 cui GT class made up of three entries all of which were privately entered Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato’s including the left hand drive chassis #0180/L entered and driven by Jean Kerguen and Jacques Dewes, the latter appears to have also been known by the pseudonym “Franc” or “J Franc”.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Hillsbrough Concours  d'Elegance

The other two DB4 GT Zagato’s were the lightweight right hand models of the Essex Racing Stable best known by their registration numbers ‘1 VEV’ driven by Jack Fairman and Bernard Consten and ‘2 VEV’ driven by Australians Lex Davison and Bob Stillwell.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Hillsbrough Concours  d'Elegance

During the 1961 Le Mans Test weekend Jean recorded 9th fastest time driving #0180/L, but during qualification for the race Jean and Jacques could only manage 13th fastest time, right behind ‘2 VEV’ and two spots ahead of ‘1 VEV’.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Hillsbrough Concours  d'Elegance

During the race the Essex Racing Stable Zagato‘s ‘1 VEV’ and ‘2 VEV’ retired early on laps 22 and 25 respectively both with blown head gaskets. #0180/L recorded 286 laps enough to be classified 9th overall and class winners, had it not retired in the final hour with a broken starter motor.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Hillsbrough Concours  d'Elegance

#0180/L is known to have made at least three further race appearances with Jean recording a best 4th place finish driving the car in the 1961 Coppa Inter-Europa run at Monza.

Gwen and Tom Price from Larkspur CA were the owners of #0180/L when Geoffrey Horton took these photo’s of it at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance last year.

My thanks to Geoffrey for sharing his photo’s and to you for joining me on this “To Finish First” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me for Maserati Monday tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1962 Le Mans competitor. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Low Roof Coupé – Ferrari 250 GT Boano Coupé #0553GT

When Pinin Farina could no longer keep up with the production of Ferrari bodies in the mid 1950’s a deal was struck with Mario-Felice Boano of Carrozzeria Boano to manufacture bodies to a Pinin Farina design.

Ferrari 250 GT Boano, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Today’s featured Low Roof Coupé chassis #0553GT was manufactured in 1956 and delivered to it’s first owner Franco Buzzoni in Pisa, Italy. By 1960 it was to be found in the United States the car then went to France and the Netherlands having it’s original motor swapped out in the 1970’s.

Ferrari 250 GT Boano, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

In 2006 #0553GT was reunited with it’s original motor and the following year owner Tony Schwartz gave the car it’s competition debut winning it’s class at Mt. Tremblant and in two races at Fontana.

In 2008 Gerald T. Vento of Velox Motorsport acquired #0533GT which is one of 88 Ferrari 250 GT’s for which Boano built bodies between 1955 and 1957.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s of #0533GT which were taken at Concours on the Avenue in Carmel by the Sea in 2011.

Thanks for joining me on this “Low Roof Coupé” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for a FIAT by Bertone. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Butcher & POW – Gilbern GT

While Great Britain has contributed a fair share to motor manufacturing history apart from Argylle, Hillman / Singer and Scamp in Scotland, Shamrock and DeLorean in Ireland and one manufacturer in Wales all of the remaining manufacturers have been based in England.

The manufacturer in Wales came about after founder and Pontypridd family butcher Giles Smith, who dreamt of building his own GT Coupé met former German prisoner of war (POW) and engineer Bernard Friese who was experienced in working with fiberglass.

Gilbern GT, Bristol Classic Motor Show, Shepton Mallet

Together they built a one off vehicle based on Austin A35 running gear in the back of Giles butchers shop and invented the name Gilbern from the opening letters of their respective christian names.

After cutting down a tree at the back of the butchers shop to get it on the road the new Gilbern drew favourable comments including that it “looked like a bought one”.

Gilbern GT, Bristol Classic Motor Show, Shepton Mallet

Smith and Friese needed no further encouragement to go into business and found Wales’s first and so far only car manufacturing operation in Pontypridd where half a dozen staff began manufacturing Gilbern GT kits at the rate of one a month.

The Gilbern GT suitable for a variety of engines mainly from MG and Coventry Climax recieved good reviews but costing £1,000 pounds the Gilbern GT was considered expensive at around twice the price of a family 4 door saloon.

Gilbern GT, Bristol Classic Motor Show, Shepton Mallet

This particular car, seen at the Bristol Classic Motor Show a couple of years ago was first registered in August 1961.

So far as I can tell from the 1275 cc / 77.8 cui engine size it is fitted with an British Motor Corporation (BMC) A series motor, first seen in the 1964 Mini Cooper S, suggesting another motor was fitted when the car was first built.

Gilbern GT, Bristol Classic Motor Show, Shepton Mallet

Powered by an MGA 1600 motor a Gilbern GT was independently tested as capable of reaching 60 mph from rest in 13.8 seconds and a top speed of 94 mph with an average fuel consumption of 35 mpg imp / 29 mpg US.

Between 1959 and 1967 280 Gilbern 2+2 GT Coupe’s were built before the all new Gilbert Genie model was introduced.

Thanks for joining me on this “Butcher & POW” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Maserati Monday. Don’t forget to come back now !

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