Prescott Hill has become practically a local venue for me to visit since moving house last year, and this month sees me attending two events there in one week, with the first of these being their Italia Day on Sunday, dedicated to – you guessed it – classics from the boot of Europe.
This was my fourth visit to this most picturesque location in the Cotswold hills – there can be few motorsport venues in lovelier settings – most recently last September, and the drive there through verdant English countryside is equally lovely. Setting off on a beautiful, bright Spring morning, I rolled up a little before nine o’clock and as I don’t have an Italian classic, was obliged to park my 280CE in the part of the field set aside for regular punters.
Blessed with fine Spring weather, the day got off to a slow start, and I began to wonder whether this event was going to be a disappointment. As it was, while it didn’t reach the heights of the last Italian-themed event at Prescott I went to, there was more than enough to make for a very enjoyable half-day.
So where shall I begin… how about with perhaps the most famous name in Italian motoring, possibly the world – yes, Ferrari. Despite a preponderance of moderns, there was still a few very special cars from Maranello on show, with the most dramatic being the original 250 GT SWB “Breadvan”, complete with bread roll on view in the back! I’ve seen this car at Goodwood, and it opened the day’s hill runs with suitable sound and fury. To be honest, the styling is pretty awkward, but it remains an astonishing car.
Almost as special was the dark blue 1965 275GTB, also previously seen at Goodwood, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it at every event, and a couple of other dark blue beauties in the shapes of a ’72 Dino 246GT and 1998 (OK, a bit new) F355GTS, possibly the last Ferrari I like, as well as some 308’s and 328’s in the more usual Ferrari red, all much more desirable to my eyes than the over-sized 21st century bearers of the prancing horse badge.
Another delight was a 1958 FIAT Abarth 750 Zagato, a dainty jewel of a car finished in cream with a green centre stripe. Imported from Arizona as a bare metal shell, the owner restored this beauty mechanically himself while enlisting expert assistance for the bodywork and interior – the car looks superb. Although there was a red one at Bicester recently, this one was a cut above.
In equally excellent condition, but a very different kind of car, was the only FIAT 128 Estate on the road in the UK – indeed there are just two others known to exist in the country that are currently unlicensed. I’ve recently seen a couple of 128 saloons, but never an estate, and now I know why. It was a genuine treat to see this 1978 example that has just 23,500 warranted miles on the clock, and to chat to the owner, who clearly cherishes his unique (in the UK) car.
It was also nice to see an early X1/9 without the ugly impact bumpers – these “mini-Ferrari’s” still look really cool, and this one was in a very nice metallic blue.
There were several reminders of just what wonderful cars Lancia used to make, including a beautiful 1953 Aurelia coupé in dark blue, a pretty 1955 Appia in what looked to be the same shade, a ’63 Flaminia GT in need of work, a couple of smartly turned-out Montecarlo’s, even a 1980 Beta convertible, and a healthy turnout of Integrale’s, some of which were very enthusiastically run up Prescott’s winding hill.
There was an abundance of Alfa’s – that’s the now official collective noun for Alfa’s – each time I see a GT or GTV I think about how cool it would be to own one…or better yet, a Montreal. These lovelies make a stark contrast to the dramatic wedge that is the SZ. I’ve seen a couple of these recently and there were two at Prescott. There were also a few examples of the marque’s bigger saloons, including a smart 1974 Alfetta 1.8 in a tasty shade of maroon – we have one as our Prime Find next week.
Besides my Mercedes there was a smattering of what we might call “international guest” classics, although some of these could legitimately lay claim to having Italian connections – I’m thinking of the Triumph Stag (Michelotti) and especially the terrific orange Dolomite Sprint -the Dolomites are in Italy, and of course it’s another Michelotti design – so fairly Italian, no? And the MGB GT – designed by none other than Pininfarina, so nearly Italian, then.
It was quite a surprise to see one of the more unusual Japanese classics – a 1992 Subaru SVX, which is a Giugiaro design, so at least as Italian as the Triumphs and MGB, and although a relative youngtimer, it is now 30 years old! It has hints of Citroën XM (or should that be the other way around?) and is long, low and sleek, but the most unusual aspect of its design is the two dual-pane side windows à la Countach – I actually think it would look better with a single pane, but that might just be me.
I’m not sure why, but there was a line-up of SAAB’s at the event. I’m not a member of the cult of SAAB, but I did enjoy seeing the black 1980 99 Turbo – I drove one briefly back in my BL days when we used to have days of testing other manufacturer’s products; I recall it kicked like a mule when the turbo engaged.
Most readers will know that Prescott is run by the Bugatti Trust, Italian sounding name but of course French, and they usually have a car or two on show, and outside the Trust’s small hall were a gorgeous Type 23 Brescia and a Type 37A, but the real treat was inside. While much of the display is photographic, there was a very early Ettore Bugatti design, a 1912 Bébé Peugeot Bugatti Type 19, and just arrived a couple of weeks ago and on loan to the Trust for the summer, a stunning 1936 Type 57 Atlantic, the third of just four built – an absolutely breath-taking motor car.
As an aside, one thing that I hadn’t realised, despite seeing many Bugatti’s over the years, not least the 123 on display at the Cité de l’Automobile in Mulhouse, was that all Bugatti’s were RHD. In fact, many French pre-WW2 cars were RHD and on looking through some of my photos, I see this now, but had simply never previously noticed…or when I had, had assumed that such cars had been converted to RHD, when in fact the steering wheel was on the right of the car all along. You live and learn, albeit slowly in my case….
In the end, Prescott Italia delivered an excellent event – a wide variety of classic Italian machinery, some of it exquisite, only missing some classic Maserati’s, as well as a whole bunch of interesting cars from elsewhere, and while the hill runs were only occasionally tackled with any brio, it was still cool to see these cars being driven, and not just on static display. I’m looking forward now to seeing what next week brings at this wonderful location.
