A few months ago I went to an event at Chateau Impney for the first time, for a Coffee and Chrome Collective event sponsored by insurance company Footman James, it was a cold, windy February morning for a classic car show, yet some 500 classics of all shapes and sizes turned up. Perhaps emboldened by the success of such an out-of-season event, FJ announced a 1000 car entry limit for Sunday morning’s Coffee and Chrome meeting which was quickly reached, despite other local competition within just 25 miles, helped in no small part, I’m sure, by the fact that registration for the event was free.
Chateau Impney is but 15 miles from me, and after a very pleasant country lane drive of about 30 minutes I rolled up just before 9.00 to find a considerable queue of classics already ahead of me, but was parked up by 9.15 alongside a very lovely red 993.
Having covered the history of Chateau Impney briefly in my account of that February gathering, I won’t go over it again now – you can read about it here. Instead, I’ll focus on just some of the 1000 classics that turned out, or at least the ones that most interested me and will hopefully interest you, dear Reader.
Even though there were already several hundred cars parked up before me, classics continued to stream in for quite some time afterwards, among them road-going versions of two rally giants, a Lancia Integrale and an Audi Quattro, a rare Vauxhall Cavalier convertible and an Italian and a British version of the ‘70’s wedge in the shapes of a Lamborghini Uracco and Triumph TR7.
One of the first surprises of the day was an immaculate blue 1978 Peugeot 504 Ti – I haven’t seen one of these for ages, and this was a really lovely example, both inside and out. 504’s were among the most durable cars you could buy back in the day, and are still much loved in many African countries.
It’s well known that we celebrate the unexceptional here at ViaRETRO, and there can be few more unexceptional classics than the next grouping. The 1990 Galaxy Blue Ford Escort Estate Mk 4 exuded ordinariness, as did the pale blue basic 1977 Escort saloon. Both were in excellent condition, unlike the very worn – okay, patinated – 1984 Renault 18 Diesel Estate which clattered its way to its parking spot. The beige 1968 Morris 1300 or ADO 16 was one of a range of cars that topped the best-seller lists for several years in the late 1960’s; fewer than 120 remain on our roads today. Another sales chart topper was the Ford Cortina Mk IV in the 1970’s and again, few remain – the blue 1977 1.6GL at Chateau Impney might be the last one of its kind on the road in the UK. There were several other candidates for this group and you can see them in the gallery at the end.
There was a decent sprinkling of Americana around the Chateau’s grounds. I particularly liked the metallic blue 1965 Mustang fastback, and there was a lesser-spotted – in this country, at least -variety of pony car in the form of a 1977 Mustang Series II coupé. This Mustang had an “American Muscle” sticker in the rear window, yet under the bonnet was a relatively feeble 2.8-litre V6. A silver 1961 Buick Le Sabre and a pale blue 1966 Buick Skylark also caught the eye, and the yellow 1961 Cadillac Fleetwood made quite an entrance.; you’ll spot a few others in the end gallery.
Although there’s a reasonable number about, when was the last time you saw not one, but two Rover Sterlings? Of the two, the grey 1990 car was a very good example, the 1991 black one somewhat scruffier, but it was a nice surprise to see the two together. I used to run an 820i back in 1987, a good car but sadly not trouble-free. Sticking for a moment or two with pairs, two sporting Ford hatchbacks made a lovely couple, as did a duo of Morris Minors, one of which was a nicely decorated pick up – as it should be, boasting an artist’s name on its side. Other smart pairs included a couple of Mini’s, in smart colours of purple for the saloon and navy blue for the van, two generations of Porsche 911 convertible, a handsome pair of Triumph Stags in yellow and red, a very tidy couple of 1954 MG TF Midgets in red and cream, as well as a pair of TVR S3’s, the later (1993) model equipped with the 4.0-litre V8. There were a lot of the Blackpool company’s cars on display but most of them were of more recent vintage.
Finally for our pairs game, there was a handsome pair of pre-WW2 Rollers parked back-to-back, with an especially attractive 1929 Phantom II (I think!) in blue and black with an engine as big as any US land yacht – all 7.7 litres of it. Behind it was a black 1934 Hooper-bodied 20/25 saloon in dark blue, powered by a somewhat more modest 3.7-litre unit.
While modern cars have some technically quite astonishing digital dashboards, with heads-up displays and the like, there’s a simple and stylish beauty to the fascias of cars of old, with their functional dials, occasionally painted dashboards and not always ergonomically efficient switchgear. Here are a few examples, see if you can guess which cars they’re from.
Other favourites of mine on the day included a very pretty 1958 Series II Sunbeam Rapier convertible in white with a deep blue flash down the side, in exceptional condition, a contemporary of the Sunbeam, a very clean 1962 blue Ford Classic with a white roof, a 1986 Marcos GT fitted with a 3.9-litre V8, dramatic in metallic blue alongside a humble blue over white 1957 Standard 10, and a beautiful 1956 silver Jaguar XK140 drophead – an agelessly elegant design.
With such a vast number of cars on show, I’ve obviously left many out, but hopefully I’ve given you a flavour of the event and of the variety of classics that turned up for this latest edition of the Coffee and Chrome meetings – see the gallery below for more classic delights. Despite an unfavourable weather forecast, the morning stayed largely bright and clear and fortunately remained that way until just after I put the 911 back in the garage, a good way to end a very enjoyable few hours.
