Editorial

With worldwide motorsport perceived to be in some degree of crisis at the moment, it was encouraging to see such a high turnout of visitors at the 'Autosport International' this weekend, a trade fair for the industry, at the NEC in Birmingham. Motor racing is expensive, and having been at the sharp end in the past, I was amazed at the ways you could spend your hard-earned to shave those fractions of a second off the lap times. It is a strange phenomenon in Historic Racing that having bought your classic racer the next object is to add as many modern gadgets to it to replicate a current DTM car, thus completely departing from the reason for its initial purchase.

We do however owe a great deal to modern technology when it comes to the maintenance of the rarest older cars in competition. An engineering company was showing newly cast cylinder blocks for the Maserati T60/61 series 'Birdcage' cars that were so gorgeous they could be in an art gallery.

It's a very fine line between the overt re-invention of history under the umbrella of 'safety/reliability/shortage of original parts' and using the latest computer technology to economically put genuine racing cars on to the grid that would have been only good for a museum or private collection some 10 years ago.

Why not leave your original classic racer as it is; original. A bit of driver training is probably cheaper, more fun and ultimately more satisfying. Get a proper driver to do a few laps in your car - you would be surprised how much faster it will go.

I was.

Steve Wakefield
Managing Editor

This week in Classic Driver

CAR OF THE WEEK

Rolls-Royce Phantom 2003

When BMW Group acquired the Rolls-Royce marque four and a half years ago, all they had was a world-renowned brand and a blank piece of paper. The company committed itself to building an entirely new car from scratch, ready for launch in January 2003, and you can imagine some of the questions …… “What makes a Rolls-Royce a Rolls-Royce? What should it look like? How should it drive? What size should it be?”...

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CLASSIC CAR OF THE WEEK

Jaguar XK150S

Owning a Jaguar XK150S in the late 1950s was the ultimate motoring fashion statement of that time. There was no shortage of young celebrities among Jaguar's customers for this, the fastest production car yet made by the Coventry company. ....

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NEWS

UK Debut for new Maserati Trofeo race car

Maserati UK revealed the all-new Maserati Trofeo race car at the Autosport International Show yesterday (Thursday) in Birmingham. The 177 mph, V8-powered Maserati Trofeo Coupe will be displayed at the NEC in Hall 8, Stand 8250 throughout the show which runs until Sunday 12 January...

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Detroit Motor Show - Aston Martin announce completely new AMV8 Vantage

Detroit Monday 6th January 2003. Aston Martin officially unveil its latest concept car - the AMV8 Vantage........

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Bentley Continental and Bentley Azure final series announced

Detroit, 5th January 2003... Bentley Motors has announced that it will be producing Final Series editions of the Bentley Continental R coupé and Bentley Azure convertible. Only a limited number of Final Series models will be commissioned between now and mid-2003 as a fitting tribute to Bentley's continued presence and domination of this exclusive sector...

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New Audi SUV concept unveiled in Detroit


Audi has drawn on its sporting success in two of the world's most famous races to develop its latest concept car - the Pikes Peak quattro - unveiled at this week's North American International Auto Show in Detroit....

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Mercedes E-Class Estate launched in Detroit


Leading-edge technology, captivating design, high-quality specification and intelligent interior practicality – the outstanding features of the new E-Class Estate that celebrates its world premiere at the North American International Motor Show in Detroit ....

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Aston Martin DB AR1


Aston Martin will showcase a lightweight concept Roadster at the Los Angeles Motor Show that has been designed specifically to appeal to its US customers...

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Features

Classic Driver 2002 Quiz - the answers


How well did you do? For those 'Classic Inside ' subscribers who tried our Christmas Quiz, here are the answers. (The winners of the three Classic Driver calendars have already been notified.)....

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New Rolls-Royce Phantom - reaction from Bob Gathercole


In response to the question ‘What do you think of the new Rolls Royce?’ in one word it can only accurately be answered as VeryInteresting. I am sure the ingenuity and might of BMW will have ensured that technically and the build quality will be all that is expected of such a new car carrying the famous name Rolls Royce...

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Classic Kalahari Rally - Namibia
25th January - 2nd February 2003

Rallye Monte Carlo Historique
31st January -2nd February 2003

24th Bristol Classic Car Show
1st - 2nd February 2003

Retromobile Paris
7th-16th February 2003

see further event details

SERVICE

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