Cars

The ‘save the date’ invitation to Arosa, Switzerland, to drive a Porsche in the international hillclimb, was the cause of much euphoria – unusual for a Monday morning. “Which 911 will the Porsche Museum allocate for my challenging 7.8km dash up the mountain?” I wondered. But my elation was soon to suffer a bit of a setback.

“Mr. Rathgen, you will be taking the start in our 924 Carrera GT.” My first hillclimb behind the three-spoke steering wheel of the ‘housewife’s Porsche’? I started to pout.

The superb Davos White car – kindly loaned by Classic Driver dealer Graeme Hunt – is a ‘Velar’. Watch the video and see how the car got its name, and find out what it’s like in town, and around.

Video: Simon Clay

Land Rover chose the Royal Ballet School in London’s Richmond Park for its launch venue. The parallels were clear: athleticism and poise in a leaner, more efficient body.

We’ll be driving the new car next month, so will then be in a better position to comment on its dynamism, but the specification revealed by the (justly proud) engineering team is of a standard-setting car, fully able to take on the demands of the modern world.

We visited Barrie at his new premises, located within an easy drive from Central London or Heathrow.

Clearly an early Porsche 911 man (the Barrie family's blue, short-wheelbase 911s have been a familiar sight on European historic racing circuits in recent years, Goodwood included), the stock nevertheless includes a brace of Alfa Romeos and a 1964 Lotus 23B.

For this, the third staging of the Chelsea AutoLegends event, the organising team had gathered an ever-more impressive and eclectic mix of the automotive world’s finest.

Arranged by various motoring themes, the lawns and gardens of the iconic Grade 1 listed building were a perfect setting for the Le Mans, 70s Cool, Stars’ Cars and other displays. Equally enticing sections came in the form of Group B Rally cars, the Ace Café motorcycle feature and USA muscle cars.

The pale metallic green Aston, chassis DBR1/2, has been in the same ownership for many years. In period, its drivers won at Spa, the Nürburgring (a magnificent effort by Brooks/Cunningham-Reid in 1957) and at Goodwood, where Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks clinched the World Championship for the British marque in 1959.

The fortunate recipient of the unique car – which is yet to be given a name – is 32-year-old businessman Cheerag Arya. He is well-known to Maranello, owning a collection that includes a 575M Maranello, an F430 Scuderia, an Enzo, a Daytona, a 599XX, a 599 GTO, an SA Aperta and an F40. In other words, a customer of long standing who fully meets the criteria of Special Projects commissioning.