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Automotive

Saintly pretty

"When I were a lad..."...like most boys, cars excited me. And the cars on TV in particular caught my attention. These included the Aston Martin and Ferrari carriages of Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in the Persuaders, the Lotus 7 "built" by Patrick McGoohan in The Prisoner, the Jensen CV8 wafted around by Steve Forrest in The Baron, and even earlier, the Ford Thunderbird in 77 Sunset Strip. However, one of the most recognised cars of all time has to be Roger Moore's Volvo P1800 in "The Saint".

The TV producers wanted an E-Type Jag for The Saint, but William Lyons, Jag's founder, was not impressed, and certainly didn't need any more publicity. Both the Jag and the Volvo were announced at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show, albeit the Volvo's design goes back to Frua in Italy in 1957, where it was conceived by the son of a Volvo engineer. So, the TV producers approached Volvo, who were more obliging than Jaguar, and provided 2 cars for filming in and out of the studios..

However, between 1957 and 1961, the Volvo had been a bit of a hot potato, being bounced by Volvo around various prospective manufacturers such as Karmann to produce, (until Volkswagen put an end to that when they realised the threat to their own models). Even Aston Martin re-engineered one of these cars with a view to marketing it as one of theirs..
Eventually a deal was struck with Jensen to produce the first batch of cars, the P1800 models, examples of which are now very rare, and sought-after. Subsequently production moved to Sweden, whereupon the cars were designated "1800S", and continued with various upgrades, and latterly the "ES" Estate versions, until 1973.
Mechanics were bread and butter Volvo, and were never going to set the world alight, nor compete with the likes of Jaguar, in terms of performance. However let's not forget Volvo's many successes on the Rally Circuits with their amazing Amazon models, utilising similar engines and running gear.

Following the popularity of The Saint, Jaguar did concede eventually that their reluctance to assist with a car might have been short-sighted, and they provided XJ-S models for "The Return of the Saint" with Ian Ogilvy.

The P1800/1800S must surely be one of the prettiest Volvos ever designed, far removed from their slightly "conservatory door" image, (albeit I also have a V70 Estate and love it to bits).

I had an 1800S in 1972/3, bought for 600 quid from an opera singer in Palmers Green..and always had a soft spot for them...

Moving forward 40 years, this particular car was found on ebay and purchased from a Polish chap in Hendon about 4 years ago, as a "box of bits", and has slowly become what you see today. It's essentially standard, but sports improved suspension, Minilite wheels, (as did The Saint's) and a mildly tuned engine. The interior is standard, apart from the red leather dash, a little fetish of mine!....and a couple of details to conclude.

There is an 1800S in New York that's recognised by the Guinness Book of Records for being the highest-mileage car in the world, having covered 3 million miles, and unlike Trigger's "original" broom, I don't believe it's had 12 new handles and 16 new heads!

To my knowledge there are only about 130 of these cars and their variants, road-legal in this country now, so many having succumbed to the rust-bug.

Maybe with the resurrection of The Saint this year, (co-produced by Roger Moore) and though I don't know what car he'll be driving, there might be renewed interest in this sexy little car.
Watch this space...

Again...Thanks to 'The Thatch' (this section soon to be renamed "Thatch's Automotive Blog")

Goodwood Revival

Well, here goes....last time I started to bleet on about the Goodwood Revival motor racing meeting, in September...and I can't hold back any longer...I've been going every year for the last decade, during which time it's grown into one of the most prestigious and THE most nostalgic of all the retro-events presently on the British calender. Last year, amongst the many tributes, was a race dedicated to E-Type Jags, celebrating their 50th...and this year will be the Cobra's turn. I am a huge fan of both these icons, and never warmed in the same fashion to their German counterparts.......However, respect has to be earned and the German automotive industry does command a lot of that... This year sees the gathering of some of the MOST wonderful racing machines ever devised...the Silver Arrows...Mercedes and Auto Union racers from 1932-1939...During this period they trounced everything in sight, being developed to produce in excess of 600bhp.... power-outputs not matched in F1 until the 1980's. These machines were last seen together pounding the Yugoslav GP circuit in 1939, the day after WW2 started. Since then they've been lovingly mothballed and only let out to play on special occasions.And Goodwood is one such occasion and i believe the first time they set foot on English soil since Donnington in the '30s. This will be an incredible sight to behold, if you're a petrol-head of any age...These machines could exceed 200mph when your Grandad was taking Mum nervously on holiday at 25mph.Goodwood generally, for those who have not seen the light, is a re-creation of days-gone-by...nothing there, not even the vending machines will be post-1964. The event includes races between cars of many different eras, and flypasts, (12 Spitfires last year!....another coup...), military bands and the biggest pre-'64 fashion show in the world....the public!... The spirit of the whole event is amazing...To see grids of historic racers valued in excess of £100 million, racing, seriosly racing...not playing games..is not to be missed.And even the pre-64 visitors' carpark is the biggest classic car show you ever saw.....worth a visit even if you don't enter the Revival event...EVERY conceivable classic car you could imagine...all polished and sparkling in the sun...Don't turn up on the day....you won't get in...it's sold-out long before.

Again...Thanks to 'The Thatch'
(this is fast becoming his own section of the site)

50th Anniversary

Last year celebrated the 50th anniversary of the legendary E-Type Jaguar, and this year likewise celebrates the Cobra.
Back in 1961, Sir William Lyons knocked the Italians off their perches at the Geneva motor show with the Jaguar, hastily driven there overnight to meet the press-launch. Even Enzo Ferrari was reported to have said of the Jag..."I wish I'd designed that!" The E-Type was a road-going evolution of the famous C-Types and D-Types of the 50's, that conquered Le Mans so many times, and continued in production, in various guises, for nearly 20 years. It was every kid's dream, and many a celebrity's reality.

While this was going on, over the pond in the US of A, a certain Carol Shelby was merrily importing humble AC sports cars from England, and giving them a good makeover, to become the infamous Shelby Cobra. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Cobra should have an ego greater than a Libyan dictator. It's the most replicated car in the world, with numerous small Companies making lookalikes.

In a bid to win Le Mans, Shelby designed what became known as the Daytona Coupe, a rare replica of which (and the only one endorsed by Shelby himself), is shown here.

The original 6 cars are worth about £5 million each, but can still be seen racing in fury at the Goodwood Revival meeting every September. In fact this year sees a dedicated race to celebrate the Cobras, as last year saw a race comprising only E-types.

Now there's another subject, the Goodwood Revival......probably the most splendid recreation of motor racing history, up to the 60's, ever devised....It's absolutely brilliant....but another day, 'cos I'll bleat on about it for hours..

Thanks to ‘The Thatch’ for this post