Gerry Landie

A Land Rover lovingly owned by the late racing legend Gerry Marshall, and still sporting a series of ‘optional extras’ that signify his infectious enthusiasm for both cars and competition, will be auctioned at Historics Summer sale at Brooklands on Tuesday 19^th July.

The 1972 Series III workhorse is affectionately festooned with stickers detailing Marshall’s various memberships, interests and passions, such as the Aston Martin Owners Club, The British Racing Drivers Club and Historic Sports Car Club amongst others.

As a short wheel base variant, the more sporting looks of this 88(“) County model aptly reflect Marshall’s racing credentials – with 625 race wins across various formula, spanning 40 years – whilst the addition of a secondary, competition rev counter leave an indelible imprint of its previous owner.

Currently owned by a close family friend, this reliable Land Rover has spent its most recent years garaged, seeing only limited use outside of the annual MOT test, and offers in the region of £4,000 - £6,000 are anticipated for one of the most famous examples of this vehicle in existence.

For more information, and to attend the Historics at Brooklands auction on the afternoon of Tuesday July 19^th, call 0800 988 3838, e-mail: auctions@historics.co.uk, or see the website, www.historics.co.uk. Entry by catalogue only, available prior to, or on the day of the auction.

Last year, we got the wrong day and this year, we've got the right day, but just haven't had the time to get a single one of our retro classics on the road.

The 'Crab is closest – it's fit, willing, but illegal thanks to it lacking a piece of paper from the ministry. Still, at least now you can see what we've been up to all this time.

So when you spot us – Gez will be covered in cameras and Si will doubtless be still trying to bring hats back into vogue – come over and say hello. Especially, if you've got a cracking car which is just begging for the Dep-O treatment.

Castle Combe Action Day

Wonder if Gez'll let me borrow the ’Crab for a weekend...?

There is just one month to go until the next, exciting Castle Combe "Action Day" - the Classics & Sports Cars Action Day, happening at the heritage-rich Wiltshire circuit on Saturday 11 June.

The hugely popular, historic 1.85-mile circuit - one of the fastest, most exhilarating and oldest tracks in the UK - has been hosting Action Days for three decades, from its base in the beautiful Cotswolds. Each bespoke "Action Day" attracts a plethora of outstanding circuit cars, motor clubs, trade stands and big crowds - while also giving club members the chance to experience the speedy circuit at full tilt, firsthand, at great prices, from just £30 (£35 on the day).

As well as special set sessions for classic cars, modern sports cars and the special cherished car sessions on circuit, new for this 2011 Classics & Sports Cars Action Day event, are escorted "Club Parade" lap runs.

These sessions give a unique opportunity for club drivers and their families, to safely lap the circuit at 40mph, behind the Castle Combe pace car. They are bespoke for each classic and sports car marque and each includes a pose for a group photograph on the start/finish straight, to record the auspicious occasion.

The track is also used for another gigantic parade lap at lunchtime - the "Giant Classic Cruise" - where every car in the paddock is invited to join a show lap for the drivers, passengers and crowds alike to soak up the unique Castle Combe classic atmosphere. Last year, more than 200 vehicles took part, making this one of the many highlights of the event.

Also new for 2011 is a dedicated paddock area for individual owners of classic "tax exempt" cars (pre-1973). Running alongside the Action Day, in a separate area of the paddock (with its own parking and costing £10 to enter separately), is an exciting Classic Car & Automobilia auction, run by Richard Edmonds (seewww.richardedmondsauctions.com).

Highlights of the auction include: 50+ historic cars, 20+ classic motorcycles and 450 lots of automobilia. There are pre-war cars, including a 1927 Amilcar CGS (est: £25,000-30,000), a 1930 Lea Francis Hyper replica (est: £55,000-60,000), a 1932 Riley 12/6 Lynx tourer (est: £25,000-30,000) and post-war classics including a superb 1959 MGA (est: £20,000-22,000), and a good selection of MG B's and Midgets. There's also a number of commercials, the highlight being a 1943 AEC petrol bowser with a huge file of history, including being used to refuel the Lancaster bombers before their Dambusters raid! In terms of motorbikes, there's a pair of Vintage Scotts with a combined value of £10,000.

Among the automobilia, there will be a large collection of rare motoring enamel advertising signs, many worth several thousand pounds.

As usual at the Action Day, there's the established chance to be judged the coveted 'Car of the Show' and 'Club Stand of the Show,' for anyone displaying their retro vehicles. And vying for their chance to win those honours, there are over 60 classic and sports car clubs and more than 1,000 classic, retro and sports cars on display.

One of the big attractions this year is a special, exclusive track parade with Morgan three-wheelers, showcasing the iconic three-wheeler, in the year Morgan have decided to re-launch this classic British car. The Capri Mk1 Owners Club will be using the Action Day event as their national rally. The Aylesbury Branch of the MG Club will take to the track as part of their "Tour of the Cotswolds." The Thames Valley Austin Healey Club will be celebrating their 50th anniversary, along with the Jaguar E-Type and Jaguar Enthusiasts Club. The Lotus 7 Club look set to attract the largest numbers, celebrating the news that Team Lotus has just purchased Caterham.

The Alfa Romeo Owners Club - with cars from the 1929 750SS to the 1999 Zagato S2 - is set to make a welcome return, after several years absence. The World Rally Enthusiasts Club stand is certain to draw attention, as ever, with the MINI returning to world rallying this year. Meanwhile, more modern retro car fans will be kept amused with clubs like the Honda S800 Sports Car Club, a superabundance of Mazda MX-5s, Toyota MR2s, VW Golf GTIs, more than 28 RS Owners Club Fords, Stuttgart's finest Porsche 911s and the mighty Lotus Carlton, to name but a few.

Each car club gets a dedicated area to display its pride and joy, with clear segregation between genuine classics and cherished modern retro sports and performance cars. And there's a central "traffic-free" zone in the paddock, for club members wishing to enjoy displaying their cars, without going out on track.

Tickets for this fabulous family car and circuit enthusiasts' event are only £8 in advance, plus 50p p&p/credit card charge, or £10 on the gate on the day, with under 16s admitted free of charge; discounts are available for track time and admission for car club exhibitors (accepted clubs and groups get free admission tickets, free display space, the ability to join in the lunchtime cruise and can purchase track time at specially reduced prices).

Additionally this year, ticket holders can also can get a 25 percent discount to visit the Atwell Wilson Motor Museum at Calne the day after the Action Day, for those who want to make a weekend of it in the stunning Cotswolds (including historic villages, such as Castle Combe, Woodstock and Burford, lavish market towns like Bath, Cheltenham and Chipping Norton, plus Stonehenge, the Roman Baths and Blenheim Palace).

The circuit is open for admission from 0800, with action on track starting at 0900 and finishing at 1700.

Beauty or Brute?

Look at the pictures, read the story and make you own mind up on this one. We've always been a big fan of the lightweight E-types - they just look brutal and fit for purpose, where the standard roadsters always looked a little delicate.

The Lindner Nocker E-type featured unique, low drag bodywork. A step too far from the purity of the original?

Here's the release from the clever bods who've pieced the car back together:

One of the most important Jaguar cars ever built has been unveiled in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, after 7,000 hours of restoration.

The one and only factory Low Drag lightweight E-type has been put back together in one of the most complex restorations ever to take place anywhere in the World.

More than 300 guests saw the car unveiled at the Classic Motor Cars workshops in Bridgnorth.

When it crashed in at the Montlhery circuit in 1964 the Lindner Nocker E-type was so badly damaged that a complete restoration was thought to be impossible. Now, some 47 years later, the car has been put back to its former glory using more than 90% of the original parts.

Four years ago Peter Neumark through his Classic Motor Car business, CMC, in Bridgnorth started the restoration of the car, which was a mangled wreck.

Many said that it could not be done, and that most of the parts including the body panels, which had been bent beyond recognition, could not be used.

However, Peter Neumark and Classic Motor Cars Ltd's team of dedicated of restorers has put the car back into the condition that it was just before the crash.

Over five thousand hours went into restoring the body alone. The original crashed monocoque which had been deemed too difficult to restore in the 1970's was disseminated into individual panels. Each panel was then flattened, repaired, reformed into the original shape and then the structure was riveted and spot welded together as per the original construction method.

The restoration was assisted by members of Peter's Lindner's own family, the driver who died in the crash in 1964 who provided old photographs and cine footage of the car. Peter Wilson who worked in the Competition Department in 1964 and worked on the car in period was also tremendously helpful but special praise needs to go to Andrew Turvey at CMC who dedicated himself to ensuring that every aspect of this amazing car was as per the original spec.

The importance of this car cannot be over estimated. It was one of only 12 lightweight E-Types built by Jaguar in 1963 and in 1964 it was returned to Browns Lane, Coventry.

In its preparation as Jaguar's unofficial entry for Le Mans that year, Malcolm Sayer designed a special low drag body and work to the engine ensured that it was the most powerful Jaguar the Competition Department had ever produced and it became the last Competition car prepared by the factory in Browns Lane, Coventry.

Fitting then that in this 50th Anniversary year, it should be reinstated.

The car has now been invited to some of the most famous car events around the world, but before it goes to Italy and then America it will be unveiled to the media in Bridgnorth.

On hand to take part in the unveiling was Norman Dewis, Jaguar cars famous test driver, the original drivers nephew, Tomas Fritz, the Frenchman who found the car in a garage ten years after it crashed, Patrick Lansard, together with the team that have dedicated their lives to putting it back together just the way it was.

Peter Neumark, the Chairman of Classic Motor Cars said: "This is one of the most major restorations ever to take place in the World. Many said that it could not be done but we have proved them wrong."

Ecurie Ecosse Transporter At Shelsley

Had to share this for a couple of reasons. First, the Ecurie Ecosse transporter is the coolest truck known to man. Secondly, the Midland Auto Club logo is just brilliant. And they're all very nice fellows. So go along on June 4th and 5th and see for yourselves...

There's a video on YouTube of one of the six-piston, three cylinder diesels which we've posted before. Well worth seeking out as it's a contender for top of the weirdness stakes.

Unique Transporter at Jaguar Celebration

From Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb

For immediate release:

Towering over the displays of Jaguar sports and racing cars at Shelsley Walsh, when the Midland Automobile Club celebrate fifty years of the E-type, will be a unique and historic car transporter.

Built to celebrate the 1956/7 double triumph at the Le Mans 24 hour race by a little Scottish race team called Ecurie Ecosse, the truck features a streamlined body inspired by a shark.

It can carry three cars, one on the lower deck behind the crew’s living accommodation, and two more on an upper deck raised by hydraulic ramps.

It is powered by a very strange engine, an opposed piston diesel 2-stroke which has three cylinders and six pistons plus a supercharger.

As you can imagine, it makes a most unusual noise.

The transporter was rescued in a terrible state by Jaguar and Ecurie Ecosse enthusiast Dick Skipworth, and is now restored to perfect and original condition.

To see this amazing vehicle, as well as historic Jaguars thundering up the legendary Worcestershire hillclimb, you have to go to Shelsley Walsh on June 4^th and 5^th.

Steve McQueen's Le Mans 911S up for sale

WHEN AUCTION houses trumpet their latest line up of sexy metal, I have to admit that 90% of the time, I just look the other way.

Having the spending power of a church mouse is one reason, not really fancying most of the Pebble Beach-ish species of exotica is another. Yet if I'm being brutally honest, the third and final reason - ignorance is bliss - is a very effective means of preserving the little sanity I still have left. So I'm really cussing myself for looking at a listing for a forthcoming RM Auctions sale on the 21st May.

I'm not a big Porsche fan, but this one really does it for me, because it starred in one of the coolest car films of all time. It is McQueen's 911S from the film 'Le Mans'. Cool? Undeniably, anything with the fingerprints of Terry S McQueen on it, has a degree of a tough, gritty urbane blokiness to it, but 'Le Mans' is a work of cinematic art, too. Le Mans captures the race at the peak of its retro desirability - the height of the Porsche-Ferrari war. The danger, the allure. It coined the racer's creed: 'When you're racing it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting'.

So to know that some fat old businessman will buy it, lock it away, boast about ownership and never drive it - because he hasn't had to drive himself for 20 years - well, it really bugs me. Expect a headline result as fans of Steve lock horns and throw around fistsful of money that are all, well, deeply uncool.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy a Lotto Euromillions ticket, because if some fat git is going to end up with that grey 911S, I'd like to think that for just five deluded minutes it could be me.

Novel Garage Security

Just had this great story fired over to me by Mad Mark's better half...

We all know a bloke's tools are sacred, so if you've been the victim of light-fingered little shits, then you'll probably like this.

A garage owner in New Mexico was sick and tired of people breaking into his garage and knicking all of his stuff – so he decided to give his dog a haircut.

He then spread it about that he had just got himself a Mexicon Lion that would attack anyone who tried to break in or climb his fence. Would-be thieves saw the beast from a distance and legged it.