Super Scramble! serves up a feast of classics
Classic car events take place every weekend across the world, but few will rival the wonderful new show at Bicester Heritage.
The classic motoring hub in the Oxfordshire countryside has long played host to the semi-regular Sunday Scrambles – informal events at which anyone with an old motor can rock up and show off their pride and joy.
But on Sunday (23 June) the venue changed up several gears with its first ever Super Scramble! (complete with excitable exclamation mark).
With track action, an artists’ area and an autojumble, it was quite a departure from the usual Scramble formula but, as ever, the cars were the stars of the show. Here are our favourites from a great day out.
1963/5 Rover-BRM gas turbine Le Mans racing car
The magnificent Rover-BRM was the first gas-turbine car to finish the Le Mans 24 Hours when it raced in 1963 with special permission from the organisers. It came home in a creditable eighth place.
For 1964, it competed with a new body, and in 1965 it contested the endurance epic driven by Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart, achieving a 10th-place finish that made it the top British car that year.
Rally legends
This quartet of old stagers from RSR Historic Engineering proved popular throughout the day (if you’re wondering why there are no excited onlookers in our pic, it’s because we took it before the gates officially opened!).
Encompassing some of the greatest machines from a golden era of rallying were a Mini Cooper, a pair of Mk2 Ford Escorts and a mighty Vauxhall Chevette HSR.
The Farrallac Mk2
Tony and Pia Bianchi’s very fast and fabulous-sounding Farrallac is a familiar sight in the paddocks of historic race meets, sprints and hillclimbs across the UK.
Having started life as an Allard J2, the Cadillac-powered sports-racer was later reborn following an accident, gaining a bespoke tubular chassis and Maserati-inspired bodywork.
Graber-bodied Alvis cars
Bicester Heritage MD Dan Geoghegan is a passionate Alvis enthusiast and owner of a rare and beautiful Graber-bodied TE21 drophead, one of only three examples built.
As a tribute to the famous Swiss coachbuilder, Geoghegan gathered together the largest gathering of Graber-bodied Alvis cars ever seen in the UK.
Napier-Railton
In a real coup for the event, Brooklands Musem sent along the unique Napier-Railton, with the Outer Circuit record-holder being exercised on the demonstration track.
Between runs, John Cobb's aero-engined titan was on display outside the Heritage Skills Academy with the Association of Heritage Engineers.
And yes, that is C&SC editor in chief Alastair Clements’ MG Magnette ZB peeking out behind it!
1933 Barnato-Hassan Special
Built around the 6¼-litre engine of ‘Old No 1’, with a unique frame of Walter Hassan’s design, the Barnato-Hassan Special is one very special Bentley.
The special’s most frequent driver in period was Oliver Bertram. When its engine broke at the 1934 500 Miles Race, the car was fitted with a new 8-litre unit and with that Bertram set a new Brooklands lap record of 142.60mph, later beaten by Cobbs’ Napier-Railton.
It was rebuilt as a single-seater with central steering in 1936.
Special BMWs
One definite highlight for us was the BMW Car Club of Great Britain’s stand, which celebrated 50 years since the introduction of the E3 saloon and E9 coupé into the UK.
The impressive display included the rather special E3 estate (second from right), one of only 12 believed to have been built and thought to be the only roadgoing example left.
E9 BMW 3.0 CSL
Lucas Hutchings brought along this stunning 3.0 CSL, one of just 500 right-hand-drive examples, for the anniversary celebrations.
Resplendent in Taiga Green, the 1972 car had a nut-and-bolt restoration in 2015, and it’s now for sale with a packed history file that features photos of it when new, outside the dealership.
BMW E3 3.3LIA
Hutchings also brought an increasingly rare example of the E3 3.3 LiA to Bicester.
In remarkably original condition and still wearing the Anthracite Grey Metallic paint with which it left the factory, it must be among the finest of its kind left in the world.
Jaguar D-type
The Jaguar D-type was one of many to grace the Super Scramble! demonstration track, treating onlookers to the instantly recognisable sight and sound of one of the world’s greatest sports-racers, with a trio of Le Mans victories to its name.
Bristol 402
This striking Bristol 402 was the sixth built and was first owned by HRH Varanand Dhavaj Chudadhuj, a member of the Thai Royal family and a famous Spitfire pilot during WW2.
The Bristol left the Filton factory in October 1949 and is currently for sale with marque specialist SLJ Hackett.
Jaguar XKSS
The D-type racer wasn’t the only historic 1950s Jaguar to be seen on track, because its roadgoing sibling was also exercised as part of the day’s demonstration runs.
Just 16 of these converted D-types were built before the Browns Lane factory was destroyed by fire, until in 2016 Jaguar announced that a Continuation version would be built to complete the original planned production run of 25 cars.
Jaguar XJ220
From a 1950s Jaguar supercar to a a 1990s Jaguar supercar: the XJ220 might not have been the V12 screamer that enthusiasts were hoping for, but the twin-turbo V6 monster was still quick enough – at 217mph – to become the world’s fastest production car until its crown was comprehensively stolen by the McLaren F1.
Group 44 Jaguar E-type V12
Surely one of the most charismatic – and noisiest! – racing cars of all time, Bob Tullius’ Group 44 V12 E-type was brought along to be exercised on track by Jaguar Heritage.
Raced with great success in the SCCA National Championships, the Group 44 E-type is now a regular sight at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Lewis Hamilton’s 2013 Mercedes-AMG F1 car
It might have been one of the youngest cars on show, but the Mercedes Grand Prix car in which multiple World Champion Lewis Hamilton campaigned the 2013 Formula One season was also one of the loudest every time it fired up.
1969 Bond Equipe 2-litre Mk2
One of the joys of the Bicester Scrambles has always been the variety of cars on show, perfectly summed up by this rare Triumph Vitesse-based Bond Equipe Mk2, brought along by enthusiastic owner Paul Crogan.
He’s been the car’s custodian for around 18 months and this isn’t his first Bond, having previously owned a three-wheeler.
1951 Bristol 401
Another Bristol, this 401 was brought to Bicester by Ralph and Laura Melhuish and it forms part of their six-cylinder-biased garage that also includes an Austin-Healey 100/6 and an MGC.
Ralph bought the 401 with his father, who was an apprentice in 1951 at Bristol’s works when this car was built, meaning he could well have walked past it when it was on the production line.
Shelby Cobra 'Hairy Canary'
As recently featured in Classic & Sports Car magazine the wonderful ‘Hairy Canary’ was a seasoned campaigner in period on the other side of the Atlantic, but has recently become more familiar for its performances on the European historic scene in the hands of long-term owner and serial Cobra enthusiast Bill Bridges.
Having recently been sold by Bicester resident Pendine, the distinctive Primrose Cobra is now being enjoyed by a new owner who plans to continue its long racing career.
Mercedes-Benz 190SL
Finally, we’ll leave you with a personal favourite: a Mercedes’ Ponton-based two-seater with a rare and particularly striking colour scheme which meant it was hard to miss in the Bicester Heritage Technical Site.