The Royal Automobile Club, custodian of the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, has introduced a new Summer Veteran Car Run for pre-1905 cars. The new event – set for Thursday 21 July – has been established to provide owners of these extraordinary pioneering vehicles with a relaxed and convivial opportunity to warm up their machines for the November event.
The latest Pirelli Collezione tyre targets owners of the legendary Mini. The tyre is produced for the many versions of the classic Mini, including the cars built under licence by Innocenti; Pirelli has recreated the Cinturato CN54, originally launched in 1972, in the size 145/70 R12. The manufacturer’s vintage tyre range is designed for iconic cars built between 1950 and 1980, uniting vintage looks and modern technology. Read more about the history of Mini tyres on Tyrepress and WhatTyre.
Yokohama returned as official tyre partner to The Classic, the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival hosted by Silverstone, this year. The tyre manufacturer, whose flagship Advan range has wide-ranging motorsport and classic car models and fitments, welcomed both classic car enthusiasts and families to the event, presenting a range of eye-catching rare vehicles at its stand and co-hosting the Chelsea FC Skills Zone. The football club held football skill sessions for 250 children with coaching by the Chelsea FC Foundation and giveaways and prizes. Action from the track is making it to TV screens this week on ITV4, with highlights broadcast tonight (11 August) at 8pm and on Thursday (12 August) at the same time and channel.
The market for classic car tyres is a small but profitable one, with some vehicle owners prepared to pay three or four times the price of a regular tyre for a fitment that looks the part. Several major tyre brands now offer classic lines; these are either past products brought up to date with modern compounds and/or construction or newly-developed tyres featuring period treads. But how do these tyres compare with modern standard tyres? To find out, Auto Bild Klassik has tested three classic tyres – the Michelin XAS, Vredestein Sprint Classic and Dunlop Sport Classic – against four modern counterparts.
With more than 30 years’ experience, Andy ‘Ace’ Harrison is amongst the UK’s foremost specialists in the original Mini. Harrison has repaired, raced, rallied, restored, bought, and sold all types of Mini via his Acespeed business in Shipley, Yorkshire. As one of the world’s leading authorities on Minis, it is no surprise that one particularly iconic Mini found its way back to Harrison, as its famous new owner sought to restore the model.
If you’ve got a bit of spare cash laying around and some free time in early September, you might like to look in on auction house Gooding & Company’s ‘Passion of a Lifetime’ auction, being held as part of the Concours of Elegance event at Hampton Court Palace on 5 September.
Visitors to Autosport International earlier this month were able to take a good look at the recently launched range of Yokohama tyres for classic cars. Some even caught a glimpse of rally legend Paddy Hopkirk at the Yokohama stand. During his visit, Hopkirk was joined by a replica of the Mini Cooper S he drove […]
With more than a century’s worth of original equipment (OE) heritage when it comes to the design and manufacture of clutch systems and components, Borg & Beck is an iconic brand. As it was the original supplier of clutch to the majority of British-built vehicles dating back to the 1930s, it should come as no surprise that Borg & Beck’s classic clutch range has become the go to option for classic car enthusiasts.
In stark contrast to the mainstream automotive aftermarket, the classic car sector is primarily driven by enthusiasts who are committed to the preservation and enhancement of their vehicles, without compromise to their authenticity.
In the 1970s, Pirelli and the 124 Rally were at the forefront of rallying. Half a century later, the two Italian brands are celebrating their historic association at the Abarth Days in Milan, the biggest European gathering for fans of the marque.
Pirelli unveiled a US show sponsorship at Monterey Car Week. Represented at various events throughout the week, Pirelli appeared on both vintage and new cars, sponsoring the Concorso Italiano, which claims to be the world’s largest luxury and exotic Italian car show.
The latest tyre test from Auto Bild Klassik sets out to determine whether “classic tyres with today’s technology can make the driving behaviour of yesterday’s sports cars even more dynamic and, most importantly, safer.” To do this, the German magazine’s test team fitted eight 185 R15 (today’s 185/80 R15) classic car tyre brands to a 1960s Austin Healy 3000.
Apollo Vredestein’s UK operation has announced its partnership with British Jaguar E-Type specialist Eagle E-Types. The company’s range of handcrafted models, famous worldwide, run on Vredestein high performance tyres, which the tyre brand says reflects its classic car heritage and “sensitivity for that market’s unique demands…coupled with its focus on contemporary performance.”
Preparing rounded future professionals for the demands of motorsport is often best achieved through a mixture of education and experience. Hence Oxford Universities Motorsport Foundation (OUMF) offers exactly these sorts of opportunities to young people, running a multitude of classic cars in some of the world’s most prestigious racing events. Motorsport isn’t kind to vehicle components though, so when the OUMF required a new racing exhaust for its Mercedes 380 SL rally car project, the UK’s largest manufacturer of aftermarket exhausts, Klarius Products Ltd, was ready to offer a solution.
A new replacement tyre option exists for owners of classic cars, particularly Japanese models from the 1960s and 70s. The Yokohama G.T. Special Classic is being launched this summer in European markets in three sizes – 165/80R15 87H, 175/80R14 88S and 165/80R14 85S.
Gooding & Company