Disadvantaged youngsters to be given dream car rides at Aintree circuit

YOUNG petrolheads will be given the chance to speed around the historic Aintree race circuit in their favourite supercars as part of a charity event later this year.

Visitors to motoring events across the country might already be familiar with Sporting Bears - a group of car enthusiasts who give rides in their machines to raise money for a variety of children's charities - and this week they announced they will be taking 200 youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds for a spin at the former Grand Prix track on September 8.

Max Walker, the club's north west representative, said: "The event in September is all about giving kids who have had major issues to deal with, the chance to have a bit of fun and enjoy a unique experience.

"We are expecting around 200 kids on the day, many of whom are disabled or terminally ill, and they’ll have the opportunity to enjoy a ride on the Aintree race circuit in their choice of supercar."

The youngsters will be able to take to the track in some of the exotic cars familiar to visitors to some of the country's biggest motoring events, including Aston Martins, Ferraris, Jaguars, Morgans, TVRs, and Lotus sports cars among others, and get the rare chance to ride around the historic circuit.

The club also extended their thanks to Aintree Racecourse, who have helped to organise the event and to secure free use of the old motor racing circuit, which hosted the British Grand Prix on five occasions between 1955 and 1962.

Debbie Slee, conference and events manager at Aintree Racecourse said: "We host a number of charity events and balls here at Aintree but it’s great to do something really unique like this and give children the chance to enjoy a truly memorable experience."

Sporting Bears was formed in 1989 and has raised over £1m for children's charities across the UK.

New classic car insurance proposals are a step in the right direction

CLASSIC car connoisseurs of the younger variety are being promised some good news by a company specialising in insurance cover for their prized machines.

Footman James announced at the Classic Industry Forum, held this week at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, that it's come up with a new set of terms and conditions for enthusiasts aged between 17 and 23, which aim to make the dream of owning and running a classic car more accessible to genuine petrolheads.

Andy Fairchild, the company's managing director, said: "We have been working hard with our insurance partners to establish a range of criteria that will assist us identify the true classic enthusiast.  Young drivers who purchase classic vehicles as a means of obtaining cheaper insurance are not, in our opinion, true classic enthusiasts and a risk that insurers will not take on – a decision that we fully support."

"One of the ways of establishing true enthusiasts, in our opinion, is down to whether they are members of a car club.  We have, therefore, selected this as the primary qualifying criteria for the product and as a result, the product will initially be available to members of pre-selected clubs only."

As someone who's struggled with classic car policies before, and known of a case where a young enthusiast's quote for a classic Mini shot up from £600 to an eyewatering four grand overnight due to a company's change of underwriter, I'm supportive of any efforts to make classic cars more accessible to a new generation of genuine enthusiasts, rather than just cost-cutting youngsters who see classics as a way of cutting corners on their car insurance.

So, what's at stake for young enthusiasts? For the new terms and conditions, which come into effect next month, the company say enthusiasts must meet the following criteria:

•     The owner must be a member of one of the pre-selected clubs

•     The car must have been manufactured in or before 1985

•     The owner must have use of or own a second vehicle for everyday use.

•     The owner must limit their mileage to 3000 or 5000 miles per year.

•     The owner must have a maximum of one non-fault claim or minor conviction.

•     The car must be parked off the road or garaged

Which seems fair enough (although how that'll help one girl I know, who owns a 1972 Mini as her only car but who otherwise meets all of Footman's criteria, I've no idea), particularly as it'd stop the scourge of "crash-for-cash" one insurance expert told me about - teenagers buying a classic car on the cheap, crashing it deliberately and then hammering the insurance companies for the resultant compensation. Classic car insurance, logically, should be for classic car enthusiasts - people who cherish their old cars, no matter how old the owners themselves are.

However, the acid test will be whether what Footman - and, no doubt, other classic insurers when they inevitably follow suit - are proposing actually translates into cheaper and more accessible cover for genuine classic car fans who are being hammered through no real fault of their own.

Classic cars are a passion which we twentysomethings are happy to pay out for, but not when it's over the odds.

Are you a young classic car owner who's struggling to get cover? Let us know what you think of the proposals by sending an email to david.simister@hotmail.co.uk or by leaving a comment below...

The MGB GT V8 - a great car with a wonderful engine

WHAT do the Rover P6, the TVR Griffith, Range Rover and the Morgan Plus 8 all have in common?

Fans of loud, burbly exhaust notes will probably nail this one instantly - lift this very different variety of bonnets and you'll find, in one state of tune or other, a Rover V8. A aluminium thunderstorm which - thanks to it powering a string of my dad's Land Rovers and Range Rovers - provided the motoring soundtrack for much of my childhood.

 

Yet it was only yesterday I finally got up close to one of the rarer entrants from the Rover V8's back catalogue - the MGB GT V8, of which only 2,591 were made during a stint in the Seventies when British Leyland had the three litre Ford Capri in their sights. That's why I popped over to my friends at Parkhill Garage to see what should be an instant hit in my books - a Rover V8 in a MGB GT, a classic I'm more than familiar with.

It didn't disappoint.

You just have to click the video I recorded to realise why I was smitten as soon as it started up - just listen to that exhaust note! Compared to my own, four cylinder MGB it's got forty more horses to call upon, it does roughly the same to the gallon (weird, but true), and - because the aluminium V8 is such a light engine - it actually weighs a tiny bit less too. Oh, and it's rare and looks fantastic and goes like stink.

This or a Capri? You decide...

Have you got a motoring story or event you'd like to share with Life On Cars? Get in touch by sending an email to david.simister@hotmail.co.uk or leave a comment below...

Classic cars take over Southport street for retro film shoot

 

VISITORS to one Southport street would've been forgiven for thinking they'd stumbled into the Sixties as shooting for a forthcoming feature film resumed.

The Champion has already reported that the former American diner on the corner of Union Street had been transformed into a fish and chip shop while filming of the new movie Noble takes place. Last week the same location was turned into another street scene from decades gone by, complete with classic cars from the 1960s, including a Ford Anglia, Austin Westminster and Vauxhall Victor VX4/90.

Written, directed and produced by Stephen Bradley, the film will star Deirdre O'Kane in the lead role as it focuses on the true story of Christine Noble, who overcomes a difficult childhood in Ireland to discover her destiny on the streets of Saigon in Vietnam. Actress Deirdre, who also stars in the series Moone Boy, will be joined in the film by EMMY and BAFTA nominated Downton Abbey star Brendan Coyle, Game of Thrones actor and film star Liam Cunningham, and actress Ruth Negga, who previoulsy played singer Shirley Bassey in the BBC television movie Shirley.

The film is due to be released next year.

The flying car is still a bit of blue sky thinking

I WAS planning on doing a piece on Alpine's latest decision to go adventuring at Le Mans but then a mate sent me something which is much more up my street - an ad for a roadgoing aircraft!

The PD-2 is built by Plane Driven, an American company which, rather than going to the expense of creating a Jetsons-esque flying car has taken an existing aircraft, changed the wheels, fitted a second engine and made a few tweaks to turn it into something you can drive on a US highway. I briefly thought it was brilliant until I saw the $60,000 pricetag - and that doesn't include the cost of the aircraft before it's converted.

It also loses two of its four seats, you have to fill it up with two completely types of fuel, and - depending on which US state you live in - you have to have a driving licence, a pilots' licence and a bike/trike licence to actually use it in the way its creators intended. What the chaps at the Department for Transport would make of it I've no idea.

Far better, I reckon, is to use another marvel of flight as the basis for an automobile of the airborne variety - the picture you see above is of Yours Truly at the helm of a microlight, for a feature I wrote for GR8 Life Magazine nearly two years ago. I've always said that if I win the Euromillions there'll be one in my dream garage alongside the TVRs, Land Rovers and Jags, because microlights are like motorbikes you can take into the sky.

More importantly though, a roadgoing microlight would make much more sense than trying the same trick with a plane. A microlight is smaller, cheaper, has wings that are designed from the outset to fold away, can take off pretty much anywhere and - for someone used to classic car fuel bills - doesn't get through extraordinary amounts of unleaded either. All we need now is someone of Ed China's ilk to work out a cheap 'n' cheerful way to make that wonderfully revvy Rotax engine drive the wheels, and a way of convincing the powers-that-be that microlights belong on the A1 as much as they do an airstrip.

Microlights, then, are the best bet for a flying car you can actually afford. You heard it here first...

The real world stars of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show

YOU'D be forgiven for thinking the Geneva Motor Show has been packed with millionaire motors, given the amount of shiny new supercars that have been grabbing the headlines.

The Swiss show is one of the biggest dates in the car calendar for new models and announcements, and while the Alan Sugars and Kanye Wests of this world can gorge themselves on a smorgasboard of new Ferraris, McLarens, Porsches and Astons, there's also scores of stunning new arrivals which are aimed firmly at real world motorists.

Take, for instance, the new estate - sorry, Tourer - version of Honda's Civic, which you'll like because it's reliable, roomy and reasonably priced but I like because I think it looks as good as it does. There's also confirmation there's a new Civic Type R on the way, which is great news for hot hatch fans who aren't taken by the new VW Golf GTi, which was also unveiled at the show.

Renault, meanwhile, are eyeing up a slice of the sales cake currently enjoyed by Nissan's Juke, with the new Captur proving to be a high-rise, smartly-styled spin on the firm's recently reinvented Clio. It'll have tough competition, however, with Peugeot trying a similar trick with its new 2008 model.

Ford are hoping to find their feet at the show with the Ecosport, a small off-roader which uses the company's clever Ecoboost engines and slick styling which the Blue Oval are hoping will help it repeat the success the model has already enjoyed in South America.

There's also a lot of fans of al fresco motoring which has been newly unveiled too, including the convertible version of the Toyota GT86 Life On Cars touched on a few weeks ago, and the Cascada, a full-sized four seater which Vauxhall are hoping will win plenty of fans.

Oh, and there's the new V8 version of Jaguar's F-Type, the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever produced, a replacement for Bentley's Flying Spur, McLaren's successor to the F1, the imaginatively-titled P1, a new Porsche 911 GT3 and the LaFerrari, the fastest, most powerful Ferrari to date.

Not that any of you real world motorists would be interested in any of THOSE, of course...

Woodvale Rally organisers confirm airfield axe for 2013 event

 

THE Woodvale Rally will not be returning to its traditional home at the RAF Woodvale airbase, its organisers have confirmed this week.

As first reported on Life On Cars last Friday, ongoing concerns about asbestos at the airfield, near Formby, have meant plans for the event to return there in its traditional format are no longer possible, although the show's organisers are now working on a smaller scale event, which is set to be held in Southport this June.

This week's Southport Champion newspaper has followed up the story, and today's front page story, by my colleague Natasha Young, reads:

THE popular Woodvale Rally will not be returning to its RAF airfield home after organisers were dealt a health and safety blow.

The long-running event had to be relocated at the eleventh hour last summer, when it was due to take place at RAF Woodvale for the 41st year, after a trace of asbestos was found at the site.

The move to Southport's Victoria Park hit organisers financially and also meant that key attractions such as the model aircraft demonstrations couldn't go ahead due to the lack of runway, but the team behind the event remained hopeful that the rally would be able to make an RAF Woodvale return this year.

As previously reported in the Champion, organisers went to seek advice from specialists after a Government report on the site was released, and were told there was no risk to the public from the asbestos and an affected area could easily be fenced off during the event with air monitoring also being carried out in marquees.

Now rally manager Peter Wood has been told that the RAF can't issue permission for the event to be held at the airfield, and told the Champion this week: “Because there's been a trace of asbestos at Woodvale, although we had a report saying there was no danger, they are unable to issue us a report saying we can use the airfield.
 
"I think we're out of RAF Woodvale forever."

He added: "There's such disappointment because the event's been there for over 40 years. The whole event was built for RAF Woodvale."

Despite the bitter blow, organisers are now determined to salvage some of the rally by coming up with a new event in Southport.

Rather than trying to recreate the Woodvale Rally at a different venue like last year, the group is now in the early stages of putting together a new two-day family event.

It is hoped the festival, which has been given the working title of Woodvale Transport Extravaganza, will be able to take place at Victoria Park on June 22-23.

If all goes to plan it will feature the classic cars, displays and family entertainment that the rally offered and, while the flying displays will no longer be able to take place, tickets will be cheaper for visitors.

Mr Wood explained: "We're going to give a much reduced admission, like £5 for adults and children free, and free car entry. We're really trying to make this one work.

An email has been circulated to car club members in the area to get their views on the idea for the new show, which could potentially still include camping and possibly parking on Princes Park.

Meanwhile, Mr Wood said a catering company used at the rally is already on board and Sefton Council is said to be pleased about the prospect of an event being held in the resort in June, which is currently a clear month on the town's events calendar.

“We hope this will succeed. The only disappointment will be the model flying,” added Mr Wood. “We just hope people will give their support.”

The latest news will be a blow to car and bike enthusiasts across the north west, who are among the exhibitors who have been attending the Woodvale Rally since its inception, although they are being encouraged to support plans by the organisers for the successor event.

Life On Cars comment:  LOSING the Woodvale Rally, in its traditional form at least, is a huge blow for car and bike enthusiasts right across Sefton and West Lancashire, as well as further afield. What's more, to my mind at least the RAF's decision triggers more questions than it answers.

Crucially, why has it been decided it's too dangerous to hold an event there, even when the Rally's organisers have been told by independent findings that the asbestos found at the airfield poses “no danger” to the public? Perhaps, most importantly of all, what does it all mean for the car clubs, the bikers, the exhibitors and the Great British Public who've supported the show for so many years, especially when it relocated to Victoria Park for last year's event?

I don't - and I'm sure I speak for hundreds of Rallygoing classic car owners - blame the Woodvale Rally's organisers for a second, who've a) fought tooth and nail to keep the event at RAF Woodvale going despite the setbacks, and b) kept the fans updated, particularly on their Facebook page.

For as long as I can remember the Woodvale Rally has been a highlight of my car nut calendar, for all sorts of reasons. Who can forget the flypasts of World War Two aircraft? Or the rows of classic cars and bikes seemingly stretching to the horizon? Or even the heady aroma of fast food being served to thousands of visitors? The airfield event, for all sorts of reasons, is just part of my childhood, and now that I'm a fully grown boy I'm saddened by the latest developments.

I'm sure even the Woodvale Rally's most ardent fans would admit the 2012 event lacked the scale and variety of the airbase extravaganzas of previous years, but then the people behind it had it did the best they could with a show that'd been relocated at short notice. The show, as they say, must go on.

It's a crying shame that the memories of wandering through legions of old cars on hot August weekends are set to remain just that - memories - but I reckon the team behind the Woodvale Rally have got the skills, contacts, experience, and crucially, goodwill to turn a blow into an opportunity and create something to fill the vacuum in the motoring events diary.

That should be top of the organisers' to-do list, but it leaves the region's motoring fans with a mission of their own too. We need to lend them their support, because that's the only way to create an even more memorable event for the next generation of car nuts to enjoy.

The Woodvale Rally is dead. Long live whatever replaces it!

What do you think? By all means leave a comment below if you'd like Life On Cars to follow it up...