Words and photos by Andrew Coles
Sunday Scramble at Bicester Heritage is like a regular Cars & Coffee event, but on steroids. Held in the photogenic surrounds of the converted WWII RAF base at Bicester, Sunday Scramble features a bit of everything – we were followed into the venue by a Jaguar XJ220, marvelled at those who braved the freezing cold temperatures to arrive in vintage Bentleys, and sipped coffee as we walked the lanes filled with pre-war marvels and modern supercars alike.
As is the case at these sorts of events, it’s verging on impossible to not muse and discuss each of the cars as you find them. Here, in no particular order, are a handful of our musings from the January Sunday Scramble.
One to keep watching: Jaguar XJ-S
As tough acts to follow go, almost nothing in the history of the automobile has had a job quite like the Jaguar XJ-S. The E-Type was largely regarded as one of the most beautiful cars ever produced, delivered barnstorming performance for its price and quickly established a legend that propelled Jaguar to stardom.
And the XJ-S? A competent and desirable grand touring car in its own right, but it had none of the chic cool of its older brother and has spent most of its life in the shadows. Until recently, the market seemed to agree, with XJ-S values hovering around the bottom end of the Jaguar world.
However, the XJ-S is undergoing somewhat of a renaissance. It’s an observable trend that when a highly desirable car (an E-Type, say) appreciates out of the reach of many, the newer and less popular models correspondingly appreciate to fill their place. Given that the best E-Type’s are regularly breaching £200k, is it any wonder that the XJ-S has doubled in the past three years? £10k has become almost £30k for the best examples.
Bargain coach built cool: Lancia Fulvia Sport
The Fulvia Sport is another classic that has spent most of its life in the shadows, but we can’t quite figure out why.
Sure, it lacks the petite good looks of the standard Fulvia Coupe, and it doesn’t have the iconic rally pedigree of the car it is based on, either. But there is a lot going for it – it was hand built by Zagato, and was styled by Ercole Spada, the man who designed the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato.
Prices hovered in the sub-£15k range for decades, yet since 2015 they have been on an upward trend and now trade hands for over £30k. Even still, that seems fantastic value for an Italian sports car hand built by Zagato. Watch this space.
Will the Sultan of Brunei’s car collection ever be fully liberated? And what effect will that have on the market?
This 500SL was parked with a small note on the dash – it was for sale, but no price was listed. It simply read: “1993 Mercedes-Benz 500SL 6.0 AMG. Ex Sultan of Brunei. 11,000km from new. Full AMG conversion including 6.0-litre engine carried out for the Sultan when new. One of a handful of 500SLs built by AMG pre-merger with Mercedes.”
The collection belonging to the Brunei Royal Family is one of the great automotive rumours of the internet – almost everyone knows of its existence, yet most of the known information is pure conjecture, and the photos are unverified. What we do know is that the collection ranges from 2,500-5,000 cars built during the late eighties and nineties (until the money ran out in 1998), and includes vast numbers of production models and many concepts that have never seen the light of day. Rumours of hundreds of Mercedes 500SL’s, three or more McLaren F1s, Ferrari F40s, literally thousands of Bentley’s and Rolls Royces, and a supposed USD$78million bill with Pininfarina SpA for coachbuilt Ferrari’s abound. This Gizmodo story contains most of the verified information that exists.
What we do know is that the collection is sitting rotting in the humid Brunei heat, and for a variety of legal and political reasons, it is unlikely to ever see the light of day. Many of the cars, despite their comically low mileages, are beyond saving due to decades that have passed without any maintenance or care. However, every so often a lucky car does escape and can be recomissioned, such as this achingly gorgeous ex-Brunei Royal Family Ferrari 456 Venice Estate which is sometimes spotted in London.
It begs the question: If this collection could somehow be liberated and the world were to be instantly flooded with thousands of super-desirable collector cars, what effect would this have on the market?
Citroën 2CV – when will be its time to shine?
The 2CV is the national car of France, and is a child of that magical time in post-war automotive history when engineers needed to develop cars, and quickly. Budgets were almost non-existent, so instead of over-complex and expensive committee-driven solutions to problems, engineers were forced to embrace simplicity and cost-effectiveness to achieve their goals. These generation of cars became iconic, and were genuinely fit for purpose.
These cars follow the time honoured value trajectory of mass production – they were available brand new for decades, so it took a while for them to become viewed as classics. They were so ubiquitous that nobody really cared – they were crashed, modified, trashed, wrecked, raced and banged about. And suddenly, right as the world realises that there are no good ones left anymore, they enter classic status. Prices rise, and we suddenly find ourselves paying £15k+ for a Fiat 500, £35k for an early Mini Cooper, and over £40k for an oval window Beetle. It’s even happening to scooters, where over £6k is required for certain early Vespas.
Sub-£8k will still net you a nice little 2CV with which you can make the most of quiet summer afternoons on country lanes. Sure, it’s a lot of money for not a lot of car. However, 2CVs are unquestionably collectable and a great deal of fun. For inspiration, watch this clip.
BMW Z1 – the ship has sailed
It wouldn’t be a true post on classic car thoughts without mentioning at lease one case of ‘the one that got away’. Cut to the chase – you should have bought a Z1 a few years ago. Just have a look at our auction results tracking graph, below.
There’s a lot to like about the Z1 – not only was it a limited production special, but it brought true innovation to the market. Doors that slid vertically downwards are surely its calling card, but the Z1 also offered a flat under tray for ground effect aerodynamics, a rear bumper that acted as a diffuser, and its plastic body panels can be completely removed. BMW’s idea was the owners would buy several sets of bodywork and would be able to completely change the colour of their car in about 40 minutes. In reality, 40 minutes is a little optimistic to swap the bodywork, but it can be done.
Forgetting all of that, it’s the very idea of having one of BMWs legendary straight sixes in a small, light and compact sports car that is more appealing than anything else. Prices may have softened a little, but they are well up on 2015.