Our cover story concerns the famous quintet of record breakers that helped ensure MG was once the most famous of all sports car manufacturers. Of course it long since relinquished that position, but at least the name lives on; unlike so many that were established in the same era.
The first award won by a Kimber-inspired car was his own Gold Medal from the 1925 Lands End Trial.
| Publication Information |
|---|
| Cover Price: Free |
| Page Count: 19 pages |
| Subject: Cars, Motorsport, People |
| Format: Digital (pdf) |
| Frequency: Quarterly |
| Publisher: British Motor Heritage |
| The Famous 5 |
Download British Motor Heritage’s Autumn 2015 Motoring Classics Magazine below!
Motoring Classics Autumn 2015
Our cover story concerns the famous quintet of record breakers that helped ensure MG was once the most famous of all sports car manufacturers. Of course it long since relinquished that position, but at least the name lives on; unlike so many that were established in the same era.
This issue’s Classic Character is W.O. Bentley MBE. Etorre Bugatti may have dismissed his products as ‘fast lorries’, but the tremendous success they attained makes it hard to believe that Bentley Motors only existed for 12 years before succumbing to the Great Depression and then Rolls-Royce’s chequebook. Of course it was the so-called ‘Bentley Boys’ (the bon viveurs who raced Bentley into the record books with five Le Mans and countless other victories), that were behind the foundation of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, our feature about which outlines its pre-eminent role in the history and future of UK motorsport.
While growing up in Brighton, I’m ashamed to say I was blissfully unaware that no less than 30,000 BMW Isettas were assembled there, in a former locomotive shed adjacent to the railway station. An answer to the austere postwar world of the 1950s, such microcars are now highly collectable, and doubtless almost beyond the belief of the more recent generations of motorists.
Talking of Brighton, that’s where I learnt to drive and became one of c.52million people to take the UK test since its inception 80 years ago – we chart the many changes of an institution that is apparently increasingly immaterial to today’s youngsters, many of whom either don’t wish to or simply can’t afford to drive.
On this occasion our BMH Dealer Spotlight concerns the Midlands-based David Manners Group, that over 30 years has established a massive onestop parts shop for many a classic British model of car. Nowadays managed by David’s daughter Kate, it is clearly more than doing its bit to support our thriving classic car scene.
Enjoy!
Gordon Bruce, Editor
For all the latest news, offers and great tips … Motoring Classics
Classic Character: Walter Owen Bentley MBE (1888-1971)
Unlike most subsequent industry pioneers, W.O., as he referred to himself and by which he is still affectionately known, was not born with petrol coursing through his veins. He didn’t travel in a motor vehicle until aged 16, and initially viewed them as ‘draughty, antisocial objects that irritated dogs and frightened horses’.
From Marylebone To Silverstone: The History of the BRDC
The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) is unlike any other motoring organisation. Membership of most such groups requires little more than a completed application form and suitable-sized cheque – not so the BRDC, which is a ‘by invitation only’ club. It is also unique in owning and controlling one of the world’s finest Grand Prix circuits – Silverstone, ‘the home of British motor racing’.
News From BMH
BMH’s new A40 racer takes to the track – MD John Yea reveals all.
Missing Moniker: Isetta
Isetta (‘little Iso’ in Italian) was the endearing name Iso Autoveicoli SpA gave to the innovative egg-shaped two-seater it unveiled to an astonished press in November 1953. Home market sales flagged after an initial flurry so, more impassioned by his upcoming Iso Rivolta sports car, the company’s boss Renzo Rivolta secured licencing deals for his Isetta with Romi (Brazil), VELAM (France) and BMW (Germany).
Testing Times: The UK driving test is currently celebrating its 80th birthday
According to an AA survey, one in every 40 drivers on UK roads lacks a full licence. The figure includes those learning to drive, but also those who’ve been disqualified and, most worryingly, people who’ve never held a licence of any description! That said, until 1935 it was perfectly legal for anyone over 17 to take to the road without any form of training or test – there weren’t even any speed limits. Predictably, the result was carnage.
Dealer Spotlight: The David Manners Group
People enter the automotive world from many directions and David Manners was once a Daimler Dart-owning dry cleaner in need of a new exhaust system. Fellow club members required them too, so he invested in a batch from Bernard L Haywood, made a lot of people happy and turned a profit.
The Famous 5: MG’s All-Conquering Record Breakers
The familiar adage ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ was reputedly coined in the 1960s by drag-racing American Ford dealer Bob Tasca, though the idea of marketing through motorsport is almost as old as the horseless carriage itself, and there have been few better exponents of the art than MG’s Cecil Kimber.
Motoring Classics in Motorsport
British Motor Heritage MD John Yea reports from the cockpit.
British Motor Heritage
British Motor Heritage Limited was established in 1975 to support owners and the marketplace by putting genuine components for classic British cars back into manufacture, using original tools wherever possible. Since 2001, when the company was acquired from BMW, it has been successfully run as an independently owned company.
British Motor Heritage is the largest organisation of its type in the world. With access to unparalleled knowledge, authentic production information and original drawings and patterns, the company manufactures previously unobtainable body parts for British classic cars.
It occupies a unique position since it assembles 32 derivatives of body shells and has built total production volume of over 7,000 for the MGB, MGR V8, MG Midget, Austin-Healey Sprite, Triumph TR6, Original Mini and Mini Clubman using original press tools and assembly jigs.
Website: https://www.bmh-ltd.com/
Tex Automotive
Tex Motor Accessories have been manufactured in England for over fifty years, and many of our products are still produced in our factory in Witney on the original tooling.
Since their first appearance on British cars in 1947, Tex products evolved over the years to keep in step with changing car designs. The current range includes wipers and mirrors that were original equipment on a huge range of Austin, Ford, Morris, MG, Triumph, Vauxhall, etc. from 1974 to 1983.
Tex are also major distributors of the Renovo car care product range (specialising in hood refurbishment) and Samco Silicone hose Kits.
Website: https://texautomotive.com/
Motoring Classics is the printed and online publication of British Motor Heritage and its retail trading arm.
Motoring Classics reproduction in whole or any part of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.
The publisher makes every effort to ensure the magazine’s contents are correct but can accept no responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions.
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