Choke cables were pulled and hangovers blown away as classic fans across the country braved the cold to meet on New Yearʼs Day at gatherings small and large.
Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey, hosted one of the biggest, with 1200 cars and 7300 visitors heading to the historic track. Cars ranged from pre-war Alfas in the paddock to a Bristol 400 on the start/finish straight, and a post-war Rolls-Royce display under the wings of the museumʼs Concorde airliner. It was the second-largest New Yearʼs Day Classic Gathering the museum has ever hosted.
Vintage Stony returned for its 13th year in the Buckinghamshire town of Stony Stratford, with marshals from nearby Silverstone volunteering to help manage traffic as 400 classics took over the townʼs market square and high street. The former was reserved for pre-1941 vehicles, where a Best of Show award was given to Nigel Athelstoneʼs Bentley 6½ Litre Landaulette, now a three-time winner at the annual event.
Grassroots meets were held across the country, too, with more than 100 cars attending the Yeovil Car Club meet at Haselbury Mill, Somerset, which raised £402.50 for Yeovil Freewheelers Blood Bikes. The Ace Cafe in London hosted a meet, too, as did The Phoenix Inn in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, which stuffed its car park and overflowed by a mile on either side of it. Classics of all ages came along, including a Canadianbuilt 1958 Pontiac Laurentian wagon and a feisty 1974 BMW 2002 turbo.
Cover stars return to Oxfordshire
From top: ECotY set recreated C&SC ’s February cover; rare VW Brasilia; superb E12 BMW M535i
A recreation of C&SCʼs February issue cover story, celebrating the best of the best from 60 years of the European Car of the Year competition, was one of the highlights of the first Bicester Heritage Scramble of 2024, on 7 January. Ranging from the first winner, a Rover 2000, to 2019ʼs victorious Jaguar I-Pace, the display in Hangar 113 drew intrigued crowds all day.
Elsewhere in the sold-out event, with more than 6500 visitors, Bicester itself put on a varied set of driversʼ cars und
