Congratulations to our 5 competition winners, who each receive a pair of complimentary tickets to the 2013 Race Retro.

It’ a great event and personally I cannot wait. I’ll be going on the Sunday, so follow me on Twitter to get live feeds and pictures from the day.

Our winners and congratulations go to:

• Vaughan Dee (from Lichfield);
• Paul Foster (from Kibworth);
• Chris Lunn (from York);
• Kevan Neal (from Coalville): and
• Trevor Blunt (from Kinver).

We have no doubt you’ll have a great time at this wonderful event.

Let us know all about it below, so those less fortunate to yet attend this event or unable to attend this event this year can hear all about it.

If you do not want to miss out on our regular complimentary ticket competitions, then feel free to take a moment to subscribe to our regular newsletter or Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and be kept up to date with our posts.

Watch this space for more free ticket competitions.

Here are some of our pictures from the 2013 Race Retro, hope you enjoy!  For more pictures you can see our full Facebook album.

If you did not make this year’s Race Retro, or even if you did, here are my top ten cars that I came across.  If you went’ what were your highlights?

1.  1960 Lancia Appia GTE Zagato

WOW.  What a beautiful car!  I’d never seen a Lancia Appia GTE Zagato before.  How cool is this? Loved the door opening mechanism (sad I know), but it was a chrome button which once pressed flicked out a chrome bar to 30 degrees which you then pulled to open the door… very, very cool (modern cars take note).  This car was sold by Silverstone Auctions on the day for £62,500 (estimate price was £50-60k), an absolute bargain in our opinion.

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2. Jaguar E-Type

In Gunmetal grey with red leather, yes, yes, yes please.  However, the dealer wanted £175,000, no, no, no, thank you.  Nice work, not a nice price!

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3. 1950 Jaguar XK 120 Roadster

Just look at it!  I did for many, many minutes.  Some people rightly say that this is the most beautiful car ever made and you can see why when you’re in its presence.  No doubt it is a beautiful looking car, it’s a Jag and British.  This car was also in the Silverstone Auctions (estimate price or £45-52k) and sold for £51,300.

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4. Fiat 595 Abarth

Wow.  How cool is this?  Immaculate.  I loved the paintwork and it was in mint condition.  Not for sale, but on the Abarth stand. STUNNING!

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4. 1967 Alvis Burns Special

What a very special car? Again up for sale by Silverstone Auctions with an estimate price of £60-70k, but amazingly it did not sell.  Just look at it? Amazing!  More about this car here.

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6. 1953 Connaught AL10 Historic Grand Prix Race Car

I love the 1960′s grand prix cars, so this won my heart. Super cool.  Sold by Silverstone Auctions for £195,000, and perhaps the most beautiful, evocative British Grand Prix car of all time!  Described by one previous owner as better to drive than a Maserati 250F!

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7. 1965 Austin Mini ‘Super de-luxe’

This Mini was well smart. This 1966 Austin Mini Mk I ‘Super Deluxe’ was built on 25th October 1965. According to the Heritage Certificate, factory options included fresh air heater and a rare automatic gearbox. Finished in Old English White with Tartan Red interior, just set it off lovely.

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8. Ferrari 308 GTB Michelotto

If there was a Ferrari at an event then I had to mention it.  I love the Ferrari 308 GTB.

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9.  Porsche 911

Very cool.  Although I’m not an avid Porsche 911 fan, I love the colours on this one, and it is the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911 in 2013, so it got my vote.

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10. Audi Sport Quattro

It’s a legend, PERIOD.

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So there you have it.  10 of my favourite cars from the weekend.  What were yours?

I’d never been to Race Retro before, but I had promoted the event and awarded 5 pairs of tickets to some of our readers, so I had a good idea of what to expect.

Apparently billed as ‘Europe’s Premier Winter Classic Motorsport Show’, this year’s event certainly was fresh, weather wise.  I was expecting a mainly rally orientated event, and although the live action was all about the rallying, the club stands and halls and Silverstone Auction hall had plenty to offer the non-rally fans.

I took my son and we had a great time. The live action rally stage where loads of different types of historic rally cars blasted around a lengthened course for this year was cool, although they were certainly not giving the cars full beans.

We liked the Ferrari 308 GTB Michelotto, Porsche 911 and Audi Sport Quattro the best, although my son liked the Ford Escort that spat fire from the exhaust, “very cool”.

We really enjoyed the four indoor halls, where the classic Team Lotus displayed several of Jim Clark’s cars including his 1963 World Championship winning Lotus 25. The Imp Club celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Imp with race, rally and trials versions of the little rear engined marvel while a terrific display of Alpine Renault’s marked 40 years since they won the World Rally Championship.

For motorcycle fans there was a tribute to Barry Sheene with four of his works Suzukis on display. Sir Stirling Moss, Murray Walker, Norman Dewis, Tiff Needell and other celebrities were on hand over the weekend, signing endless autographs and chatting with fans.

Club stands, events organisers, book sellers, artists and go faster parts specialists were all present.

I spent a lot of time in the Silverstone Auctions hall, ever so slightly agitated that I do not yet have a big garage, so that I could fit in some of the fine cars they had on display.  I certainly would have been tempted for these four cars:

1960 Lancia Appia GTE Zagato

1950 Jaguar XK 120 Roadster

1967 Alvis Burns Special

1965 Austin Mini ‘Super de-luxe’

You can see our top 10 cars at Race Retro 2013 here, and all our photos from the day here.

This event was a great day out, not much there for kids though, however I was delighted that some lads let my boy be driven around in a rally car which he really enjoyed.  It’s certainly not an event that would replace Silverstone Classic or Goodwood FoS, and I’d certainly say the layout and venue for the event could be improved, but a good day out none the less.

Race Retro gets the My Car Heaven thumbs up.

I first came across this car when I saw that Silverstone Auctions were offering it for sale at the 2013 Race Retro classic car show.  It did not sell then, however, it’s a stunning car and captured my imagination.  I’m sure you’ll agree it is a stunning looking car, and what a nice colour.  Here is more about this exceptional car.

Jim Burns was a businessman who had made his fortune in the world of pop music manufacturing electric guitars for the likes of The Shadows and Eric Clapton, he was also a genuine petrol head and a keen Alvis enthusiast, so having sold his interests in his business he decided to try his luck in the automotive industry. Rumour has it that Burns was in an Alvis dealership about to order his new car when he overheard a Texan millionaire being told by a salesman that Alvis cars were not for export. Burns thought he had spotted a niche in the market for an ‘export-only’ Alvis but it had to be faster and better looking. Despite being warned off such a project, Burns set about the task of creating his own interpretation of the only V8 Alvis in the world. Burns had every confidence that, once Alvis had seen his prototype, they would agree to go into some kind of low-volume manufacturing agreement. His plan was simple, make the 3 Litre Alvis TD21 faster, more attractive and move it up market, and of course more exportable to the American market. Burns’ concept of this special Alvis involved using a TD21, possibly his own car, and to then take it through various stages of modification. First, the ageing straight-six 115bhp engine was replaced with a whopping Chevrolet Corvette unit producing 300 bhp. This 5,356cc unit would give the car a power increase of some 240 per cent with no weight penalty whatsoever. Then to set about considerably modifying the bodywork by lowering the roof line by several inches. This streamlining was intended as a facelift without incurring the cost of totally replacing the body.

Work began in the autumn of 1966, Burns ordered a new chassis and suspension from Alvis and entrusted the mechanical development to Jim Keeble of Keewest Developments, the firm Keeble had formed with Geoffrey West after the demise of Gordon Keeble. The chassis only required fairly minimal alterations, mainly to the cross member, in order to accommodate the V8 engine and the gearbox rear support. The body shell was then replaced on the modified chassis and taken to Williams and Pritchard Ltd, a North London coachbuilder, who specialised in building one-off body shells. The roof was lowered which meant cutting down the pillars and door frames. This reduced the size of the side glass whilst retaining the original windscreen but with a steeper rake. Both the front and rear wings were then replaced with aluminium items which were elongated along with horizontally paired headlights and slim line wraparound bumpers. The final phase of the project involved the car being sent to Wood & Pickett Ltd for detailed re-trimming in white hide with blue piping along with a complete new fascia design using an impressive bank of gauges and switch gear sourced from the Gordon Keeble factory.

This was the period of various ‘motor mergers’ in the Midlands. First Rover allied with Alvis, then in March of 1967 Rover itself was swallowed by Leyland. Leyland were not in the least interested in a low volume bespoke motor car of any description and since the last Alvis car had left the factory in August of 1967, any move to revive it was utterly doomed. Alvis management did, it is understood, see the car and drive it when a Wood and Pickett director drove the car up to the Alvis factory in Coventry. The month was October, the reception polite, but with tooling suspended there was no way forward. There were no orders and no production facilities either. The ending was even sadder as Wood and Pickett Ltd, being the only participants in the project who had not been paid, took possession of the vehicle and eventually sold it to Guy Salmon Ltd in 1968. Built at a cost in excess of £10,000, this V8 Alvis would have been sold at around £6000 had production got underway. Compare this to the retail price of a 1967 Jensen Interceptor of £3,743 it could hardly have been considered cheap. If it had made it to production two years earlier and without the ‘‘merger factor” it could well have found itself a niche in the market place. Such is the execution of the concept, the car has survived to this day with enthusiastic care and attention to keep alive the only 5.4-litre Alvis in existence.

According to documented records, RYX 997F was advertised by dealers Guy Salmon in 1968 in Autocar magazine for £3,950 but was subsequently sold for less in May of 1969 to a Somerset farmer with fewer than 1,000 miles on the clock. The Burns Special was later sold to an enthusiast in the North of England where it remained for the next ten years. It was then purchased by a reclusive collector called Michael Wrest. The vehicle then passed into the hands of another enthusiast in Wigan before appearing in the auction at the 1983 Northern Classic Car Show held at Bellevue in Manchester. It was spotted at the event by a Mr Holt and his mother; apparently she wanted the car on the spot purely because of its sumptuous white leather interior. Stockport florist Holt already owned an Alvis TA14 Tickford at the time and subsequently looked after the car and inherited it when his mother passed away.

We are informed by the current owner that he purchased the vehicle from Mr Holt in July of 2009 and since that time a great deal of time, effort and money have been invested. This includes bills totalling just under £9,500.00 with an Alvis specialist in the North of England for various mechanical repairs and maintenance including a cylinder head rebuild in 2011. Other major expenditure also includes a £4,500.00 re-trim to original specification and refurbishment of the internal woodwork.

RYX 997F was a concours winner at the Alvis Owners Club International Day 2010 and was also displayed on the Alvis Club Owners Stand at the Birmingham NEC Classic Car Show in November 2012.

I know if I had the £50-60k they were asking for it I would have been well tempted.  What a gentleman’s car.  Exquisite.

Race Retro 2014, the international historic motorsport show, will celebrate two racing and retro motorsport greats when it returns to Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd February 2014, as it pays tribute to the racing pedigree of McLaren and the rallying success of the MG Metro 6R4.

The celebration of McLaren will mark fifty years since the formation of Bruce McLaren’s eponymous company. The central feature will be the McLaren M23 F1 car driven by the teams then number one driver Emerson Fittipaldi, to take the 1974 F1 double, drivers and constructors world championships. This was Fittipaldi’s second F1 world championship but the teams first constructors F1 world championship. McLaren went on to become the most successful team in the history of F1 GP racing.

Alongside the M23, expect to see an example of the fearsome McLaren M8 Can-Am Challenge car, the 7 litre plus Chevrolet V8 powered monster that dominated the halcyon years of the rich Canadian-American Challenge Cup series for unlimited sports racing cars. In the hands of Bruce McLaren himself, and star driver Denny Hulme, the bright orange cars from McLaren saw off all comers for three dominant seasons. There will also be the iconic 240 mph McLaren F1 supercar that enjoyed an astounding victory at the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hour race against purebred racing opposition.

It’s been thirty years since the debut of the crowd-pleasing MG Metro 6R4 (6 cylinder, 4 wheel drive) Group B rally car of 1984. Sanctioned by Austin Rover Group who, conscious of the worldwide publicity value of rallying, commissioned Williams Grand Prix engineering to create the AR challenger for the spectacular Group B rally series.

Forever afterwards known as the cars that were ‘too fast to race’ these spectacular monsters of 1980’s world rally were built to virtually ‘no holds barred’ regulations, the main stipulation being that at least two hundred examples of the model had to be built before acceptance into competition. Using a Williams GP developed rear mounted 400 bhp V6 version of the AR Group aluminum V8 engine coupled to constant four wheel drive transmission the tubular space framed machine was clothed in bodywork resembling the humble Mini Metro, albeit very much on steroids!

Amongst the star drivers of the works fielded cars were British crowd favourites were Tony Pond and a young Malcolm Wilson. After the demise of Group B rallying the remaining stock of 6R4’s were slightly detuned from the original works specification and became a mainstay of British championship stage rallying for several more seasons. No red-blooded rally enthusiast who heard it in period can ever forget the deep-throated roar of a 6R4 charging through a rally stage, something visitors at Race Retro have seen in action at previous shows.

As well as a static display, the Metro 6R4 will also be reliving its glory days on the purpose built Rally Stage on Saturday and Sunday when the show’s live action gets underway in the grounds of Stoneleigh Park.

Adult tickets for Race Retro, sponsored by Peter James Insurance, start at £20 in advance with children’s tickets at £5 for Friday and Saturday and free on Sunday. Car parking is free. The show is open from 9.30am each day and closes at 5.30pm on Friday and Saturday and 4.30pm on Sunday. To book tickets and for the latest updates, visit www.raceretro.com.

Keep following us by subscribing to our newsletter, following us on facebook or Twitter as we hope to be offering you the chance to win a pair of tickets as one of our many 2014 competitions.

We are delighted to confirm that we will be offering 5 pairs of tickets to this years Race Retro to be held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry from Friday 21st  to Sunday 23rd February 2014. If this event is anything like last years wonderful show, it’s an event not to be missed by any classic car, historic motorsport or rally fans.

So if you did not make it to Autosport International, then what better to get your 2014 motorsport season off to a great start at Race Retro 2014!

To grab yourself a pair of complimentary tickets to this wonderful event simply by leaving a comment below highlighting why you’d love to go and/ or your favourite rally car or a rally experience that you’ve had.  The better the story/ reason the more likely you are to win.

If you’d like to double your chances of winning and you’re a Facebook user then like us on Facebook to increase your chance of winning or for Twitter users you can enter our Competwition.

Don’t forget you can follow our news and competitions by subscribing to our weekly Newsletter update.  Loads more competitions coming shortly…watch this space.

If you did not make it to Autosport International, then what better to get your 2014 motorsport season off to a great start at Race Retro 2014!

Make sure you’ve entered our competition to be in with a chance to win a  pair of tickets to this years Race Retro to be held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd February 2014.

So here are several reasons you’d want to be at Race Retro in 2014:

• Silverstone Auctions will be at Race Retro - with their Race and Rally Sale - They always have a great collection of cars and automobilia for sale.
• McRae rally car leads the pack at Race Retro – One of the most instantly recognisable historic rally cars is among the first entries into Silverstone Auctions’ sale at Race Retro on Saturday 22^nd February.  Offered with an estimate of £65,000 to £85,000, the Eddie Stobart liveried 1977 Ford Escort MK2 RS1800 Gp4 Historic Rally Car (below) is one of the most competitive ever. Built by leading specialists Prepfab Motorsport Engineering, and having been tested by the late Colin McRae, the car was driven to victory by the rallying legend’s father, Jimmy McRae, in the 2006 Roger Albert Clark Rally. 

• 30 years of the Metro 6R4 - Race Retro will pay tribute to the rallying career of the Metro 6R4 (below) on its 30th anniversary. See the marque relive its glory days on the Live Rally Stage.  We cannot wait for this. 

• Live Rally Action and Historic Kart Demonstration – Enjoy breathtaking live action as the cars deemed to fast to race, the Group B rally cars and drivers test their skills on the specially designed course. Also watch the historic karts demonstration as they fly round the circuit prior to each session.
• Meet the Stars – Grab your autograph book and photos for a visit to the Interview Stage where you can meet Motorsport legends, past and present. Motor racing legend Sir Stirling Moss will be returning to the Stoneleigh Park show on Saturday 22^nd February as part of the McLaren tribute.
• Fire-up Paddock – Hear the roar of engines and smell the rubber burning as the motorcycles of yesteryear are brought back to life in the Fire Up Paddock.
• Four Exciting Show Halls – Rammed to the rafters with stunning displays of competition cars, motorcycles and around 400 exhibitors offering everything you needed for the motorsport season.
• The 19th International Winter Challenge – The Live Rally stage will be host to the 19th International Winter Challenge.
• Pride of Ownership – Show your two-wheeled pride and joy in our Pride of Ownership display. Supported by Meguiar’s and Classic Bike magazine, see the shiniest chrome as bikes spanning over 80 years battle for the title of ‘Best in Show’.
• Motorsport Clubs - The UK’s best motorsport clubs and associations join us with fantastic displays, paying tribute to their chosen marque or era. Visit the clubs and chat to the experts for an in-depth view on the historic motorsport scene.
• Hundreds of Trade stands - From race and rally car manufacturers to motorsport memorabilia, every motorsport taste and need is catered for – from the competitor to the armchair enthusiast. Around 400 trade stands offer everything you need for the forthcoming season.
• Free car parking for all visitors.  How cool is that?

We’ve no doubt it’s going to be a great event.  See you there…

Remember you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter and you can follow our news and competitions by subscribing to our weekly Newsletter update.

Congratulations to our 5 competition winners, who each receive a pair of complimentary tickets to the 2014 Race Retro.

It’ a great event as you’ll know if you’ve been before, if you haven’t attended then you must read our postcard from Race Retro 2013.

Our winners and congratulations go to: 

• Tim Sawyer (from Bicester);
• Ayla Brassington (from Belper);
• Karen Constable (from Maidstone);
• Simon Oakley (from Solihull): and
• Will Garside (from Daventry).

We have no doubt you’ll have a great time at this wonderful event.

Let us know all about it below, so those less fortunate to yet attend this event or unable to attend this event this year can hear all about it.

If you do not want to miss out on our regular complimentary ticket competitions, then feel free to take a moment to subscribe to our regular newsletter or Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and be kept up to date with our posts.

Watch this space for more free ticket competitions, loads coming up…

Here’s a video we came across recently in which Quentin Willson interviews Sir Stirling Moss for Lister Cars at Race Retro 2014 – Historic Sports Racing Car.

You can visit the Lister website here.

There are more and more shows every year.  We looked at those that were going to be in our diary for 2015.  We’re not sure if we’ll make them all, but we’ll sure have a go.

New for 2015 we’ll be trying to attend the London Classic Car Show on the 8-11 Jan 2015.

So there you have it.  Not exhaustive by any stretch of the imagination, but enough events for sure.

Lastly, don’t forget that we’ll be running a number of competitions throughout the year in which you’ll be able to win yourself a pair of tickets to some of these wonderful events.  Don’t forget you can follow our news and competitions by subscribing to our weekly Newsletter update.

You can also ensure that you don’t miss out on all future chances to win tickets by subscribing to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

It’s that time of year again when we start to look forwards to what the next year ahead will bring.  We’ve tried to be helpful to you our readers and list the premium car and classic car shows in the UK, many of whch we’ve had the pleasure to attend, and would love to attend again in 2016.

With an abundance of car and classic car shows in the UK now, we are truly blessed, so which ones will you be attending?

Remember we run several competitions throughout the year, and you’ll have the chance to win yourself a pair of tickets to many of these wonderful events.  To ensure that you’re kept up to date with the latest offers, you can subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and/ or subscribe to our weekly Newsletter update.

Competition time.

This time we are offering 5 readers the chance to win a pair of tickets to the 2016 Race Retro.  Race Retro is a must attend event for any Rally Driving or Motorsport fan.  You’ll see wonderful cars and be able to get up close to sporting personalities in a very relaxed environment.  It’s very cool.

So get the 2016 motorsport season off to a great start at Race Retro!

Guest celebrities and motorsport legends will be on hand throughout the weekend ensuring enthusiasts are entertained with interviews and anecdotes from the halcyon days of racing.

Invest in a piece of motorsport history, with a visit to the Silverstone Auction sale offering the finest classic cars, modern supercars, all types of competition cars, modern and historic motorcycles and automobilia.

Prefer two-wheeled motorsport?  There will be displays from the UK’s best motorcycle clubs as well as a chance for individual owners to shine in the Pride of Ownership competition.

Visit hundreds of trade stands offering everything you need for the coming season – be it new helmets and race suits, parts and spares for your racing vehicle or more motorsport memorabilia to add to your collection.

To win a pair of tickets tell us what is your favourite motorsport car of all time and why?  Ours is the Ferrai 360 Challenge.  We drove one and to say its out of this world does not do it justice.

Congratulations to our 5 competition winners, who will each receive a pair of complimentary tickets to Race Retro 2016.

It’s a very cool classic car show.  Anyone into their motorsport and especially classic motorsport will love it.  Our winners and congratulations go to:

• Jo Shrew (Lewes)
• Chris Lunn (York)
• Chris Clark (Preston)
• Andy Faulkner (Northampton)
• Robert Dewey (Cheltenham)

We have no doubt that you’ll had a great time at this wonderful event. Let us know all about it below, so those that did not attend can get your thoughts and highlights, so they don’t miss out for next year.

If you do not want to miss out on our regular complimentary ticket competitions, then feel free to take a moment to subscribe to our regular newsletter or like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and be kept up to date with our posts.

Watch this space for lots more free ticket competitions, next up is the Practical Classics Restoration and Classic Car Show.

It’s competition time again.  This time we are delighted to be able to offer three pairs of tickets to the 2017 Race Retro classic car show.

Race Retro is a must attend event for any Rally Driving, Motorsport or Classic Car fan.  You’ll see wonderful cars and be able to get up close to sporting personalities in a very relaxed environment.  It’s very very cool.

So get your 2017 motorsport season off to a great start at Race Retro!

Guest celebrities and motorsport legends will be on hand throughout the weekend ensuring enthusiasts are entertained with interviews and anecdotes from the halcyon days of racing.

Invest in a piece of motorsport history, with a visit to the Silverstone Auction sale offering the finest classic cars, modern supercars, all types of competition cars, modern and historic motorcycles and automobilia.

Prefer two-wheeled motorsport?  There will be displays from the UK’s best motorcycle clubs as well as a chance for individual owners to shine in the Pride of Ownership competition.

Visit hundreds of trade stands offering everything you need for the coming season – be it new helmets and race suits, parts and spares for your racing vehicle or more motorsport memorabilia to add to your collection.

To win a pair of tickets tell us what is your favourite motorsport or rally car of all time and why? 

To start you off, our favourite rally car of all time is the Lancia 037 (below), it just looks and sounds immense.

With a new year approaching, we’ll have an array of competitions throughout the year, were we will be giving you the chance to win a pair of tickets to the UK’s very best car, classic cars, and performance car shows.  On top of this we’ve had and have planned competitions for Sat Navs, Canvasses and an array of other car related items.

At the time of writing we already have open competitions for tickets to :

• Autosport International
• The Performance Car Show; &
• Race Retro

In the past few years we’ve had competitions for Auto Italia, Silverstone Classic, Salon Privé, Concours of Elegance, Race Retro, Autosport International, The Performance Car Show, The Classic Motor Show, Sywell Classic Pistons & Props, Chateau Impney Hill Climb, Cholmondeley Power and Speed, Bromley Pageant of Motoring, Motorsport at the Palace, Donington Historic Festival, & The London Classic Car Show.

So how do you increase your chances of winning.  First, make sure you are following us, so you know when the competition goes live (“the early bird catches the worm” and “you’ve got to be in it to win it”).  You can follow us by subscribing to our weekly Newsletter update, follow us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

You can also contribute to the MyCarHeaven community as much as you can, by leaving posts, comments, ideas, send us photos, stories, guest posts, and you’ll be noticed, which will certainly help when we are awarding prizes throughout the year.  Good luck and all the best for 2017.

It’s that time of year again when we start to look forwards to what the next year ahead will bring.  We’ve tried to be helpful to you our readers and list the premium car and classic car shows in the UK, many of which we’ve had the pleasure to attend, and would love to attend again in 2017.

With an abundance of car and classic car shows in the UK now, we are truly blessed, so which ones will you be attending?

Remember we run several competitions throughout the year, and you’ll have the chance to win yourself a pair of tickets to many of these wonderful events.  To ensure that you’re kept up to date with the latest offers, you can follow us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our weekly Newsletter update.

If we’ve missed any events, leave them in the comments below and we’ll try to update the diary throughout the year.  Hopefully see you at some of the events throughout the year.

In less than 1 week Race Retro 2017 will have kicked off.  Here’s a look to our top 10 reasons for you to attend.

1.  Celebrating Motorsport Heritage

As part of their 15th anniversary “Super Show”, Race Retro 2017 is putting more racing and rally cars on display than ever before with the best of motor sport’s heritage showcased throughout the four halls. It should be amazing…

2. Racing Legends

The line-up of racing legends is headed by Le Mans record holder Tom Kristensen who will be reunited with the Bentley Speed 8 (below) that he drove to victory in the 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours. Joining him will be other racing heroes such as motorcycle world champion Freddie Spencer and many more.

3.  Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live

The brand new feature, the Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live offers visitors the chance to celebrate the inductees to date and also vote on the 2017 nominees who could join this auspicious line-up. Packed with a fantastic collection of racing and rally cars as well as motorcycles, it’s the centre piece of the show.

4.  Rare Racing Cars

There will be a plethora of cars including Jim Clark’s Lotus 33 R11 (below), which hasn’t been seen in public for over 40 years, the 1957 Vanwall raced to victory by Sir Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks in the British Grand Prix that year and a collection of DFV-powered legends curated by designer Mike Costin.

4. Rally Legends

On the bespoke live rally stage will be ‘Flying Finns’ Ari Vatanen and Markku Alén, two of the greatest rally drivers from the Group B era. They will be sharing their stories and getting back in action over the weekend. Ari appears Saturday and Sunday while Markku will be with make an appearance Friday afternoon and Saturday.

5. Live Rally Action

Picture historic and modern drivers being put through their paces with around 80 Group B and C rally cars. That’s exactly what will be taking place on Saturday and Sunday with each session being proceeded by a display by the ‘pocket rockets’ of the British Historic Kart Club.

6. Motor Sport Hall of Fame Live

At the centre of the show will be a brand new feature, the Motor Sport Hall of Fame which offers visitors the chance to celebrate the inductees to date. Visitors can also vote on the 2017 nominees who can join the exciting line-up.

7. Motor Sport Live Stage

As if all that live rally action wasn’t enough, there’s also the Motor Sport Live Stage to look forward to. Hosted by Gemma Scott and the editorial team of Motor Sport magazine, the Live Stage will welcome guests from the motorsport world for interviews, Q&A sessions and lively discussions.

8. Silverstone Auctions’ biggest ever sale

Silverstone is set to for the entire weekend with over 130 vehicles on offer. Friday will be dedicated to a competition car sale before the classic and sports car sale on Saturday and Sunday. So head over to the auction and make your first passion purchase or add a new classic to your collection.

Admission is by catalogue and a full list of entries for both sales can be found here

9. Autographs Sessions

Be sure to bring your pen for the autograph session! Meet your motoring heroes in person and not only get your memorabilia and pictures signed, but also have a chit chat about all things motoring with unlimited access to the guests throughout the show.

10. Industry specialists

You will not be short for answers at Race Retro as over 250 motorsport industry specialists will gather at Stoneleigh Park. With a 15-year history, it’s safe to say Race Retro has become the pre-season event where colleagues meet to do business. Exhibitors include the Classic and Sports Car Club, Historic Sports Car Club, Vintage Sports Car Club, Classic Formula Ford and many more.

So there you have 10 top reasons to get yourself to Race Retro 2017.  You’ve missed our competition for 2017, so you can buy tickets here.

Congratulations to our 3 competition winners, who will each receive a pair of complimentary tickets to Race Retro 2017.

It’s a very cool classic car show.  Anyone into their motorsport, rallying and especially classic motorsport will love it.  Our winners and congratulations go to:

• Aiden McHaffie
• Oliver Buss
• Catherine Hollywood

We have no doubt that you’ll have a great time at this wonderful event. Let us know all about it below, so those that did not attend can get your thoughts and highlights, so they don’t miss out for next year.

If you do not want to miss out on our regular complimentary ticket competitions, then feel free to take a moment to subscribe to our regular newsletter or like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and be kept up to date with our posts.

Watch this space for lots more free ticket competitions, next up is the Practical Classics Restoration and Classic Car Show and Donington Historic Festival.

It’s that time of year again when we start to look forwards to what the next year ahead will bring.  We’ve tried to be helpful to you our readers and list the premium car and classic car shows in the UK, many of which we’ve had the pleasure to attend, and would love to attend again in 2017.

With an abundance of car and classic car shows in the UK now, we are truly blessed, so which ones will you be attending?

Remember we run several competitions throughout the year, and you’ll have the chance to win yourself a pair of tickets to many of these wonderful events.  To ensure that you’re kept up to date with the latest offers, you can follow us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our weekly Newsletter update.

If we’ve missed any events, leave them in the comments below and we’ll try to update the diary throughout the year.  Hopefully see you at some of the events throughout the year.