Motoring: David Brown Speedback GTs; Continental Classics; Five Star Vauxhall

LUXURY sports car maker, David Brown Automotive, has shown off its patriotic side with the release of its latest ‘Best of British’ series.

The Coventry firm has produced bespoke Speedback GTs with red, white and blue paint finishes.

David Brown Automotive has come a long way since revealing the Speedback GT prototype in 2014. The latest cars are production-specification models numbered 003, 004 and 005. The cars have been deliberately finished to resemble the colours of the Union Flag.

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At present, the company has produced five ultra-exclusive cars, which have been sold, built and delivered to their new owners. Further orders are currently in production.

The company currently has the capacity to produce six to ten cars each year with plans to increase this in the very near future.

David Brown Automotive uses a combination of engineering, state-of-the-art technology and traditional coachbuilding manufacturing techniques to build each car, each comprising 142 panels and highly sophisticated systems and electronics.

Through these specialist, low-volume manufacturing processes, the manufacturer is redefining modern coachbuilding, to build fully engineered, limited-edition, bespoke automobiles made from handformed aluminium with entirely handcrafted interiors, each one bespoke to the customer.

Each Speedback GT has a completely unique colour, which is developed by the company for each owner and specially created for each individual car. The cars pictured, painted in Ruby Tuesday, Blue Moon and White Knight, are painstakingly prepared, painted and lacquered over a period of eight weeks each, finished to achieve a rich, deep and flawless finish.

The unique colour and depth of car number 004 is said to benefit from an incredible 14 different layers of paint to achieve its dazzling finish.

Company founder David Brown said: “I’m so proud of the team who have achieved so much in such a short space of time. It’s an amazing feeling to be delivering production-specification vehicles to their delighted new owners.
“It was a fantastic coincidence to have three cars finished in red, white and blue finished and together at the same time and just epitomises that David Brown Automotive really does represent the best of British automotive craftsmanship too.”

The end of 2016 and beginning of 2017 holds some exciting announcements for the company in terms of a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility as well as announcements for future models.

Priced at £495,000 exclusive of taxes, Speedback GT promise exceptional performance due to a 5.0-litre V8 supercharged engine delivering 510bhp and 461ft lb of torque. This can propel the car from 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds with a top speed of 155mph (limited).
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While the Speedback GT range might evoke the spirit of Brexit, an altogether more continental celebration is planned this weekend at Silverstone Auctions’ final classic car auction of the year.

More than 120 highly collectible cars will be going under the hammer at the Classic Motor Show, which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham on Saturday and Sunday.

International classic car enthusiasts and collectors looking to take advantage of favourable exchange rates might be tempted by several significant left-hand drive cars being offered for sale.

Headlining the sale is a stunning 1981 Lamborghini Countach LP400 S (pictured), estimated at between £350,000 and £400,000. This Series II example is one of just 105 cars built by the Italian firm. It was purchased by the current vendor from Italy in 2014 and has just completed a full restoration to original specification.

Also on offer is a 1957 Porsche Speedster, estimated at between £280,000 and £320,000. The 356A T1 Speedster with coachwork by Reutter has spent most of its life in Colorado before being returned to the UK in 1996.

Apart from the large service and history file, it is supplied with fitted luggage, a ‘Concours’ tool kit, and its original jack and owner’s manual. The car is said to suit the needs of an enthusiast seeking a highly collectable classic that can be exhibited at shows but still used every day.

A very special 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C2 coupé, purchased new by the senior vice president of Gulf Oil Corporation, Grady Davis, is estimated at between £55,000 and £65,000. Other American classics available include a 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback, estimated at £26,000 to £30,000, and a 1965 Ford Thunderbird Convertible, estimated at £32,000 to £38,000.

For Ferrari fans, a 1988 Ferrari Testarossa, originally supplied new by Ferrari Francorchamps Motors in Brussels in 1988, is listed at between £75,000 to £85,000. The classic Eighties supercar is finished in rarely ordered double black with gleaming Nero coachwork and a black leather interior.

Other classic Ferraris on offer include a rare special edition 1999 Ferrari F355 F1 Spider ‘Serie Fiorano’, estimated at between £75,000 and £90,000.

A pair of German Touring car legends, a 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II and a 1990 BMW E30 M3 Sport Evolution (Evo III), are also amongst the lots. These are estimated at £100,000 to £115,000 and £95,000 to £115,000 respectively.

Speaking ahead of the sale, Nick Whale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions, said: “The UK is deservedly becoming a vitally important centre for the classic car market in Europe and indeed the world. We have a fantastic selection of cars on offer that will appeal to our international customers.”

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From supercars and classics to the more mundane.

What with falling sales and adverse publicity over the fire risk to its cars, Vauxhall has been having a tough time of late and no doubt the Griffin badge won’t be sorry to see the back of 2016.

Not surprisingly, the company has a renewed focus on 2017 and has a roster of five new major product launches lined up that it is hoping will restore brand confidence and entice new customers.

Crucially, as well as the introduction of range-building derivatives, Vauxhall will bolster its credentials by offering what it bills as a compelling alternative to ‘premium’ models in the D-sector with the all new Insignia Grand Sport, while also aiming to grow volume in the SUV/crossover class with not one, but two new models.

Rory Harvey, chairman and managing director of Vauxhall, said: “2017 will be a landmark year for Vauxhall. Our portfolio will grow, for sure, but it’s the quality and innovation which underpins our new products that will surprise customers.

“The Insignia Grand Sport will force buyers to reassess how they perceive our brand, and later in the year our two crossover offerings will bring Vauxhall to, in many cases, completely new sets of buyers.”

Vauxhall’s Five Stars of 2017:

1.     The Insignia Grand Sport (pictured) is set to become the new brand’s flagship product. Despite being a large and practical five-door hatchback, Vauxhall says it will have a coupe-like silhouette, huge driver appeal and a class-leading all-wheel-drive system.
2.     Hot on its heels will be the new Insignia Sports Tourer, taking many of its design cues from the 2013 Monza Concept. Compared with the existing model, interior space has increased significantly, especially in the rear cabin and luggage area, but not at the expense of its design, which is said to be “lithe and rakish”.
3.     Completing the new Insignia range next year will be a Country Tourer model, complete with all-wheel-drive as standard and off-road looks.
4.     Vauxhall’s recently launched Mokka X will be joined by the new Crossland X at the start of next year. The crossover is targeted at buyers with families who still want the sense of rugged freedom offered by an off-road vehicle, placing it firmly in the territory of the new MINI Countryman.
5.     Completing Vauxhall’s SUV/crossover family in 2017 will be a new C-segment crossover, similar in size to the Astra and Zafira Tourer, and with what is promised as an especially sporty design.