The best of Bicester

Sunday 22nd April was the annual 'Drive It Day' so that meant no shortage of classic car shows. My choice of destination once again was the Sunday Scramble at Bicester Heritage, one of the largest and finest events of the year. Even in the twelve months since the last Scramble I attended, the site has continued to develop and expand, and its world-class reputation grows year by year. The place truly is a petrolhead's paradise and the great weather helped this Scramble become the biggest ever, with over 4000 tickets sold and more than a thousand visiting cars.

The spirit of Onslow is alive and well

There has already been a lot of media coverage, but these features always concentrate on the exotic stuff with arty photos of multi-million pound Ferraris and Bentleys. That's not my style so my self-declared mission was to search out the mundane everyday classics that so often get overlooked yet hold far more personal memories. There were plenty of these quietly hiding among the exotica, so here's my own round up of the highlights, a very different take on the event from what you'll read elsewhere.

Unsung heroes: Rover 600

My intention to profile an unsung hero every month has rather fallen by the wayside this year. I still have plenty of deserving candidates but seem to be short of time to write about them, so better late than never, my first unsung hero of 2018 is a successful British car that celebrated its 25th birthday this month yet is overlooked and almost forgotten compared with the rest of its manufacturer's sometimes inferior products. The Rover 600-series may be dismissed as nothing more than a Honda in a posh frock and doesn't have the following of its successor, but it was actually one of the company's best cars so I think it really deserves better.

Honda in drag or proper Rover?