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.

There was a genuine Audi Sport Quattro behind, but never mind that. Here's a Vauxhall Nova Spin.

There was a distinct lack of British Leyland cars this year thanks to an event at Cowley on the same day, but I did find a Dolomite like my old one, a lovely black Princess and one other Maxi among the visitors. An assortment of everyday classics, mostly Austin and Morris, in a fenced-off compound in one of the few undeveloped areas caught my eye. I believe these are yet more cars from the James Hull collection that have been donated by JLR as projects for the apprenticeship schemes now running here, a very worthy cause that should see them return to the road.

Plenty of good stuff for the apprentices to hone their skills on

On the Brightwells stand promoting the Festival of the Unexceptional sat the ex James Hull FSO 125P, adjacent to a Ferrari F40 - and not just any old F40 but the famous and unique blue one. Ironically, in the UK at least the FSO is probably the rarer of these two cars and although they couldn't be more different both seemed to attract equal amounts of attention. Elsewhere, a Bugatti rubbed shoulders with a Reliant Kitten, and every little nook and cranny on the RAF site was filled with pockets of interesting cars so I never knew what I was going to see next.

Diversity. Where else could you find an FSO so close to a Ferrari?

It wasn't all about shiny stuff as in a corner I found a Cortina (well actually an imported Taunus) that was worthy of Onslow from Keeping Up Appearances. With many different paint colours in evidence, it provided the 'before' to a shiny red 'after' not far away. Obscure imports were in abundance, none more so than a US-spec BMW 3-series with massive impact-absorbing bumpers that made it a couple of feet longer. Alongside a UK car it looked truly hideous and I have to wonder why anyone would ever bother importing such a thing.

Look at those ridiculous bumpers. Great for Woollarding.

Entering the Autoclassics hangar provided some welcome relief from the beating sun, and inside were cars for sale to suit every taste and budget. When did old Toyota Landcruisers become so insanely valuable though? There was one here priced at a cool £34,000 or more than twice what an equivalent Land Rover would make. The bright yellow Lancia Integrale was a relative bargain at £20,000, but prices were mostly conspicuous by their absence. Nonetheless, reports suggest a lot of serious interest and several sold on the day.

This could be yours for thirty-four thousand pounds! Tempted?

A contrasting pair of Ford Capris caught my eye here. On one hand was a factory-standard 1600L on skinny steel wheels, a reminder of just how basic a Capri could be. On the other was the sole surviving Uren Stampede, fitted with the 5-litre V8 from the Mustang Boss 302. Its slot mags, pinstripes, flip paint and custom graphics just scream 1970s and it's the sort of car you need long hair, a gold medallion and purple flares to drive. The V8 fits so neatly though that you have to wonder why Ford never offered it as standard, a missed opportunity for sure.

Could this be any more seventies if it tried?

Out on the airfield and the club stands, I promptly ignored the Aston Martin display and headed to the far more interesting Trabants and Wartburgs opposite. By the time I got here after lunch a lot of gaps were evident and I must admit I wasn't quite sure some of those that remained really deserved to be there - by what definition is a brand new 18-reg Fiat 500 a classic car? On the other hand, a display by the Honda Insight club was a welcome sight as these pioneering hybrids are becoming rare now and it's good to see them develop an enthusiastic following.

Holiday transport, East German style

I'm not totally against exotic cars though. One of the biggest head-turners was a Lamborghini LM002 or 'Rambo Lambo', the ridiculous off-roader powered by the Countach V12. The only one of these I had ever seen was a crude blocky rendering in the 1990 4D Sports Driving videogame, which turned out to be a surprisingly accurate replica of the boxy bodywork made of flat panels - it's huge but not pretty and 'imposing' is the best word to describe it.

What a brute

Just across from the LM sat an example of the legendary Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 with the biggest engine ever fitted in a post-war European production car, and not far away was a very pretty Fiat 2300 Coupe. Being virtually ignored behind the Fiat was something truly unexceptional, ordinary looking but incredibly rare, a Citroen BX GTi 4x4. I had forgotten that the BX was ever available with four-wheel drive and there must be very few survivors still in working order. Other French cars included a very early CX and of course the resident low-mileage Peugeot 505.

How many 4x4 BXs can be left?

Regular readers will know that the Gordon-Keeble is my favourite ever car, and there were two examples to admire here. The local red one I've seen before was in the display area, but lurking outside almost unnoticed in the public car park among the modern blobs was a second. If I could have taken any one car home, this gorgeous green Gordon-Keeble would have been my choice. This area was well worth exploring too as many deserving exhibits could be found here, and later arrivals were put in an overflow section that contained a fascinating indiscriminate mix of classic and modern.

A Gordon-Keeble in the public parking. An unexpected spectacle for sure.

There was more than just cars, and a good number of military vehicles looked very much at home on this former RAF base. A gaggle of Green Goddess fire engines and a classic Bedford SB coach were also in evidence, with food and drink supplied by various classic commercials, including a Morris J2 that made a welcome change from the clichéd Citroen H vans. Of course, being an active airfield there were vintage planes too and heads would frequently turn to look skyward at the sound of an old piston engine passing above.

Something different from the hipster Citroen coffee vans

An event of this class inevitably attracts celebrity guests, and I was pleased to meet Fuzz Townshend of Car SOS fame, a really nice down-to-earth guy with a genuine passion for cars. As things started to wind down in the afternoon, we chatted away very amiably about our experiences of Renault and Maxi ownership and it turns out Fuzz too is a fan of the Maxi. Maybe one day we'll see one rescued on Car SOS as he seemed keen on the idea.

All too soon the event drew to a close, engines roared into life and drove off into the beautiful sunshine, leaving behind many great memories of the biggest and best Sunday Scramble yet. I must have walked several miles and taken hundreds of photos, but it was well worth wearing out my shoe leather for as there were just so many interesting sights around every corner, displayed in a unique atmosphere and admired by crowds of people united by their love of historic motoring.