I arrived at 8:30 to see that The Orchard was already filling up
A mixed weather forecast and maybe a lingering whiff of Covid restrictions kept a few away, but attendance was still good. There was soon plenty to see in the spectators' pre-war car park, as well as the paddock:
Alfa Romeo
Always a delight. These cars are a work of art even when standing still
Alvis
Unsurprisingly, there were plenty here, large and small
Amilcar
Bentley
Charles was there with his stunning 6.5 litre landaulette, dwarfing an Austin 7 alongside
Daimler
A very important and famous 1907 Daimler45 10.6-Litre four seat tourer. Originally belonging to the Earl of Craven, it spent many years in the hand of George Daniels, the famous watchmaker. This four cylinder, chain drive behemoth could reach 80 MPH, at 1,200 RPM. The single lever control on the five spoke steering column opens the throttle, weakens the mixture and advances the ignition with one movement – a Daimler feature which worked well when meticulously set up and all the brightwork is finished in copper
The car is featured in this short video:
ERA
Frazer Nash
No VSCC meet is complete without a number of these (spot the Aston Martin lurking among them)
Lagonda
I don't think I have ever seen so many together before
Mercedes
This 1903 Mercedes 60 HP is a well-known car in the club. Competing in the Edwardian class and driven by Roger Collings (the driver in the Daimler video above) the combined age of car and driver was over 200 years. Age is no barrier to competition the VSCC!
Riley
A good turnout of these, including a blue 14/6 Alpine fabric saloon which I had considered when making my latest purchase
Rolls-Royce
Somebody parked a special, based in an Austin 7 chassis, next to a Phantom II. David & Goliath
Someone who lives near to me brought his Phantom I. Minus bodywork and only with a rudimentary exhaust it neither looks nor sounds like any other Royce, but nobody minds one bit. Amazingly, he has never been pulled over by the police.
Salmson
Sunbeam
Vauxhall
Edwardians and Sports Specials
I really like these. Some are famous cars which have been competing at Prescott and Shelsley Walsh since the 1930s. The Edwardians feature a monstrous engine, often of eight or nine litres or more, while the specials are lightweight cars, with v twin or pairs of v twin engines. All have plenty to keep manufacturers of chain drive components in profitable business. 'Hicky' Hickling's 1911 10-litre Pope-Toledo Gordon Bennett has an early OHC engine
This is raw, oil and petrol-scented racing at its purest and back-to-basics best
Of course, the main joy of this event is to be gained from the fact that it is not a static show and these ancient machines are prepared and raced against the clock in serious competition.
Occasionally it can go wrong. Fortunately the driver escaped unscathed, but he will be busy in his workshop for quite some time ahead
Back down the hill...
My next door neighbour's Morgan, next to a rare Panther J72 and a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III
Something a bit more modern
... although I would rather have the red one
All in all, a superb day out, with the extra thick layer of icing on the cake being able to drive there and back in a proper vintage sports car.
