The Cars of the Country

Although we often think of London as the main place for cars in England, the rest of the country isn't too far behind itself.

We spent a week in England, with only two days in London, meaning we spent the rest of the time in the South of England. The first day we spent, we mostly spent time on the highways getting to our place. The highways in England always seem like a treasure-trove for cars, and they didn't let down.

Even on the side roads there were surprises. How often do you see a GTR on the side of the road for sale?

We had a little detour in Surrey, England for Mercedes Benz world and the Brooklands Museum. Before they were open, we took a little trip into Byfleet where we parked by this Subaru P1. 

Dinner at the Trout Inn, yielded this GT3 in the parking lot as we left. Just goes to show that cars can show up anywhere, anytime.

After a day at the Prescott HillClimb, we took a trip into Winchcomb. I'm not sure what's more British than an Aston in a tiny little British town.

Back at our Bed and Breakfast, there was this Ducati out in the lot.

On our way to the town of Caste Combe, we passed a little shop hidden by some bushes that was filled with TVR's. The one that really caught my eye was this Sagaris. Can't say I've seen too many of these, if any, so there was of course a mandatory turn around called to get back.

There were a many other TVR's there, which was an absolute treat. Being in the States, we don't see too many modern TVR's, so getting to see a whole group was a sight to see.

With a trip to the city of Castle Combe, we had to stop by at the Castle Combe Circuit. For a Monday afternoon, we were surprised to see a small track day going on, with a good amount cars too.

There was this Focus RS at a gas station just down the road. Just one of the other cars that the we never got in the States.

On the way to our next stop, Boscastle, we saw a J-turned trailer. How the pickup didn't flip too is pretty lucky. You never know what you'll see.

Back in Boscastle, there was this interesting Vauxhall with a jean pattern unzipping into a sticker bomb wrap. Interesting.

You need some scenery right? Upper Boscastle after eating at the Napoleon Inn.

If I've learned anything from Top Gear, the Hilux is the best truck for anything. This fisherman in Port Isaac know what's up.

If there was ever a smaller town than Batcombe, I wouldn't believe it. It had a Pub/Inn and a church with a few houses around. Surprisingly, I managed to find a few interesting cars there. This Mercedes E63 AMG was a surprise for sure. Big, V8 wagons are so wrong, but so right.

Although Land Rovers may not be rare, Along with the Astons, these seem to fit perfectly into the environment.

Speaking of Aston, this Aston was the first thing I saw when I looked out my window. A tiny little town, and I have an Aston Martin out my window. 

In Shaftesbury, this Alpine showed up next to a little row of shops.

A little walk around town also brought out this Evo. Not having the Evo in America until later, seeing the older model Evos are a treat.

Another exciting spot was this R33. May not be a GTR, but for me any Skyline is exciting. It's a shame they were never sold in America, but I guess it makes it more fun to see.

Driving to the Haynes Museum, we followed a Juke for a little time. Although I thought it looked a little different. Turns out it was a Nismo Juke. Maybe not the most exciting car ever, but Nismo is Nismo.

And then this was just out of the ordinary. 

We knew we were in the right place for Haynes when we saw this Morgan pulling out.

Evershot, which was just as small as Batcombe, only had one interesting car, this 2CV. And it seemed like an old one at that. The owner had a wide interest of the automobile world with some NHRA stickers on the rear window.

 Our final night before London was in Windsor. Getting lost on the way to our Bed and Breakfast, we came across this later gen. Focus RS. Although it looks more aggressive, I prefer the original RS.

Finally in a big city, the cars started coming a little quicker. This clean 635, a little lowered with some nice mesh wheels. Very well done.

This 612 seemed a little out of place in its driveway.

And this Capri right down the way seemed to fit in just right.

This Audi A1 was just the road down from the Windsor Castle walk. The Audi Sport colors were a great match for the car. Tricked me for a second that it was an A1 Quattro, which I saw earlier in the day, but no pictures unfortunately.

Luckily, I managed to find one older GTR. The R33 GTR seems to be the forgotten one between the R32 and R34, but it's in no way a slouch in looks.

And to finish, was this Lancia Fulvia. Just down the street form our Bed and Breakfast, it was the last car I saw before we made our way into London the next day. All in all, I have to admit that country of England is just as exciting as London. Although we were there during the week of mid 50's and rain, I'm sure during the nice summer days there's much more to find.

Delaney

Beaulieu Museum

While we were in England, we had to stop by some museums. One was the Beaulieu Museum in Hampshire. Parking lots are always one of the most exciting part about any car museum or show, but this lonely Type R was as exotic as this parking lot got.

This RS Cosworth was one of the cars that greeted you in the way in. With 5,000 made to qualify for Group A, it's a very sought after car in the Ford line up.

Farther in, this Silk Cut Jaguar was on a Goodwood like display right below the the bridge. The Group C were easily one of the best looking race cars ever. The Silk Cut livery is synonymous this Group C and Jaguar. 

Just below was this Ari Vatanen Ford Escort Rothmans rally car from the Lombard Rally. Group B was easily the most exciting time in rally, but these little Escorts stood the test of time and still get regularly rallied all over England.

Yet another famous race car, possibly the most famous was this Lotus. The Lotus 49 is easily one of the best looking race cars to ever take to the track. Simple, but yet still aggressive and successful. It may of been F1's most dangerous years, but man it was also one of the best looking.

Speaking of Lotus, this Esprit from James Bond was on display with the other James Bond cars.

The biggest cars there were the Land Speed Cars. The BlueBird CN7 was made for speeds up to 500MPH, but only hit 440MPH at the end of the measured mile. Quite a site to take with the huge 30ft blue beast sitting front of you. 

Next to was the 1928 Golden Arrow. With a 23.9 liter W12, it set a (at the time) record of 231MPH in the flying mile on Daytona beach. These cars are some of the wildest cars to see in person, which makes me really want to get to Bonneville someday.

The most exciting cars to be on display at Beaulieu though had to be these. I'm sure some people just see this as a beat up Toyota, but to the majority of people, we all know this as the Hilux that wouldn't die. A whole display for Top Gear was set up at Beaulieu with tons of cars from various challenges.

Like this Nissan made to cross the English Channel.

There was a show getting set up for the next day, with some of the cars showing up early. Like this row of Hillman Imps. They've always been an awkward looking little car, but something about the rally set up just looks right on it.

The employee lot had one last little surprise, this Mexico Edition Escort. The tiny wheels on the large body looks almost comical, and yet I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

After the museum we arrived at our place for he night in Windsor. Just down the street I noticed a shape that could only be a classic car. After checking it out, it turned out to be a Lancia Fulvia! A pretty good way to end the day in my book.

Delaney