Luxury Collection

Austin Healey 100/6
Year: 1958
Place of first registration: Surrey
Facts: In 1956 the “Big Healey” was substantially relaunched with a raft of changes including a 2.6 litre 6 cylinder engine. The alliance of Donald Healey and BMC saw both the Austin Healey Sprite and the Big Healey achieve great sales success, particularly in America where their style and performance found a ready audience. This car has been modified for sprint and hillclimb competition and has a 2912cc engine developing more than 160 bhp.
We Love: All Austin-Healey’s: elegant, fast and great fun to drive.
Not so good: This example is noisy due to its modified engine and exhaust system. Probably be better with the roof off.
Bentley Eight
Part of the
Year: 1986
Age: 35 years
Place of first registration: London
Facts: A really nice example of the rare Bentley Eight in a nice metallic blue colour with acres of blue leather inside.
We Love: The Bentley looks so much better than the Rolls Royce Silver Spirit even though it is essentially the same car. The ride and performance are amazing for such a big car.
Not so good: Extremely thirsty due to the 7 litre V8 engine and will never be cheap to maintain.
Daimler V8
Part of the
Year: 1998
Age: 24 years
Place of first registration: Coventry
Facts: This car represents the last hurrah for the Daimler brand and the classic “XJ” shape dating back to the late 1960s. This car was first registered as a factory demonstrator before being sold to its only private owner by the TWR group in Oxford. Its list price in 1998 was just under £56,000 and only 2283 were made.
We Love: Around 300bhp, a top speed of nearly 150mph and an interior with acres of leather, tree loads of wood veneer including picnic tables in the back and the build quality only achieved under Ford’s ownership
Not so good: The Queen used a supercharged version of this car up until 2007 when its return ended 105 years of Daimler use by our Royal family…so if you are not a monarchist possibly not the car for you!
Jaguar XJS Cabriolet 3.6 Manual
Part of the
Year: 1986
Place of first registration: Salford
Facts: In many ways a better car than the V12 version, the Cabriolet got rid of the roof and made the XJS much more desirable. This car was sold new to the founder of the local Selecta Tyre fast fit business, it’s one and only owner and has only covered just over 40,000 miles. It is in remarkable condition and is truly a great drive on a Summer’s day. The XJS was a really good seller and remains remarkably underrated.
We Love: The manual box and silky six cylinder engine.
Not so good: Getting the roof up and down is a bit of a faf.
Rolls Royce Silver Spirit
Part of the
Year: 1989
Age: 32 years
Place of first registration: Surrey
Facts: Only two private owners from new.
We Love: That wonderful unstressed V8 engine. The comfort.
Not so good: For the planet. 15 mpg on a good day.
Rover SD1 3500 Vitesse
Year: 1986
Place of first registration: Kent
Facts: 500 Vitesses were sent to Lotus to have a special Twin Plenum induction system fitted which enabled the immensely successful racing cars to develop more power. This is one of those cars so it’s able to deliver well over 200bhp from its lusty V8. The SD1 was a great car : elegant, spacious and rapid. Unfortunately, build quality was patchy at best and rustproofing failed to literally stop the rot.
We Love: Another epic ,innovative, British Express
Not so good: A lot of them used by Motorway Police!
Triumph Stag Automatic
Part of the
Year: 1975
Age: 47 years
Place of first registration: London
Facts: An extensively restored example of Triumph’s 1970s four seater convertible Grand Tourer.
We Love: The styling by Michelotti of Turin and the fantastic “Inca Yellow” colour
Not so good: The V8 engine is unique to the Stag and can be a troublesome unit. Many Stags have been fitted with the Rover V8 engine as a result