I believe that this was the ninth year of holding this event. To my shame as a car enthusiast and someone living within ten miles of Warwick I heard of it, for the first time, last year (2015). The reason it came to my attention is because Warwickshire Country Record Office used the event to announce its intention to purchase the last remaining Healey Motor Company Archive from the Healey family and as a fund raising exercise.
In recent years I have attended a number of Classic Car shows in the U.K. and the U.S. in support of my website. All have their merits but in my opinion the Retro Warwick show has a unique charm of its own which no other show could possibly replicate. Its greatest attribute is, of course, Warwick’s historic town centre. The town and people of Warwick, have influenced world history over the centuries, in one way or another and yet it is not boastful. It is refined, quintessentially English, even walking around its streets admiring the stunning cars there is an almost reverential hush bout it. People are smiling with delight at the sight of these wonderful cars and are so courteous to one another. You are probably getting the impression that I loved it, you would be right.
One of the potential downsides of attending such an event two years running is the possibility of seeing the same cars again. This thought had crossed my mind. However, I am delighted to report that nothing could have been further from the truth. I would say that less than a quarter of all the cars on display this year were there in 2015.
There were some stunning cars being exhibited this year, my favourites, mainly because of their rarity, were –
Bristol 406 Zagato – Napier and Brasier Grand Prix cars – Jensen Interceptor (because I had some small influence on it being there) – Jowett Kestrel and the two MGAs representing the extreme ends of what they can be used for, one for rallying the other a ‘boulervardier’.
Here are some of the cars I photographed –
Please be patient, the photos make take a few seconds to load.
Nick