An ex-F1 owned and Ex ITN News correspondent Range ROver Classic is up for sale.

• Range Rover driven 14,000 miles from Johannesburg to Somerset by ex-ITN Chief Foreign Correspondent now for sale at JD Classics
• Michael Nicholson of ITN News embarked on the epic five-month journey with his family in 1981
• The car also comes with a copy of the book, Across the Limpopo, in which Nicholson chronicled his incredible journey
• First owned by ex-Formula One racer Duncan Hamilton, and recently restored to perfection, this Range Rover has an impeccable history

A 1973 Range Rover driven on an epic 14,000-mile, five-month expedition from Johannesburg to Somerset is on-sale now at JD Classics. Undertaken by ex-ITN Chief Foreign Correspondent, Michael Nicholson in 1981, this Range Rover has survived the Nyaki Mountains in Malawi and elephants in Dar es Salaam – all chronicled in Nicholson’s book Across the Limpopo.

Nicholson was sold the Range Rover by its first owner, none other than Le Mans-winning racing driver Duncan Hamilton, who specified it in Lincoln Green with a Palomino interior and a number of factory options. 

Full leather upholstery and a Webasto sunroof were both fitted as extras by Nicholson who bought the car in 1976, before shipping it to Johannesburg where he was working as ITN’s Chief Foreign Correspondent.

After four years of daily use in South Africa, Nicholson was due to head back to England but couldn’t face the thought of simply waking up in the UK the next day. Instead of the 16-hour flight, he packed his family and their belongings into his Range Rover and set off for home.

From South Africa, Nicholson headed through Zambia to the Nyika Plateau of Malawi, where he camped fearing for his family’s safety, staying up all night with a machete at hand. The Range Rover took them through Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conversation Area, where they travelled side-by-side with wild rhinoceros, and saw them through dangerous encounters with bull elephants in Dar es Salaam.

Nicholson’s unstoppable Range Rover then crossed the Serengetti to Kenya, where it had to tackle the Weiwei Drift, a series of boggy washed away bridges where the average speed was 2.5 hours per mile.

Following its final route through Egypt, Sudan, Greece and the rest of Europe to the UK, the car was dry stored for many years. Recently it was subjected to a comprehensive bare shell restoration, completed by Range Rover specialists Bishops 4x4.

JD Classics Managing Director, Derek Hood, said: “The classic Range Rover market is hugely popular at the moment, and this is a wonderful opportunity to own a very special part of it. From its Le Mans-winning racing owner to its incredible journey through Africa – chronicled in a book and many photographs accompanying the car – this Range Rover has perfect provenance. Add to that the recent impeccable restoration, and it’s easy to see why this Range Rover is perhaps the most desirable on the market today.”

This arguably, best DS in the world is coming up for sale at the Silverstone Auction Salon Prive at Blenheim Palace.

• The multi-award winning car and unrivalled European show winner is regarded as the finest Citroen DS in existence
• One owner from new and treated to an exceptionally high quality restoration
• It will be auctioned on 3^rd September at Salon Privé with a sale estimate of £75,000 to £90,000

A 1973 Citroen DS Super 5, believed to be the finest Citroen DS in the world, is set to be auctioned at Silverstone Auctions’ Salon Privé Sale on Saturday 3^rd September at Blenheim Palace.

With its aerodynamic, futuristic shape and innovative technology, this Citroen DS didn’t even have to leave the dealership showroom to find its first owner. The CEO of the supplying dealership is the first and only registered owner of the car, which is now one of the most decorated examples on the classic Citroen circuit anywhere in the world.

This truly stunning, right-hand drive DS is presented in period white (Blanc Meije) bodywork with original Red Targa upholstery. Having been restored to an exceptionally high quality standard, the dedicated owner entered this exemplary classic Citroen into the most prestigious of concours level shows and competitions.

Such is the car’s success, it possesses its own display cabinets that bulge with in excess of 200 awards. As the unrivalled European show winner, the car has collected multiple concours trophies including National Champion at both the Welsh Benson & Hedges Concours and Popular Classics Roadshow. The Citroen has also achieved victories at the Scottish Benson & Hedges Concours, was an NEC show winner, and a national Meguiars Concours display car. It also featured prominently at the Paris Concours and Citroen World Championship.

This star car even boasts a television career, with appearances on both Top Gear and Fifth Gear. It has even been offered a permanent place at the national Citroen Museum in France.

“Words are not adequate to convey the condition of this important piece of motoring history, it simply must be seen to be believed,” explains Nick Whale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions. “This DS is the kind of car that really gets people excited, and we’re delighted to be offering a car of this staggering quality and reputation in our sale. It’s one of the star cars in the Salon Privé Sale and fits in perfectly as part of our most exclusive sale.”

This award winning 1973 Citroen DS Super 5 will be offered for sale with an estimate of between £75,000 and £90,000. Documentation supporting the car's history fills a number of storage boxes, full photographic restoration folders and at least 150 magazine features will accompany the car.

USA - BMW 2002 Hommage celebrates the birth of the turbocharged car at the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach.

BMW 2002 Hommage celebrates the birth of the turbocharged car. Design study pays tribute to legendary motor racing glories at the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach.

At the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach, the BMW Group is presenting the BMW 2002 Hommage to shine the spotlight back over its successful history with turbocharged engines. 

In 1973 the BMW 2002 turbo became the first series-produced vehicle in Europe to feature turbo technology. In so doing, it turned the BMW 02 into a full-blooded sports car. 

Looking back, the advent of BMW turbo engine technology pointed the way for both the development of the sportiest BMW sedans and milestones such as the first Formula One World Championship title for a turbocharged car – won by Nelson Piquet in 1983.

“The BMW 2002 Hommage celebrates the extraordinary feats of engineering on which BMW turbo technology is based and re-interprets them in the form of a design study,” says Karim Habib, Head of Design BMW Automobiles. 

“With its iconic orange/black paintwork, the car has a colour scheme and livery synonymous in the minds of many motor sport fans with the triumphs of the 1970s.”

The model unveiled in Pebble Beach writes the next chapter in a story begun by the BMW 2002 Hommage, which the company presented at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in May.

A confident statement of unadulterated driving joy.

The sporting silhouette of the BMW 2002 Hommage lies low against the road. Its compact proportions; complete with long wheelbase, short overhangs and prominent “shark nose”, promise a driving experience that thrills with irresistible dynamics and agility. 

Aerodynamic details like the large spoilers at the front and rear team up with the profusion of air intakes and exits to optimise airflow around the car and maximise downforce in every driving situation.

Historic details with a modern twist.

A particularly striking feature of the car’s flanks are the pronounced wheel arches, which frame the body like four brackets and add stature. In the process, they recall the homologated version of the BMW 2002 turbo, which needed broad extensions bolted onto its body to accommodate a significantly wider track. 

The Hommage car integrates this detail neatly. Sleek surfacing and precisely chiselled lines envelop the powerful wheel arches and hand them a starring role.

In perhaps the most literal reference of the original 2002, the 2002 Hommage features a unifying “waterline” to connect many of the car’s formal elements. 

This unbroken carbon fiber line physically wraps around the car from front to rear, while also creating a horizontal distinction between upper and lower body surfaces. 20-inch light-alloy wheels in bi-colour design round off the styling as the car meets the road. 

The modern looks of these lavishly milled, multi-spoke items recall the racing rims of bygone eras, while gold-coloured brake callipers bearing the M logo add an extra stamp of class.

Fronted by 50 years of BMW history.

The front end of the BMW 2002 Hommage is a confident and extravagantly dynamic affair; its styling bridges a gap of 50 years in combining the characteristic, horizontal grill graphic of the 02 series with modern elements of BMW design. 

In its lines and form, the bonnet references the “spear” contour stretching down the centre of the 02 models that swells slightly into a surround for the BMW logo as it approaches the kidney grille. Further precise lines lend structure and definition to the matt surface.

Occupying centre stage at the front end is the familiar BMW kidney grille. Here, it takes the form of a low-standing, connected unit, offering a flesh slant on the kidneys’ historical rendering as a cohesive design element. Sculpted, black double-bars add finesse to the details of the broad-set grille. 

Like the BMW 2002, the BMW 2002 Hommage also has two single round headlights that provide the striking front end with its outer limits. The headlights’ reflective gold colouring is a pointer to the “golden” 50th anniversary of the BMW 2002’s launch. 

The headlights also reprise the yellow hue commonly found in the headlamps of racing cars back in the day. An unbroken horizontal black band unites the design elements of the front end and in so doing, underlines the car’s wide and athletic stance. 

Those with a keen eye will also pick out the turn signal repeaters, which – like those of the car’s forebear – are located separately from the headlights and embedded in the wrap-around carbon fiber waterline element.

The large front apron, a stylistic and functional aerodynamic nod to those models of the 1970s, shortens the visual distance between the BMW 2002 Hommage and the road. 

Together with the car’s wide, sporting stance, this technically innovative, forward-thinking design sends out a message of top-class roadholding and handling flair through fast corners. Now, as in the heyday of the BMW 2002, design excellence and turbo technology bring unsurpassed levels of fun to twisty race tracks, country roads and mountain passes alike. 

The “turbo” lettering in mirror writing on the front apron casts the mind back to the original decals of the 2002 turbo. Accent surfaces in exposed carbon mark the point where the front apron and side skirts hand over to the road, and also provide a technically alluring contrast to the body-coloured surfaces.

Bringing matters to a sporting conclusion.

The rear-end design of the BMW 2002 Hommage also calls on elements of the 2002 turbo. For example, the horizontal sub-division of the car’s generous surfaces and its clear lines make a width-emphasising and thus suitably dynamic statement, laced with modern feel. 

The almost rectangular lights provide a stylistic border for the rear end. The glass covers have a contemporary black-panel look and only offer a view of the inner workings when the lights illuminate. All you can see when they are dormant is an unbroken black surface. 

As at the front of the car, this strengthens the impression of a strip wrapped around the car. The asymmetric BMW logo placement to the right of the license plate between the two rear lights is likewise a characteristic element of 02 rear styling. 

The muscular wheel arches bookend the rear section and accentuate the wide track, while a precise spoiler lip brings a modern edge to the car’s detailing. A carbon diffuser integrates the now familiar two sets of twin exhaust tailpipes and wraps up the rear styling with a sporting flourish.

BMW’s fresh interpretation of the BMW 2002 adopts the form of a compact sports coupe in the classical tradition of BMW Hommage cars. But more than that, the BMW 2002 Hommage represents a clear statement of how pure driving pleasure is defined in 2016.

Rare right hand drive 1973 Range Rover convertible to be the star attraction at the Silverstone Auctions NEC sale.

• Rare early right-hand drive 62,500-mile Range Rover convertible conversion due to be auctioned at Silverstone Auctions’ NEC Classic Motor Show Sale
• Bespoke Special Vehicle Conversions build based on UK right-hand drive 1973 Range Rover ‘Suffix B’ will be sold with an estimate of £35,000 - £40,000 after a full restoration
• Silverstone Auctions’ two-day NEC Classic Motor Show Sale will be held at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC, Birmingham on 14-15 November - consignments are still invited

A rare early Range Rover convertible conversion is due to be sold at Silverstone Auctions’ last auction of the year, The NEC Classic Motor Show Sale, on 14-15 November 2015.

Starting life as a 1973 Range Rover ‘Suffix B’, the car was converted in the late Eighties by Special Vehicle Conversions, who specialise in bespoke convertible conversions for Range Rovers of the period.

The rare right-hand drive convertible has covered just 62,500 miles from new and having recently been restored to its original Special Vehicle Conversions specification, it will be sold at The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show auction with an estimate of £35,000 - £40,000.

The car was apparently won by the previous owner in a card game in the Nineties, who then stored it in a lock-up as he didn’t have space in his garages. The vendor heard of the story and sought to try and find the car again in 2014. After trying to locate the car and with the help of Land Registry records, it was uncovered in superb condition – with its undersealed chassis still in fine fettle.

Later that year, the car was treated to an eight-month nut and bolt restoration costing £20,000, which included the recommission of its 3.5-litre V8 engine. The convertible conversion heads to The NEC Classic Motor Show Sale in superb condition, ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. 

Arwel Richards, Classic Car Consignor at Silverstone Auctions spoke about the Range Rover and said, “This classic Range Rover convertible conversion is a car worthy of the modern-day James Bond, but has a story akin to that of ‘007’ too. Not only does this convertible conversion have unique provenance, but it’s based on a truly superb early right-hand drive Range Rover ‘Suffix B’ and has covered a mere 62,500 miles – I doubt you’ll find one like this in the near future.

“With the recently launched Range Rover Evoque Convertible, it has become in vogue even more. It’s a real privilege to be entrusted with re-homing this very important car at the NEC Classic Motor Show Sale and I’m sure its new owner will love and cherish it, especially after its superb restoration.”

Silverstone Auctions will also be exhibiting at Classic & Sports Car - The London Show, held at Alexandra Palace from 30 October – 1 November as auctioneers for the silent auction. The auction house will be exhibiting two cars on their stand, as well as offering on-site valuations to show visitors.

Stunning Jaguar E-Type barn Find goes under the hammer at Silverstone auctions.

An incredibly original 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series III V12 Manual Roadster, hidden away for more than 25 years, is set to see the light of day once again when it goes under the hammer in Silverstone Auctions’ May Sale.

The one family owned car was purchased new by the current owner’s grandfather and registered on the 15^th of August 1973. Yet the car was rarely used and spent much of its early life in a garage at the family home in Warwickshire.

In April 1993 ownership passed onto the son of the first owner yet still remained unused in the same garage. The E-Type was however properly immobilised and oil put into the cylinders.

The car was given a full service in October 2006 and once again placed into storage. It was passed onto the current owner when his father died in September 2014. 

The dust covered car will now receive a careful recommissioning at classic car specialists Tolman Motorsports before heading to Silverstone circuit for the auction on May 23^rd, with an estimate of between £75,000 and £90,000.

Commenting on the car’s amazing history, managing director of Silverstone Auctions, Nick Whale said: “It’s a pleasure to be able to offer this highly original, low mileage E-Type for auction and help find it a loving home with a new owner.”

Having been used so little the car has covered just over 7,700 miles from new and remains essentially as delivered from the Coventry factory. All the interior is completely original as is the soft top. The original spare tyre and tool kit is still with the car and it even comes with the last tax disc from 31/10/90.

Nick added, “In my opinion the Series III E-Type is one of the best value classic cars on offer. The market has now recognised these wonderful cars and as such we expect a great amount of interest in this fantastically original, low mileage example.”