Timewarp MGB GT with just 1,500 miles on the clock to go up for auction.

• 1980 MG B GT in original, preserved and unrestored condition for auction with CCA
• More than 30 years in dry storage and just 1,500 recorded miles
• Offered at an estimate of £12,000 to £15,000 at the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show

A 1980 MG B GT in time-warp condition with an incredibly low mileage will be offered by Classic Car Auctions (CCA) in its biggest sale ever on 1^st and 2^nd April at the NEC, Birmingham.

Presented in spectacular, original condition, the right-hand drive manual MG B GT was first registered on 17th September 1980, the very last year of production, and will be offered at auction at an estimate of £12,000 to £15,000.

Quite remarkably, this amazing MG B GT has had just one registered owner from new who has preserved the car to appear as it did the day he purchased it. Not only has the car barely been touched, it has hardly been driven with just 1,500 miles recorded since leaving the British Leyland dealership in September 1980.

The car has spent over 30 years in dry storage, remaining almost untouched other than to be treated with rustproofing to be serviced in April 1982. It was made ready for the road in December 2014, and shortly after enjoyed its first ever MoT with 1,348 miles showing.

Today the car presents beautifully in its original Brooklands Green paintwork with the rare orange and brown 'Deckchair' trim, as well as the chrome works, glass, headlining, dashboard and carpets all retained in very good condition.

“This is a genuine, preserved, unrestored example of a much-loved and enjoyable, classic British sports car,” explains Nigel Gough, classic car specialist, CCA. “Rarely do we see a car of this age with such a low mileage, and the owner has clearly kept the car this way intentionally to create what we call a time-warp example of the model, which is highly collectible.”

Included in the sale is original documentation including the initial bill of sale, an invoice for ‘Protectol' rustproofing service costing £112.00 and the original service book with one entry on 26th April 1982 indicating a mileage at that point of 984.

“This near 37 year old car is something special. It's a little piece of late summer in 1980,” concludes Nigel.

For the first time ever, a Mini will be taking part in the Peking to Paris rally, let's hope it does really well.

This year’s Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, billed as the world’s toughest endurance rally for classic and vintage cars, will feature a Mini for the first time in the event’s history.

The 1972 Austin Mini 1000 has been entered as a last minute replacement for Car 34 after Paul and Chris Hartfield’s pre-war Packard wasn’t ready in time.

Concerned for the Packard, Paul contacted Owen Turner from the Rover Centre whom he had met on last year’s Sahara Challenge, for some advice and seeing just how much work still needed to be done on the old American car, advised against taking it on the grueling 36-day 8,500mile event that journeys through some extremely difficult terrain. 

Needing a car in a hurray to meet the shipping deadline, the best option was to buy the Mini Owen had prepared for himself for the 2015 Marrakesh event as well as Le Jog.

Owen explains: “The Packard needed a lot of work still doing and would not have coped with the likes of Mongolia at all in its current condition. It will be a challenge for the Mini, especially the Gobi Desert, but at least you can fix it fast and get moving again.”

The Mini 1000 has a 1300 engine and uses a 1991 body shell, sprayed in its original colour. Not bad considering it was built in two weeks. 

The sixth Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, organised by the Endurance Rally Association, will begin on Sunday 12th June 2016 as 110 crews cross the start line at the Great Wall of China in Beijing.

Competitors will cross eleven countries including Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, Russia and Belarus before entering Europe to reach the finish line in the centre of Paris on Sunday 17th July. 

More crews are taking part in the 2016 outing than ever before, with 50 cars dated pre-1942 in the Vintageant class and 60 in the Classic class dated pre-1977. 

The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge begins Sunday, June 12, 2016, at the Great Wall of China outside Beijing and concludes Sunday, July 17, 2016, at Place Vendôme in the center of Paris, France.

Original Mini and Mini Metro now becoming rare.

There are still 8,176 original Minis driving around British roads whereas its unloved replacement, the Mini Metro sold under the Austin and Rover brands, has fared less well with just 3,262 left despite being produced later on.

According to WeLoveAnyCar.com, there are 34 different Austin Mini models remaining on UK roads. Some models are the last of their kind; someone is driving around Britain in the last licensed Austin Mini ‘850 Van’ and there are just 3 Mini ‘SPL’ versions left.

Only 3,261 of the poorly-built and unloved Austin and Rover Metros are left on the roads with an amazingly high 77 model versions. Some are facing total extinction; there is just one Austin Metro ‘HL’ left and two licensed Rover Metro ‘MG Turbo’ versions remaining.

A WeLoveAnyCar.com spokesman said, “Since we launched our #CarCountUK page, 10s of thousands of people have visited the site to see how many of the cars they knew, loved and drove remain on British roads. Of the greatest surprise to many is the fact that they are discovering the car they drive today might also be quite rare.”

Today’s Exclusive Cars

BMW has been successful worldwide with the modern Mini and there are 490,376 registered for British roads. There are only three Mini Cooper Graphite C-Man DA models registered: their owners can rightly claim to own a very rare and exclusive modern car.  The most exclusive Mini driver in Britain is the owner of the only Mini One ‘Soho Clubman Auto’ registered before December 2013.

There are 206 different modern Mini models registered to drive on British roads.  In an increasing trend to ‘design’ a car, offered by Fiat 500, Vauxhall Adam and others, prospective owners can choose exactly what they want from thousands of extras to add on to the hundreds of base models available.

WeLoveAnyCar.com, the UK’s biggest car review site with over 601,179 car owner reviews and opinions, designed their #CarCountUK website so anyone could find out how many of a certain model of car is left registered to drive on public roads.  The figures are produced each year by the government and WeLoveAnyCar.com has taken this and reprocessed the information so it is easy, and free, to use. There may be other models of any of the cars mentioned in garages and sheds but these, for whatever reason, have been taken off the road by their owners.