The 2021 Finalists

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Born from an idea spawned by a 32-year-old Austin Maestro, and after four years in the making, the UK’s newest visitor attraction Great British Car Journey  opened its doors in Ambergate, Derbyshire in May 2021. 

Visitors are guided round the exhibition with specially-produced handheld audio devices which give an audio commentary and pictures and guides the visitor through the decades as the cars roll out before them. QR codes provide further details on the display vehicles, while an army of volunteers is on hand to explain the finer details of the vehicles, from hidden petrol caps masquerading as taillights to the split bumper on the Morris Minor and one car once owned by a British music icon.

 This is the story of a British industry which in its heyday was a worldwide force and its products could be found in all corners of the globe. Its heroes are the popular cars from a bygone era when for half a century, British cars did literally "rule the road". Visitors go on a journey which starts in the early 1920s when the working family could only dream of owning a car. The journey ends as they venture into the new millennium and most of Britain's great car factories fall silent.

 Many of the cars on display have their own story: a 55 year old Mini with 7700 miles on the clock, the last MG Metro ever produced showing less than 400 miles and one of the 360 Morris Minor "Millions" produced in 1961 to celebrate a production record and sent to every Morris dealer in the UK.

And the cars aren’t purely for looking at; some of them can be driven. For an authentic, hands-on trip down Memory Lane, 32 cars, including the Maestro that started it all, are available to drive on a private road as part of the Drive Dad’s Car experience. 

Judges’ Comment: The Great British Car Journey is unusual in the very 'ordinariness' of its core collection  - the British family cars of the classic era  - but unique in making a significant part of that collection available for its visitors to drive. In an age where 'interactive' in museum terms almost inevitably means 'touchscreens', this approach of allowing hands-on experience of the cars that visitors (or their grandfathers or grandmothers) once drove is an impressive departure from the norm.

On 17 May 2021, the  Silverstone Experience Museum reopened its doors with a new name: the Silverstone Interactive Museum.

The Silverstone Interactive Museum has been designed to inspire the next generation and has over 60 hands-on exhibits where visitors can try out a wide variety of activities – from operating a wind tunnel, piloting a Wellington bomber, taking part in a pit stop and climbing into a replica Grand Prix car. Visitors can even see whether they have got what it takes to commentate on a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and go on a Heritage Track Trail outside around the iconic track.

In addition to the hands-on fun, the museum features some of the most iconic cars and bikes that have played a part in the 70-year history of Silverstone circuit including Mansell’s iconic Red 5, an E.R.A from the first ever Grand Prix held at the venue in 1948 and Barry Sheene’s 1979 Suzuki motorbike.

New for 2021 is a display featuring Lewis Hamilton’s 2020 race overalls and an enhanced outdoor area where parents can relax with a coffee while younger members of the team can play on an original stretch of the iconic Grand Prix Circuit. Rounding off a visit is a thrilling immersive film show – the ultimate lap of Silverstone – bringing together some of the circuit’s most famous racing moments with commentary from Murray Walker, Martin Brundle and David Croft.

In November this year the museum will open the Collections and Research Centre. The library of the British Racing Drivers’ Club forms the cornerstone of the books on the shelves, with red bound volumes of Autosport lined up for researchers to discover relatives’ racing careers or if their car ever competed at Silverstone. Other shelves contain decades of race programmes and key historical and reference books from across the years.

Judges’ Comment: As the home of the British Grand Prix and headquarters of the BRDC, Silverstone is ideally placed as the site of this spectacular celebration of the history of Formula One. With the demise of the much-loved Donington Collection, the Silverstone Interactive Museum is now the pre-eminent display of grand prix cars and the stories behind them in the UK.  It is, however, much more than that, with its emphasis on involving its visitors – especially the young – in that story through Interactive presentations. 

In May 2021 the Morgan Motor Company completed  the redevelopment of its visitor attraction, the Morgan Experience Centre, with the opening of its all-new interactive museum experience, The Archive Room. 

The Archive Room is home to the full company archives, containing more than a century of artefacts, documents, photographs and footage that chart the unique history and heritage of the brand. The centrepiece of the room is a full-length cabinet that houses individual items of historical significance, each with their own story. Next to each item is a button that allows visitors to bring the artefact to life as part of an audio-visual installation. 

Some of the more prominent items include a 1930s Leica camera belonging to the company’s founder, HFS Morgan, thousands of original press cuttings dating back to 1910, each beautifully documented in ‘scrap books’ by George Morgan (father of HFS), and original blueprints and historical parts from the earliest days of the company.

Five large-scale projectors situated around the room display rotating content that delves into all aspects of company history and provide a backdrop to the room. The remaining walls are adorned with artwork and abstract frames, Morgan parts and trophies. In the centre, seven cars are displayed and represent all eras and models, with a mixture of company heritage fleet and vehicles loaned by private owners. 

A ‘Design Your Morgan’ area introduces visitors to the basic principles of drawing a Morgan car, and how the design and development process works, with added insight from Morgan’s designers and engineers. A lightbox drawing board, tracing paper templates and pencils allow budding designers to put the Morgan creations of their imaginations onto paper, to take home or share on social media.

Judges’ Comment: In the nicest way, the world-famous Morgan factory is a living museum, with time-honoured crafts of woodwork and metal-forming running cheek-by-jowl with the very latest in automotive technology.  The company's new Archive Room gives a new focus to its public face, combining historical context to its hugely popular factory tours with access to its archive and a selection of previous models for visitors to savour. As with the rest of the Morgan site, it is on a very human scale compared with the often grander museums of its competitors.

E-type 60 at Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb on 12 & 13 June 2021 celebrated the 60th anniversary of the 1961 launch of this iconic British car in fine style. For many, it was the first motoring event after the lockdowns of the previous 14 months and was very well received by visitors, historic car owners, exhibitors and the media.

Around 400 E-types and their owners, 60 specialist exhibitors and enthusiastic visitors gathered in the stunning Teme Valley in Worcestershire. The event, sponsored by SNG Barratt Group and Twyford Moors, was held under the sunniest skies of the year at the historic and spectacular Shelsley Walsh motorsport setting.  

For many, the opportunity to get up close to the three Geneva Motor Show cars – together for the first time in 60 years – was worth the entry ticket alone. For others, it was the competition E-types: 4 WPD, ECD 400, 49 FXN, Egal and the E2A prototype, that set pulses racing.  

The historic Black Barn at Shelsley Walsh was an absolute treasure trove of motoring art as it played host to the first Brush with Speed exhibition. On display, a dazzling array of works from more than a dozen prominent British artists and sculptors. While the E-type was the central focus, the sheer variety of styles and media was remarkable.  

A non-stop entertainment schedule included regular hillclimb action; an outstanding motoring art exhibition, Sixties scooters, engaging theatre chats with E-type experts; hilarious reminiscing with racing legends: Hopkirk, Attwood, Fitzpatrick and Sutcliffe; a fabulously ’60’s-themed party; and a raucous tribute to The Italian Job.

Judges’ Comment: In a year that wasn’t short on celebrations of Jaguar’s icon, this one really stood out. A phenomenal effort from a tiny team led to an amazing collection of 400 E-types flooding the evocative grounds of Shelsley Walsh. As well as reuniting the original Geneva show cars for the first time in 60 years, the event drew a remarkable selection of historic E-types and famous names.

They came, they parked, and they admired. More than 3,000 fans of ordinary, everyday cars took to the manicured lawns of Grimsthorpe Castle, in Lincolnshire, to celebrate some of the rarest cars remaining on UK roads, at the world-famous 2021 Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional.

The green lawns were awash with the distinctive hues of once common cars, with beige, mustard and brown dominating the lineup of cars which stretched as far as the eye could see. 

The wheels were, more often than not, steel. The trim levels were basic, rather than plush. And optional extras were few and far between. These were, after all, cars of the people – once sold at prices people could afford before the advent of PCP-type finance products.

As ever, the celebration of everyday cars included a competitive element, with a 50-strong concours that saw owners and their prized vehicles put through a rigorous vetting process that could, ultimately, only result in one winner. And that winner proved a popular one. Jon Coupland and his remarkable 1989 Proton 1.5 GL Black Knight Edition fended off a truly impressive field of exceptionally unexceptional cars to take the ultimate prize in concours competitions – a Hagerty trophy, shaped like a mug of tea.

Danny Hopkins, editor of Practical Classics and a judge at the Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional since its inception, said “We think this Festival, more than any other, has really taken the demographic down. There are more young people here, with classic cars, than we have ever seen before, and we think it is absolutely fantastic.”  

Paul Cowland, television presenter, commented  “The fact that the second-placed car cost just £500 car shows how inclusive this scene is – everyone is welcome and there are no egos.”

Judges’ Comment: A regular showgoer can quickly become immune to truly mouth-watering machines, and stumbling across a long-forgotten poverty model can thrill as much as a rare Ferrari. Just the video that came as supporting evidence for this event had our judges cooing as they picked out Toyota Tercels and Hyundai Stellars from a collection of 3000 once-rubbish cars at regal Grimsthorpe Castle. 

  This fully MSUK-permitted, untimed multi-venue historic demonstration rally was the first event of its kind in the UK, emulating the success of similar 'Legend' events in Europe. And what a spectacle it was!

Organised by the Rallying History Group, and the brainchild of Warner Lewis and Mick Covill, the inaugural Historic Rally Festival was originally due to launch in 2020, but following numerous postponements (including one for the June 2021 date), it actually debuted in August 2021. 

Staging this event would have been challenging enough. To have to do so in the face of the challenges of lockdown and other COVID restrictions  took things to a new level of stress! But the event did finally take place, attracted some 7,500 spectators, and it was superb. 

Weston Park was frequently a location for a stage of the Lombard RAC Rally in the 1980s. The Historic Rally Festival brought together cars from the 1960s to the early part of the 21st Century, including the Ford Escort Mk 1 in which Roger Clark won the 1972 RAC Rally and the Mk 1 Fiesta XR2 he drove in the 1979 European Rally Championship. 

The potent Group B machines were out in ear-splitting force, including a Metro 6R4 and the ex-Fabrizio Tabaton Lancia 037. Naturally, there were also fabulous power demonstrations from the Peugeot 205 T16 and Audi Quattro Sport A2.

Famous cars were accompanied by famous faces such as Louise Aitken-Walker (in the ex-works Peugeot 205 she campaigned back in period). Harri Toivonen took to the tarmac in a Mitsubishi Evo 9 N5, bringing back memories of his 1983 RAC Rally activities, while Jimmy McRae delighted everybody with some spirited performances in the V8 Chevrolet Firenza Can-Am.

(image credit: Syd Wall)

Judges’ Comment: Anyone brave enough to put on a motorsport festival at a non-motorsport venue deserves respect, but this COVID-delayed inaugural event was also a huge success. Without the pressure of timing, owners were able to demonstrate some exceptional cars in a relaxed atmosphere, while crowds could enjoy some of their favourite machines in a beautiful setting.

 

Dougal, along with his company Longstone Classic Tyres, has been a great supporter and sponsor of the Vintage Sports-Car Club (VSCC) for several years and despite the uncertain times during the pandemic his support never faltered, if anything it increased at a time clubs needed the most support. 

The Club quite properly recognised the top three finishers in the results but the ‘unofficial’ Longstone result promptly disqualified them ‘for being too fast’ and awarded a champagne prize to the next three. Only Dougal could get away with it – much like the Vintage Top Gear videos he records from time to time. 

Dougal has probably done more to promote vintage motorsport and youth participation that anyone in recent years. As well as offering general support and mentoring to all the younger members in the VSCC, putting his money where his mouth is, Dougal, through Longstone Classic Tyres, paid for all under 30s to have a second race at the Club’s only race meeting at Mallory Park in 2020. 

Anyone who has met the larger-than-life front man will know that he is a lover and supporter of historic motorsport to his core.

Judges’ Comment: Dougal Cawley was selected for his support and never-ending enthusiasm for Vintage racing, for encouraging and cajoling the VSCC to bring back the Light Race and his generosity in supporting it and subsidising competitors, as well as financially supporting the younger VSCC members to race. Whilst the VSCC is full of great characters, Dougal and his racing family certainly stand out from the crowd and the judges felt Dougal deserved recognition for ensuring there is a next generation of historic racers. 

In 2020 the Reverend Adam Gompertz became a digital rock for the historic automotive community on Facebook, creating the REVS Limiter community. Over the past year, he has not just maintained that position, he has built on it. 

REVS' ethos is summed up in the welcome Adam has posted for new members: "It's great to have you with us - we really hope you feel at home here, a safe space to talk about the cars/bikes and other stuff with an engine that you love.  It's a place for those who are doing well and those who are struggling. It's a place of stories, of people, of restoration and hope, of faith, though you dont have to have a faith to be part of this. All are welcome whether you are into Ferraris or Fiats, Astons or Austins, Lambos, Lotus, Lambrettas or Land  Rover. Whatever your age, gender, whether you have a collection of cars, or just a poster on the bedroom wall you are welcome and its chuffing brilliant to have you here. "

As lockdown restrictions ended, rather than REVS Limiter fading, it continued to grow. It now has more than 7,000 members and there are now three 'real-life' REVS groups -  REVS Limiter in real time - with two more groups launching soon.

REVS Limiter now has a thriving YouTube channel with numerous videos covering a wide range of subjects from Robert Blakemore talking about the Le Mans Classic to a lengthy and lively  debate between motoring journalists Matt Prior, Matt Saunders, Vicky Parrott, Alex Goy, Designer Nir Khan, publisher Richard Webb, and Adam about the ultimate hand for classic motoringTop Trumps. 

New for 2021 is the Garagistas  trading cards game, and REVS has embraced the opportunities presented by life starting to open up again. In September this year it staged the first REVS-Limiter Pilgrims Tour, travelling to ancient pilgrim routes in North Wales in their classic cars. 

Judges’ Comment: From fund raising for Mission Motorsport to Mental Health Wellbeing, the multi talented Reverend Adam Gompertz isn't just the Station Chaplain of Bicester Heritage any more, he has become the minister for the classic automotive community! Following on from creating his digital community during lockdown in 2020, Adam has not rested on his laurels post-lockdown but embraced the release by staging a REVS-Limiter Pilgrims Tour. The judges felt Adam had gone above and beyond the extra mile of his job description, in continuing to work tirelessly to engage people with new ideas and bring communities together and help others. Adam is a very worthy candidate in the category. 

Four years ago, when Richard Usher owned and managed Blyton Circuit, a man approached him to ask if he’d like to buy his 1989 Austin Maestro in mint condition with just 10,000 miles on the clock. 

"My first thought was ‘no’, but it then got me thinking about when I last saw an Austin Allegro, Metro, original Mini, or even a Ford Cortina on the road. These were cars that were once on virtually every street in Britain and sold in their millions.”  

The seed was planted and Richard, together with four private investors, set about amassing one of the largest privately owned collections of British designed and manufactured cars in the country.

 It all came to fruition in this year when, after four years in the making, the UK’s newest visitor attraction Great British Car Journey  opened its doors in Ambergate, Derbyshire in May.

There are many excellent car museums in the UK but Great British Car Journey is a little bit different.

As the title suggests , visitors are taken on an interactive journey celebrating an era when British entrepreneurs and engineers were at the forefront of a transport revolution. Specially-produced handheld audio devices  give an audio commentary and pictures and guide the visitor through the decades as the cars roll out before them. QR codes provide further details on the display vehicles.

Along with Henry Ford in America , Herbert Austin and William Morris were the leaders who put the working population behind the wheel and gave us all the freedom of mobility which we now take for granted. 

And there's a twist - visitors can actually drive some of the cars from the museum's collection...

Judges’ Comment: Richard Usher was shortlisted for this award not just for his unfaltering dedication to the classic car industry but showing bravery, determination and creativity with his new venture: The Great British Car Journey, the interactive museum. He has not only rescued and preserving a huge collection of Britain's automotive history for future generations to come, but he's done it without prejudice of how ugly or terrible the cars once were. The judges felt that it takes a special kind of personality someone with real vision to imagine a future child looking at an Austin Allegro as a thing of beauty and be inspired.   

Billy joined Project Shop when he was 15. He had started his apprenticeship at a local bodyshop and had been let go. I offered him a lift and in five minutes I knew that he had an understanding of engineering I had never encountered in a boy of his age.

My engineers quickly understood that Billy was a sponge for information.  He would go away and watch YouTube videos on the tasks they had undertaken during the day. In the morning he would talk through everything he had taught himself over night and how he was going to apply it through the day. 

Between us we helped him with his college work and taught him to drive.  Throughout his time at Project Shop Billy has had an unquenchable interest in electronics. He would build his own diagnostic tools from bits lying around the workshop to solve issues with EFi and ECU problems as well as calibrate gauges. The only infuriating part was that he had a habit of disassembling our electric drills for components!  

In his final years with Project Shop the student became the teacher. Staff would ‘check their homework’ with Billy and he was always willing to help another person with a problem or teach them what he knew.  During his last 3 years Billy oversaw our restoration department. We were delighted when Michael Kerr at Everrati recognised Billy's abilities and offered him a role at that company earlier this year. Billy is the very essence of this award. 

Simeon Cattle, Project Shop

Billy began working closely with Everrati through Project Shop at the beginning of 2021 and is now our lead workshop technician.  He has been involved in the design and integration of the Land Rover S2 EV conversion as well as running in issues/fault diagnosis on the Porsche 964 project.    

Billy’s enthusiasm has quickly made him an invaluable member of our engineering team. He has interfaced extremely well with the Everrati Systems Engineering Team. He contributes his practical knowledge of classic vehicles to the integration of EV systems on our cars.  

Most importantly for me, Billy has demonstrated a very unique combination of practical skills and intellect that I’ve rarely come across in someone so young in my career and I feel that this alone is deserving of recognition.

Mike Kerr, Everrati

Judges’ Comment: Billy displayed a passion and understanding of engineering from a very young age, battling adversity in his personal life at the very time that he joined Project Shop. Displaying astounding talent for retaining information and a knack for creating his own tools, his role at Everrati showcases his knowledge of classics in a new EV setting.

Given his grandfather’s legacy it perhaps will not come as a surprise that William Heynes has been driving E-types and XKs from the time he could reach the pedals!  As Jaguar’s Chief Engineer and Technical Director, Bill Heynes developed the XK Engine and persuaded Sir William Lyons to enter Le Mans, resulting in five Jaguar victories, along with being responsible for the design and engineering of all Jaguar cars from 1935-1970. 

Over the years William has heard many stories from his father about his time spent at Browns Lane and all the period races - and, most importantly, the people involved who are as passionate about these cars as his family. When William was growing up, his father made available every 50s and 60s Jaguar sports cars designed by his own father (excluding a C-type and D-type) to him to practise his driving skills and learn the intricacies of these machines. This knowledge is part of his family’s heritage and it has given him a true understanding of the values and the historical importance of these cars. 

He is extremely proud to be continuing his grandfather’s work by ensuring his company restores and preserves these special vehicles with as much originality as possible for many generations to come.

William  has assisted in procuring a number of 1961 and 1962 E-types from all over the world and personally deconstructed over ten early E-types, gaining a monumental amount of knowledge. This knowledge led him to form the family business with his father, Heynes Heritage. Whilst working there, William project managed a number of very high calibre E-type projects including a preservation project which has been accepted into 2022’s Pebble Beach Concours. 

William’s knowledge of early E-types has been considered by some as one of the best in the world. In 2021, he was a judge at Hampton Court’s Concours of Elegance for the Jaguar Trophy Award and was also asked to talk at the Goodwood Revival Make-Do and Mend about the art of restoring Jaguar E-types.

In the summer of 2021, William left the family business and launched Williams Heynes Ltd., his own restoration business. He has now embarked on the new company's very first restoration - fittingly, an E-type...

Judges’ Comment:William has Jaguar in his blood, having driven E-types and XKs from the time he could reach the pedals! Celebrating in his family’s heritage, he has judged at both Hampton Court and Goodwood this past year, with his second to none knowledge of Jaguar and classic design making him a truly unique representative of an ongoing legacy.

Karim is a well-known name in classic motoring circles, which is amazing considering his young age. A mechanic specialising in pre-war cars, his expertise has been sought out from the likes of Gregor Fiskin and the Halusa family, working on cars like the Ferrari Breadvan and race winning Vauxhall 30/98s.

Karim has not only turned spanners at some of the most impressive historic race meetings one can think of (such as Goodwood & Le Mans Classic) he has also become a known quantity on the endurance rally scene, seemingly able to get almost any car back on the road with limited time, equipment and often sleep! 

He has a never ending love for classic cars and making sure they run to their very best ability, and that enthusiasm is truly infectious, he has a passion to learn everything he can and teach anyone who will listen. 

Having young talent as specialist and rare as his is a true blessing to the world of historic automobiles and he is someone we should all be very proud to have leading the next generation of specialists and enthusiasts!   

In 2019, at the age of 25, Karim was approached by Pendine Historic Cars to set-up his own workshop, a dream he has had for many years. Just as this dream began to get off the ground, the global pandemic hit - but Karim and his workshop  worked tirelessly, without evenings and weekends off, to make sure this new business stays afloat, and these efforts have paid off. 

Starting a new business is hard, but doing so and making it a success in the midst of a pandemic is a testament to how universally loved and supported Karim is by the industry and how well-regarded his abilities are.  

Judges’ Comment: A well-known name in classic motoring circles, Karim has turned spanners at both historic race meetings and endurance events, with his boundless enthusiasm and resourcefulness setting him apart. After being approached by Pendine, Karim worked tirelessly to get his own workshop off the ground when COVID-19 struck, with his grit and determination ensuring a resounding success.