After seveal weekends of rain some sunny autumnal weather finally materialized, so we decided to make the trek up to the north of Oxfordshire for the Auto Italia Autumn show. The “trek” was actually an idyllic drive straight up the M40 towards Banbury, and as we cruised along we were lucky enough to bump into a rare Lamborghini Espada making it’s way to the same destination. With it’s throbbing V12 and elongated yet incredibly low profile body, it was a sight to behold!
On arriving at the event we found the organisation was good, marshalls were on hand to guide cars into spaces based on their marques. There were about 20 Ferraris present: a Dino 246, 330, Testarossa, 308/328s, 355s, and a also an F430 Scuderia in light blue, which was the first one I had ever seen. On the Mondial front we were parked up alongside a very dark blue (or maybe black) 85 Mondial QV, there was also a Mondial 8 in attendance, but I don’t recall seeing any 3.2 Mondials or a Mondial t. There was an impressive turnout of other Italian marques too, plenty of Alphas, Lancias and Fiats. The real jaw dropping sight was the collection of so many Lamborghinis, especially pristine Countaches and Diablos, many of them in the classic pin up poster colours that adorned many young lads’ bedrooms in the 80s/90s (see photos). The scene resembled a squadron of space ships ready to take off from Battlestar Galactica.
The Heritage Motor Centre is built on the grounds of the old RAF Gaydon which was built as a secret World War 2 airbase and operated until the 1970s when the land was bought by British Leyland, who turned it into their own top secret research and development centre, complete with a high speed test track. After the decline of the British Leyland the site and main building were modernised by Rover and lottery money in the early 1990s as a museum to the British motor industry, and the main building now holds the largest collection of classic British cars in the UK. The £10 entrance to the Auto Italia show included admission to the Heritage Motor Centre itself, which is great value for money as the meuseum is well worth looking round. Rather than just an endless line of cars there are plenty of interactive and educational displays to keep kids entertained too (and hopefully they might learn something!).
Another hightlight of the show was that for an extra £20 you could take your car around the test track in one of the three sessions throughout the day. There are a few sensible rules: speed limit of 90mph, no overtaking, and strict following of the pace car, but it’s a chance to put your foot down at least a little bit. I didn’t take up the offer this year but might do next time round. The only disappointing thing is that there is no viewing point of the test track for observers to watch the sessions, also any kind of filming or photography is banned on or near the test track. This is deliberate because Aston Martin have a hangar containing all their latest developments, and they have understandable concerns of industrial espionage. One chap we talked to worked in the industry and told us that a few years ago, when Aston Martin were developing and testing one of their new models, light aircraft would appear and circle every time the hangar doors opened up. Clearly the motor car manufacturing industry is big business, and rival companies will go to great lengths to find out what the opposition are up to… just look at Formula 1! 
Photos from the day can be found here.
Just a shame I had forgotten to charge my camera, so in the end I only have photos of it in general shots before technology let me down. As usual the concours cars were immaculate, of the 4 or 5 Ferrari Mondials present there was a very striking one in dark blue, unusual colour but I really liked it!
