Coffee & Chrome at Chateau Impney: June 2024 Show Report
The Coffee & Chrome Collective returned to Chateau Impney, for the first time in 2024, with a typically brilliant collection of cars in attendance. Taking place on Sunday 10th June, almost 1,000 vehicles were brought along to the grounds of Droitwich’s Chateau Impney, including cars, motorbikes, vans, and even one lorry, filling the car parks and grassland for the entirety of the morning.
Featuring better weather than the blustery and showery first C&CC event of the year – April’s British Motor Museum meeting – it was still far from a warm day to hold the event, but at least it remained sunny most of the time. The vehicles were spread out about the grounds, and once again, put on a varied display of vehicles.
We spoke to five of the attendees, discovering a little more of what they drove to the event and its background.
1972 Alpine A110 1300 – Rob
Rob's Alpine A110 immediately caught the eye at Chateau Impney, despite being parked discreetly behind a Land Rover Defender camper and under a magnificent tree. The gleaming white bodywork helped, as did this reporter's fondness for the classic French berlinette, but on having a closer look and speaking to its owner, it quickly became clear it was a worthy awardee of Footman James’ Classic of the Meet.
A recent acquisition for Rob - he's only owned it since February - a lot of time and work has gone into restoring the A110 in that short period. Bought as a prior-project car, the Alpine required plenty of effort to bring it up to today's condition.
Nicknamed Margot Darmer – looking as good as Margot Robbie, but treating the driver like Jeffrey Darmer – the Alpine is, by his own admission, tricky to drive at low speeds; the queue getting in to C&CC was not in the A110's comfort zone. But get it on the open road, with revs above 4,000 rpm, Rob says it comes alive and is a joy to drive.
Work has included plenty of mechanical changes under the bodywork, including the engine and suspension, with the Alpine lowered and placed on period-correct tyres. The interior is immaculate, and left-hand drive, since the A110 only arrived in the UK in 1997 from Paris. It has been rallied a little since then, but the roll-cage is a recent addition, following many years previously sitting in a barn. It's safe to say, we are glad it is no longer gathering dust, and it was a pleasure to see such a beautiful example on display at Chateau Impney.
1965 Citroen ID19 – David
A lovely example of one of the most advanced and beautiful cars of its time, this example of Citroen’s ID19 has been owned by David for around four and a half years. With the ‘ID’ tag signifying it was the entry-level model from the DS range, this version still features the individual headlights up front, as well as features such as the rear window blind, showing that it is clearly cared for and loved.
One curiosity piqued our interest to the extend that it has helped this ID19 feature in this meet round-up, and that’s the ‘cendriers’ mounted to inward curve of the front wings. The nickname – French for ashtray – shouldn’t be found on this model, but were added by a previous owner and, as well as requiring a full front-end respray should they be removed, have proven to help further with David’s fondness for his ID19.
There is no specific reason for them anyway, since the wings don’t have any holes punched through, and it is thought they were developed to help cool down the suspension components, but then clearly didn’t have much effect as they were only a short-lived design feature.
1952 Jaguar XK120 – Iain
One of Jaguar’s most beautiful models – and there is no shortage of competition for that title – Iain’s XK120 stood proudly in bright red, catching the eye of all those who walked up the drive towards the main house.
Having been part of the family for 20 years, the XK120 is far from being a cossetted machine, used only for high-days and holidays. Iain has driven the Jaguar around much of western Europe, and raised a lot of money for charity in the process. Few cars (and owners) get the chance to drive around the Lingotto roof-top test track of Fiat’s Turin factory, or have Monaco’s streets closed by the prince for those money-raising drivers to take their classics about the legendary street track.
Other motoring milestones include visits to the Nurburgring and Le Mans, as well as less-automotive focused drives such as visiting Ypres. It is a well-travelled classic then, and thankfully Iain intends to continue to use it as such. That’s despite it having a fair amount of work carried out to keep it looking pristine, including brakes and steering systems rebuilt, as well as repairs to the rear, after someone went into the back of it. Still, the XK120 looks every inch the glamorous classic it deserves to be, and hopefully we will see it attend C&CC meets again in the future.
1956 MGA – Mark
Catching the light in resplendent turquoise, Mark’s MGA is painted one of those curious colours that seems to change depending on what’s surrounding it. At first glance, it looked blue, but apparently, when parked next to a blue car, it looks green. It’s unsurprisingly a non-original paint colour, instead having been resprayed from its original white bodywork. And it certainly stands out since that change in paint scheme.
Before Mark’s ownership, it was bought as a project car by a Wales-based driver, who intended to restore this stylish classic and take it on a long road trip with his wife. Repaired and restored, Mark says that said wife put the kybosh on those plans, and instead the MGA was essentially used to pick up the odd pint of milk along rural Welsh roads. As such, it wasn’t in the best of states when Mark came to buy it in 2019, when it needed stripping down and completely overhauling once again.
Since it was restored, it is used extensively to help raise money for charity, as well as a leading car in classic car routes/drives, both in the West Midlands area and further afield, where it has covered approaching 7,000 miles post-rebuild. Quite a varied life for a car that was originally bought in Mayfair and registered with the City’s University Motor Club, and also having been owned by the treasurer of the MG Car Club later in its life.
1968 Fiat 500 Gamine Vignale – Brian & Teena
This Fiat 500 Gamine Vignale was one of the most eye-catching cars of the meet, and unsurprisingly so. Parked up near Aston Martins, Ferraris, and Porsches, this little Fiat stood out, in part because of its compact proportions, but mainly because of its colour-scheme. On calling photographer Ben to come and grab some pictures for this report, it was a simple set of directions to highlight where I was. “Ben, can you come and shoot the Noddy Car please?”, “Sure, I know exactly where you are.” And I suspect everyone else at the meeting would know the same thing.
It's not just the red and yellow paintwork that brings this little Fiat into the show report – nor it’s owner Teena, in matching yellow anorak and red trousers! There’s quite a bit of history to this convertible Cinquecento. Built in 1968 by Carozzeria Vignale, many were used in and around the Italian & French Rivieras by the jet-set. This one made its way to similarly sunny Jersey, before being registered in 1977 on the Isle of Wight by Violet Kray – mother of the infamous Kray brothers Ronnie and Reggie.
With Noddy-linked registration, the car was sold to a car trader on the island, and when closing down in later years, was offered to a friend in the trade, Gerry Gwyther, owner of Steels of Hereford. Many might have seen it displayed on top of the offices alongside a Messerschmitt three-wheeler for approaching 40 years, before being sold in auction when Steels was bought in 2023.
Having been friends with Gerry for many years, Brian and Teena bought ‘Noddy’ and recommissioned it for use on the road again. Remarkably considering it was parked up for decades, all it needed were a set of new tyres to replace the 50-year old rubber, and a good clean inside and out. Now cherished, it is brought out to various classic car events to the delight of passers-by, young and old.
1972 Peugeot 304 Cabriolet – David
It was only towards the end of the meeting, when talking to David, that it was realised there is quite a French theme to this event’s highlighted cars, but when they look as good as the Alpine, Citroen, and this Peugeot, few could blame us. David’s 304 Cabriolet looked perfect in the dappled sunshine, parked along the avenue leading up to the house, matching the mood with its sunny colour and rear-mounted picnic basket. This is surely its natural habitat.
Except it is lucky it made it to that spot, having complained quite a bit at making it along the drive to the meet, so we were lucky to have it there. Part of an unofficial French car club in nearby Malvern and the surrounding area, the Peugeot is an unusual machine indeed. David’s research indicates that there are only around twenty 308 Cabriolets on the road in the UK, and this is one of only a handful of them in good condition.
And it certainly looks in good condition. The bodywork and interior are superb, and under the bonnet, apparently, hasn’t required much attention other than general maintenance. David owned one in the late 1990s, and upon being given the chance to own one again, bought it unseen from eBay around 18 months ago. Fortunately, the listing matched up to reality, and the Peugeot can be seen running around the area.
Would you like to be with us at the next Coffee & Chrome at the Impney Estate on the 4th August? You can sign up to be notified of registrations opening here and find out more about Coffee & Chrome here.
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