Classic Car Mart Magazine Vol.20 No.6 Cosworths Compared Back Issue

As it is so often, this month has been one of contrasts while putting together Classic Car Mart. First of all I found myself behind the wheel of the rare Pininfarina-styled Rolls-Royce Camargue coupe, and then just
24 hours later was brought firmly down to earth chugging around a farmyard in first gear in a barn-find Morris Minor. The chugging and the first gear were made rather necessary by the complete lack of any brakes, but the humble Moggy was just as enjoyable as the glamorous Camargue
if only because as a confi rmed tinkerer I could see just how easy it would have been to get it MoT’d and on the road for peanuts. In similar vein, we continue our ‘starter classics’ feature this issue, by considering the costs of getting your first classic on the road and it’s here that old cars have started to make good sense in recent years. We’ve chosen a
Spitfire as just one example of a cheap-to-run entry-level classic and as you’ll see, the reintroduction of the rolling tax exemption, together with the wide availability of classic insurance these days means cars like this can be run as a hobby which really doesn’t cost the earth. Indeed, some
of my mountain biking friends will happily spend far more on something which doesn’t even have an engine... One car which historically you
simply couldn’t afford to insure cheaply was Ford’s iconic Sierra Cosworth, once a joyrider’s favourite but now a rare sight, at least in standard form. I used to be more than familiar with ’80s turbo Fords and many’s the white knuckle ride I’ve had in the passenger seat of highly modified ‘Cossies’ but it’s been a very long time since I sampled the standard version. The big surprise is how sensible it feels in practical trim, which explains why Ford sold so many of them. More of a surprise though is the Cosworth-modifi ed Mercedes 190E which was in the showrooms at the same time but without the Cosworth name appearing
anywhere.