Silverstone Classic 2017: all the pictures

Sights & sounds from the world's biggest classic car event

14 August 2017

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The Silverstone Classic took place recently and Autocar was there to savour the sights, sounds and smells of what’s billed as the world’s biggest classic car event.

Taking in more than 10,000 cars and taking place over three days, it’s impossible to get round it all in the time available as there’s so much track action, thousands of cars in the club displays plus an auction, funfair, trader village, the pits and paddock areas – for any petrolhead it’s paradise.

There was so much going on that we can only hope to give you a flavour, but if you didn’t get there this year, here’s just a tiny bit of what you missed.
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Clairmonte Special

The one-off Clairmonte Special is a true piece of history; Colin Chapman built it as a precursor to the legendary Seven, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
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Datsun 240Z

Hard to believe that in two years’ time the Datsun 240Z will celebrate its 50th birthday. It still looks fresh, although the car in the foreground is the later 260Z.
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Morgan Aero 8

There was a huge Morgan presence including plenty of new or recent models. One of them was this very covetable latest model of Aero 8.
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Volgas

It was great to see some Eastern Europe cars there, with these four immaculate Volgas taking pride of place in the centre of the event.
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Caterham Seven

There were dozens of Caterham Sevens in the club area but we spotted just the one C21; perhaps no surprise as just 48 were built.
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MG ZS

One of the most popular grids over the weekend was the Jet Super Touring Car Trophy. This is the MG ZS of Jason Hughes.
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Morgan 4/4

We didn’t see any original Morgan three-wheelers but there were some very early four-wheelers, including this 1953 4/4.
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Toyota Supra

Japanese classics have become very collectible with early Supras such as this, on the Toyota Enthusiasts’ stand, now very sought after.
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Triumph Vitesse estate

Triumph didn’t officially build a Vitesse estate but just 22 saloons were converted by Park Royal, for Berkeley Square Garages.
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Ferraris

The Ferrari Owners’ Club had more than 120 Prancing Horses on its stand, including two Enzos, a pair of F40s plus F430, 458s and F355s galore.
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Vauxhall Cavalier

The Touring Car grid was certainly varied; one of the cars pitted against various Primeras and Accords was this Vauxhall Cavalier of Tony Absolom.
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Aston Martin V8

There was a massive turnout on the Aston Martin Owners’ Club stand, including these two fabulous examples of British beef; they’re both V8 coupés
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Triumphs

The Triumph Sports Six Club offered Triumphs of every kind, including Stags and TRs, Spitfires and Heralds plus small and large saloons for good measure.
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AC Cobra

The Gallett International Trophy for Classic GT Cars took in an array of pre-1966 classics, including 911s, E-Types, big Healeys – and no fewer than a dozen Cobras.
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De Tomaso Deauville

It may look like a Jaguar XJ40 but this is actually a super-rare De Tomaso Deauville – with a lovely early Pantera thrown in for good measure.
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Evante 140TC

Vegantune restored Lotus Elans in the early 1980s then progressed to building its own car, the Evante which later became the Evante 140TC.
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NSU Prinz

Largely forgotten in the UK, NSU produced economy cars including the rear-engined Prinz, which evolved into the higher-performance TT, as shown here.
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Maserati Indy

The forgotten Maserati: the Indy was a four-seater coupé with a V8 of either 4,136cc or 4,719cc. Production ran from 1969 until 1975.
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Turner Mk1

Low-volume British sports car manufacturers flourished throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Turner offered numerous versions of its Sports, including this Mk1 from 1960.
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Lancia Flaminia

There aren’t many of these in the UK; it’s a V6-powered Series 2 Lancia Flaminia Sport, designed by Zagato as the double-bubble roof suggests.
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Honda NSX

There was an impressive display of cars on the NSX Owners’ Club stand, although the latest model got the most attention, at the back of the stand.
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TWR Jaguar XJS

Another widely admired entry in the Touring Cars grid was the fabulous TWR-prepared Jaguar XJS of Chris Ward.
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AC Greyhound

AC is best known for the Cobra, but it also built GTs such as this Greyhound – plus the six-cylinder Ace, which provided the basis for the Cobra.
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TVRs

The TVR Car Club had a massive display with dozens of post-Wedge cars, but there were some early gems too such as this Grantura (red) and Vixen (yellow).
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Rover Vitesse

There were two Rover Vitesses doing battle over the weekend. This is Steve Soper taking on the BMW 635 of Jim Richards and the E30 M3 of Tom Houlbrook.
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Sabre 4

Mention the name Reliant to most car fans and they’ll instantly think of the Scimitar GTE – but before that came the Sabre 4 and Sabre 6.
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Invicta S1

There’s rare and there’s Invicta S1 rare; we’ve never seen one of these out of captivity before, since the car was launched way back in 2003.
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Jaguar F-Type

If you wanted to be scared silly, Jaguar offered the chance to strap yourself into an F-Type and be driven sideways, in a haze of tyre smoke.
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Ford Capri

There were several Capris taking part in the racing over the weekend, including this Mk3 3.0, drifted most of the way round the circuit by Robin Benn.
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Williams FW07B

The Historic Formula One grid was the loudest of all. It contained Brabhams, Tyrrells, Heskeths and various Williams models including this FW07B.
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Renault Sport Spider

A selection of French fancies including a genuine UK Renault Sport Spider, a Renault GTA and an even rarer GTA Le Mans.
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Maserati Quattroporte Mk1

There seems to be a Maserati on every corner nowadays, but when this Quattroporte Mk1 rolled out of the factory production ran at just a trickle. Just 760 were made.
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Alvis TA14

The woody was something peculiar to the post-war years; this Alvis TA14 shooting brake hails from 1948. Next to it is a 1966 TE drophead.
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Ginetta G33s

Just a handful of Ginetta G33s were built but there were two at Silverstone. Power came from a 3.9-litre Rover V8 that gave a 0-60 time of around five seconds.
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GTM

The GTM arrived 50 years ago and the owners’ club put on a great display of early and late cars to commemorate the occasion.
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Fiat 850 coupé

How’s this for a pure design? The Fiat 850 coupé arrived in 1965 and survived until 1972. This is one of the first examples to roll off the production lines.
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Mercedes-Benz C11

The Group C racers were popular with spectators and had to contend with some atrocious conditions. This is the Mercedes C11 of Kriton Lendoudis and Rui Aguas.
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Karmann-Ghia

Give a Beetle to Karmann to reclothe and this is the result. The Karmann-Ghia arrived in 1955 and survived right the way through to 1974.
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Under 2-Litre Touring Cars

Another popular grid was the Under 2-Litre Touring Cars, made up largely of Mini Coopers and Lotus Cortinas, with a few BMWs and Alfa Romeos for good measure.
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Panther Solo

The Panther Car Club had an impressive display of Kallistas and J72s plus this – one of just 18 Solos built. It features a Sierra RS Cosworth 2.0-litre engine and 4WD.
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Ford Sierra RS500

Former European Touring Car ace Gianfranco Brancatelli drove one of five Sierra RS500s that took part in the Jet Super Touring Car Trophy.
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Porsche 924 Carrera GTS

Porsche was probably the most widely represented marque of the weekend with lots of rarities on show, including this 924 Carrera GTS, one of just 59 made.
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Jaguar XJ220

Considering just 271 Jaguar XJ220s were built, the fact that there were 42 at Silverstone to celebrate the car’s 25th anniversary was an impressive feat.
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The Rover P6

The Rover P6 was the first European Car of the Year, back in 1963. More than 50 years on it’s still one of the most usable classic cars ever built.
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BMW 635 CSi

More than 1,000 cars raced over the weekend, with the BMW 635 CSi of Jim Richards officially the most admired. He brought the car from Australia to compete.
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Ferrari 250 GT

The Ferrari 250 GT ‘Breadvan’ was a one-off, based on a 250 GT SWB and built to take on the then-new 250 GTO. It’s now raced by Lukas Halusa.
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Bristols

Bristol is perhaps the most enigmatic car maker ever. The owners’ club showed three examples of the marque; a 401, a 411 and a 406.
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Lotus Elite

The Historic Lotus Club celebrated 60 years of the original Elite, with an impressive display. The glassfibre-bodied car could do 111mph – with a 1,216cc engine.
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Healey

To many classic car fans this is the quintessential British sports car – the big Healey. Production ran from 1953 right the way through to 1968.
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Marcos TSO

The final car to come from Marcos before the company shut up shop was the TSO. Just seven examples were built, two of which were at Silverstone.

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