CARS OWNED BY ME, including (*) company cars, (registration number) (dates owned) (miles driven @ fuel consumption) (and my rating)
1972 Citroen GS Club 1015 Estate (HPP 49 K) (01.09.78 - 12.03.79) (5507 miles @ 28.98 mpg) (76%) - very comfortable, very reliable, but I managed to sell the car before any potentially expensive repairs were required.
My first car, purchased for GBP.600,--.
1973 Morris Marina 1.8 TC (UVB 753 M) (21.03.79 - 08.05.81) (20787 miles @ 28.70 mpg) (60%) - an MGB engine with Morris Minor suspension - goes well in straight lines, but forget cornering or stopping. No problems with rust - whatever parts didn't break, wore out very quickly.
A narrow country lane wasn't quite wide enough for my Morris Marina and a Ford Cortina - unfortunately the
resultant customising of the Marina didn't seem to improve its' looks very much. Ah well, worth a try!
1974 Ford Granada 3000 GXL automatic (TOP 980 N) (15.05.81 - 19.06.82 stolen) (17885 miles @ 22.28 mpg) (76%) - very comfortable, but thirsty driving around in London, and the only automatic I have ever owned.
On a camping holiday in North Wales in August 1981.
1976 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 1.3 Ti (MAD 790 P) (30.07.80 - 16.07.81 stolen) (10540 miles @ 34.31 mpg) (81%) - incredible handling with good performance, which got better every day (as more rusty bits fell off).
Whilst doing a U-turn in a narrow country lane late at night (and I am not going to explain any further), a stick
passed through the grill and got jammed between the camshaft timing belt and pulley, causing the belt to jump
over a few teeth, and four valves were attacked by two pistons (luckily no severe damage resulted, since the
engine was turning over at little more than tickover). So the next weekend was spent rebuilding the engine - if I
can find a photo of the whole car, I will add it here!
1975 Ford Consul 2500 GT manual (LVW 713 P) (30.06.82 - 27.10.82) (4364 miles @ 21.42 mpg) (83%) - very fast and reliable, with a powerful race-tuned engine and suspension.
Unfortunately, I never took a single photograph of this car, which is a shame, because the car was nicknamed
'Joseph', since most of the body panels were a different colour!!
1977 Citroen CX 2400 Pallas (XHO 617 R) (27.10.82 - 08.03.84 scrapped) (7900 miles @ 21.89 mpg) (79%) - incredibly smooth ride, very reliable, but even routine spares (i.e. exhaust system) very expensive.
This car turned out to be assembled from several others, and was the subject of a 15 month long court case (which I won, with the assistance of
Citroen UK!)
1981 Polski-Fiat 125 P (EPG 933 V) (30.04.83 - 24.09.83) (919 miles @ 22.64 mpg) (63%) - very cheap, fitted with race-tuned 2000 cc Fiat engine giving excellent straight-line performance, but poor handling, very noisy, uncomfortable, and unreliable.
Strangely enough, I never bothered to take a single photograph of this car!!
1982 Suzuki 800 (CL 1671) (01.11.83 - 04.05.85) (7179 miles @ 51.25 mpg) (68%) - tiny five door, 796cc 3 cylinder 12 valve twin-carb. rice cooker, very cheap to run and great fun to drive (on short journeys).
I tried to avoid opening all four doors and the tailgate glass simultaneously, because there was very little left
holding the roof up then! This was an ideal run-around for the busy streets of Hong Kong, since acceleration from
rest to 40 mph was surprisingly good, and the car even had air-conditioning (but change down one gear when
switched on).
1981 Fiat X1-9 1500 (CF 5960) (01.04.84 - 13.12.84 scrapped) (4329 miles @ 35.50 mpg) (84%) - great fun for a maximum of 2 people, very reliable but rusts badly, and not as strong as a bus!
When a Fiat X1-9 sports car travelling at about 50 mph hits a bus head on, this is what is left of the Fiat (the front
of the bus was also shortened). It is not recommended to use the racing line on the exit of a corner on public
roads, even in Hong Kong in 1985. Guilty, but insane, your honour. I walked away from this with only minor
bruises - SEAT BELTS DO SAVE LIVES!
1980 Lancia Beta 2000 HPE (DB ????) (16.11.84 - 04.05.85 stolen) (1934 miles @ 29.15 mpg) (70%) - fast, noisy, rusty, and very heavy steering.
1981 Triumph TR7 2.0 DHC (RUE 790 W / AYQ 42 B) (24.06.85 - 18.08.88) (27511 miles @ 33.20 mpg) (86%) - comfortable, reliable convertible motoring for 2 people, with powerful heater largely responsible for global warming.
1986 Renault 5 GT Turbo (last SU-PA 753) (23.12.86 - March 96) (136180 miles @ 37.04 mpg) (91%) - very fast, excellent handling, economical, very reliable - shame on Renault for discontinuing this gem.
Our first Renault 5 GT Turbo, photographed at Calais Docks returning home after a Christmas Sales shopping trip
to UK (single bed and carpet don't improve handling or fuel consumption).
Another shopping trip, this time returning home with an IKEA 3 seater bed-sofa.
On a caravanning and windsurfing holiday in Holland in 1992, with both cats. Note the cooling slots I cut in the
bumperbar, just above the licence plate, necessary for towing caravans in summer.
As the car got older, I purchased a spare GT Turbo to scrap for spare parts, but soon found that it wasn't
convenient carrying the parts around with us all the time!
I bought this faithful white Renault 5 GT Turbo new on 23.12.86 for DM19.500, and after one year had it tuned by
Alpine to produce over 160 bhp. As we moved around, it was first registered CJM 40 B, then C 214 AAC,
M-KT 7282, FS-KU 716, and finally SU-PA 753. We sold the car in March 1996, after having driven over
136.180 miles (all on the original clutch, engine and turbocharger), and replaced this car with the Clio Williams
Series I (which has had a very much easier life).
1986 Toyota Starlet 1.3 (NE-DM 689) (May 88 - Sept. 92) (72%) - a comfortable, economical, reliable 5 door shopping trolley, but so boring to drive.
Andreas' first car, on a tenting & windsurfing holiday in Yugoslavia in August 1988.
1980 Triumph TR7 V8 DHC (JMP 938 W / SU-PM 563) (15.04.90 - 25.10.94) (12308 miles @ 24.26 mpg) (90%) - very fast, comfortable, reliable and comparatively cheap convertible, but can rust badly (especially torque-stressed rear suspension mounts).
1990 Mazda 626 2.0i Estate (*) (BN-?? ???) (09.10.90 - 30.08.92) (40692 miles @ 32.08 mpg) (74%) - cheap, reliable, capable load-carrier, but so boring to drive.
1992 BMW 320i (*) (BN-WT 250) (16.09.92 - 23.05.96) (81930 miles @ 29.76 mpg) (75%) - nice handling (but only in the dry, and hope winter never comes), very reliable, but expensive, with average performance - very overrated.
1989 Renault 5 GT Turbo EBS Convertible (F 536 EGT / SU-PA 735) (11.06.94 - 03.06.00) (6357 miles @ 32.65 mpg) (93%) - very fast, comfortable, reliable open motoring for 4 people - hardly imaginable, but even more fun than a Renault 5 GT Turbo hatchback!
1996 Audi A4 1.8 T Avant (*) (SU-DB 29) (23.05.96 - 26.01.01) (80569 miles @ 29.99 mpg) (85%) - economical, fast and comfortable estate, with excellent mid-range turbo acceleration, but suspension is too soft for enthusiastic driving, and Audi dealer service is appalling.
1997 Rover Mini Cooper (SU-MC 1097) (20.01.02 - 12.06.02) (534 miles @ 38.70 mpg) (80%) - acceleration is sadly lacking, but the Mini handles like a go-kart, and is tremendous fun on the back-roads. The admiring looks it attracts are an additional bonus.
1963 MGB FIA race car (AJN 963A) (16.11.03 - 03.04.05) (unknown) (90%) - race-tuned 1860 cc. engine, superb handling, but noisy (straight-cut gears,
stripped out interior) with firm ride.
1993 Jaguar XJ81 (SU-SB 9968) (02.10.04 - 29.01.06) (5,322 miles @ 16.68 mpg) (92%) - quiet, silky smooth tank that is propelled indecently quickly by its 6.0 litre V12
engine.
2001 Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagen 2.5 V6 (*) (DN-DB 155 / SU-DB 289) (26.01.01 - 01.06.07) (133,946 miles @ 25.44 mpg) (90%) - silky-smooth and quiet engine (up to 4000 rpm, when it wakens up and growls
meaningfully), suspension is firm, ride quality is good, but view rearwards is heavily limited, and fuel consumption is high.
1963 AC Cobra 289 replica (AML 312 A / SU-MG 289 / SU-07135 / NR-07773) (25.10.94 - date) (45,726 miles @ 21.37 mpg) (97%) - lightweight rust-free fibreglass body, powerful reliable Rover V8 performance, lively
handling, no power-assistance for steering or brakes - with 0 to 60 mph coming up in around 5.2 seconds, this car has to be
really driven (but carefully).
1982 / 1996 Formula 27 Wide Body V8 (Lotus 7 replica) (FIL 6008 / SU-07135 / NR-07773) (16.04.99 - date) (4,167 miles @ 21.75 mpg) (94%) - with an aluminium skin and fibreglass wings, 660 kg when powered by almost 200 bhp of
Rover V8 means neck-snapping acceleration and unbelievable roadholding, but support from the manufacturer is non-existant,
space is almost as limited, and wet weather means just that - you get wet!
2007 Subaru Forester 2.5XT Turbo (*) (SU-DB 255) (01.06.07 - date) (12878 miles @ 24.99 mpg) (85%) - despite 4-wheel-drive, the handling of the Subaru is not as good as the Alfa Romeo
156 Sportwagen (the Subaru struggles to get round corners at 70 kph that the Alfa used to handle with ease at 80 kph), but
the high seating position offers a much better view of the surroundings.
1995 Ford Mustang GT Coupe (SU-GA 503 / NR-NR 260) (07.01.06 - date) (2,030 miles @ 22.83 mpg) (91%) - silky-smooth and powerful engine, good fuel consumption despite being a fast
four-seater coupe.
1983 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit (82 XMF / NR-07773) (19.02.07 - date) (376 miles @ 15.69 mpg) (80%) - silky-smooth ride with quiet engine, but heavy fuel consumption and poor performance
due to massive weight.
1986 Bentley Mulsanne (C604 KWL / NR-07773) (19.02.07 - date) (692 miles @ 18.19 mpg) (80%) - silky-smooth ride with quiet engine, but heavy fuel consumption and poor performance
due to massive weight.
1994 Kawasaki SC (Sports Cruiser) 650 Jetski (KO-L 656) (07.08.05 - date) (unknown) (unknown%) - jetskis are called "wassermotorräder" (water motorbikes) in German, so the
Kawasaki sort of counts as a car .... but I can't play with it in the water until I have registered the boat and the trailer,
and passed the powerboat driving licence test in Germany !!!
DREAM CARS, TO OWN BEFORE I AM TOO OLD TO ENJOY THEM
- but first I must
a) sell the Formula 27 V8 - any offers?
b) sell the Rolls-Royce - any offers?
c) win the Lottery
d) both of the above
Renault Alpine A110 Berlinetta Convertible TVR - Griffith 500 / Cerbera 4.5 Chevrolet Corvette - 1957 (same age as me!) Sunbeam Tiger 260 / 289 Jaguar - XK8 DHC Jensen Interceptor DHC Ferrari - almost any (just to have owned one)
Cars, Past & Present 
