The UK’s historic motorsport season kicks off every year with Race Retro, held at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. I say every year, it was actually rained off in 2024 but it made a great return this year. If you’ve never been before, it’s essentially a historic motorsport trade show with some of the UK’s best, most interesting and just plain coolest historic race and rally cars on display.
But there’s more to it than that. This year, there was a huge automobilia hall, 19 cars in the Pride Of The Paddock display (the public votes for their favourite), and Iconic Auctioneers held its regular sale in one of the main show halls for the first time. There’s also a live stage where legends of the sport – this year including touring car greats Jason Plato and Matt Neal – recount tales from their glory days, and a rally stage where you can see some of the best and rarest historic and contemporary rally cars being shown no mercy.
This year was, I think, the 15th time I’ve been to Race Retro since it started over 20 years ago and I highly recommend you get yourself there next year. In the meantime, these are the cars that really caught my eye this time.
Ford Escort Mk.1 Supersaloon race car
I love the steroidal cars that competed in Supersaloon races in the 1970s and 1980s. They look amazing, they’re immensely fast and there’s some really clever engineering in them. This gorgeous Mk.1 Escort is typical of the breed. I believe it’s based around the central tub of a Group 6 sports racer, possibly a Lola, and it’s powered by a Cosworth BDG engine. Owner Steve Barnard rescued it from a barn and now races it in the Historic Sports Car Club’s Historic Modsports and Special Saloons series.
Ford RS200 S
Any RS200 is a rare and special thing, the S version even more so. It’s essentially a road-going run-out special with extra interior trimmings and a boost up to 350hp. 20 were built, this is one of just four finished in ‘Ferrari Red’. It’s only had one owner but done 20,000 miles, so you wouldn’t be afraid of actually using it. Which I would – a lot. Particularly at night to take advantage of those ultra-cool spot lights. Unfortunately, Iconic Auctioneers didn’t find a buyer for it, but it’s still available for £310,000.
Bentley Continental GT3 Pikes Peak car
The image here doesn’t really get across just how mean, moody and mad this things looks. That front splitter juts out a couple of feet, the rear wing stands almost as tall me (I’m five-foot-nine). It started life as a Continental GT3 race car; the crazy aero was added for a title-winning tilt at the Time Attack Championship. It should have raced at Pikes Peak twice but COVID and snow prevented it – there’s an open invitation to return. And you could take it up – it didn’t sell in the auction and is now listed at £880,000.
Audi Sport Quattro Group B rally cars
The Rallying With Group B club always has an impressive display at Race Retro. Several of the cars are included here, starting with this pair of Sport Quattros in ultimate E2 spec – next to an example of the road car. They’re hardly pretty but I love the brutality of the styling with that snow shovel front splitter. Rallying With Group B is essentially an owners’ club that stages static displays and live demonstrations.
Ford GT Heritage Edition
Despite its Le Mans-winning record, the modern Ford GT doesn’t seem to have captured the imagination as its predecessors have. Maybe it’s because the V6 engine sounds rather industrial, but it’s an incredible thing to drive and the aero-formed body looks sensational. This Heritage Edition in the iconic Gulf Oil livery has covered 3000 miles so can’t really be considered collector grade, which might be why it didn’t sell. Yours now for £865,000.
Ford Escort RS2000 F2 rally car
The Group A Escort Cosworth pulls so much attention it’s easy to forget the 1990s Escort RS2000 competed simultaneously in rallying’s Formula 2 category. It encompassed 2.0-litre, two-wheel-drive cars that initially looked pretty much standard but evolved into wild, wide-arched Kit Cars that could beat WRC machinery. The F2 Escort was never very good but it still looked great – especially with an array of six spotlights hanging off the front.
BMW M3 Group A rally car
The E30 M3’s rallying record often gets overlooked but it was a real weapon more than capable of beating the four-wheel-drive Group A competition. If you’ve seen the footage of Patrick Snijers flinging one around the Manx Rally, you’ll know how spectacular it is to watch in full flight. And I think a nat-asp S14 in competition spec is the best sounding engine ever. This is a replica of the Prodrive-built car Francois Chatriot used to win the 1989 and 1990 French rally championships.
Crossley Buick Special race car
This bonkers device was built single-handedly by racer and engineer Edward Crossley. It’s a complete one-off with a spaceframe chassis, hand-formed aluminium body and a V8 engine based on a Buick block. Apparently, it took over 5000 hours to complete but only saw competition a few times before it was tucked away. Now it’s in the hands of a new owner we’ll hopefully see it on track more often. It was my vote for Pride Of The Paddock.
Nissan 240RS Group B rally car
The four-wheel-drive Group B cars grabbed the headlines, but there was a whole host of two-wheel-drive competitors that kept them honest, including the Nissan 240RS. It’s one of my favorites of the breed, largely because of its oh-so-1980s boxy styling. Based on the Silvia coupe and powered by a nat-asp 2.4-litre 4-cylinder engine, it wasn’t exactly sophisticated or light. But it was extremely tough, which helped it win over 100 times on national-level events held on particularly rough roads.
Chevrolet Impala SS race car
The British Saloon Car Championship came to be dominated by ‘big banger’ American V8s throughout the 1960s. Everyone thinks it started with the Ford Falcon, but it was actually a Chevy Impala SS that got the ball rolling. Dan Gurney entered a few races with one in 1961, setting blistering lap times. He DNF’d or got disqualified on each occasion, but the die was cast. Gurney’s car still exists, this is a perfect replica on show in Pride Of The Paddock.
Opel Manta 400 Group B rally car
Another of the rear-wheel-drive Group B rally cars, the 2.4-litre Manta 400 achieved huge success in national-level rallies, including winning two British rally championships. It’s also the prettiest of all the Group B cars. My favourites are the Rothmans-livered works cars, though this Ireland-based example in the colours of local builders’ merchant Henley looks great, as well.
Rover Metro GTi speed record holder
It may look a bit odd with its racing livery and plastic wheel trims, but the side exhaust hints that this is a rather extraordinary Metro. It still holds no less than 21 speed records in the 1400cc class, including a 24-hour average speed of over 120mph. The 16-valve, twin-cam K-Series was tuned to 140hp, the aero tweaked and the chassis honed – it’s top speed is 135mph. It’s in completely original condition and recently recommissioned to running order. Iconic sold it for just £10,000 – I can’t wait to see where it turns up next.
Opel Kadett 4S Group S rally car
We all know Group B rally cars were banned after the 1986 season following some hideous accidents. But not many people realise it was due to be replaced in 1987 anyway by Group S. Engines would be restricted to 300hp, but the chassis tech and aero were much more advanced, so the cars were expected to be much faster. Opel built four Kadett 4S prototypes in various configurations. I believe this is the one originally fitted with a supercharged engine and subsequently campaigned in the British Rallycross Championship. Its since been restored back to rally spec and is a fascinating ‘what might have been.’
Shopping for automobilia
I would have happily bought literally everything for sale in the automobilia hall, but I neglected to take a couple of million quid with me. I also don’t have the space at home, or a half-dozen artic lorries to get it all there. So I had to settle for a selection of stickers and pin badges, plus four I-Spy books I had as a kid.