Nicking ideas off our neighbours is the key to truly European motoring

BONJOUR, guten tag and benvenuti from a very continental Life On Cars, which is this week embracing the idea that you're no longer a British motorist, but a European one.

That's the thinking behind the latest white paper from Brussels, where European Commission officials have come up with the idea of creating something called a Single European Transport Area. Only it's not a white paper - it's a roadmap. I look forward to buying mine for £4.99 at a motorway service station and stuffing it my glovebox in the near future.

Lots of very British organisations - like the Association of British Drivers, and the UK Independence Party - have already kicked up a fuss about the idea, because it proposes things like road pricing and a complete ban on driving your car into any city - whether it's Liverpool or Lisbon - by 2050.

Naturally, as a Brit and a motorist I disagree with pretty much all of it, but as a - whisper it quietly - proud European I think there's a lot of ideas we can nick off our neighbours.

Here are some policies I've come up with for a truly European driving experience, to save the EU the trouble:

1) All roads must be maintained to the same standards as Germany, which are almost entirely blemish-free and, in the case of most of the autobahns, have no speed limits. Not for us Europeans the potholes of your average British high street!

2) Petrol and diesel prices should be kept at Luxembourg levels, which are among the cheapest anywhere in the EU.

3) Italy should be put in charge of coming up with all the car names, because “Fiat Cinquecento Sporting” is infinitely more rewarding to utter than, say “Renault Wind”. Jaguar XF Competitizione, anyone?

4) French engineers - who gave us the Peugeot 205GTi and the Renaultsport Clio, pictured above - should be put in charge of anything to do with ride and handling.

5) The best car interiors on offer today, which you'll see lining the likes of the Range Rover and the new Aston Martin Virage rather than their BMW and Mercedes rivals, have been crafted by Brits. Because we've long abandoned the idea that our dashboards should look like church pews and gone for the luxury yacht style instead, we should be in charge of this department.

6) Brits - specifically, the ones who run the delightfully quaint Westmorland Services on the M6 up in Cumbria - should also be in charge of service stations.

7) On a serious note all motorways in Europe should cost the same to use (preferably, nothing at all). How is it fair that you've got to pay to use a French autoroute, but their truckers can use the M58 for free?

All ideas, I'm sure, which will help bring Europe together to make it a better place for us humble motorists. My cheque from Brussels is in the post.

The Life On Cars Radio Show, episode 4

Life On Cars speaks to John Bailie of Aintree Circuit Club about plans for the forthcoming Ormskirk Motorfest, to find why he thinks the full-throttle event will benefit the West Lancashire town.

To hear more from Life On Cars Radio click the Radio link at the top of the page or click here.

The singleminded single seater crafted in Cheshire

A British sports car designed to give the sensation of a Grand Prix car is available to order now, its makers have said.

New arrivals BAC, based in Cheshire, have revealed details of their Mono sports car, which as the name suggests is a single seater which makes more than a knowing nod to the world of motorsport.

“All cars are built to order on a first-come, first-served basis and our flexible production facility has the capacity to manufacture between 50 and 100 vehicles per year – or more if demand requires,” Neill Briggs, one of the company's founders, said.

“All I can currently say is, the early response has been extremely encouraging.”

Packing a power to weight ratio of 520 bhp per tonne - that's more than a Bugatti Veyron's - it can rocket to 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds, 100 mph in 6.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 170 mph. Power comes from a mid-mounted 280 bhp, normally-aspirated 2.3-litre Cosworth engine.

The car is more expensive than similar lightweights from Caterham, Radical and Westfield, at £79,950, but undercuts both the similarly speedy Caparo T1 and Ariel Atom 500. For further details, log onto www.bac-mono.com.

Why I've just bought another Mini

ONE of The Champion's directors couldn't have put it more perfectly when I told him that, for the second time, I'd bought a Mini.

“You are a glutton for punishment, aren't you?”

Look at the logo which usually accompanies this column and you'll see Yours Truly with an outstretched finger in the direction of my Mini, but for the sake of being honest I was literally pointing out one of the many, many things that went wrong with it. My 1983 Mayfair, as regular readers will already know, was a car constructed largely from filler and gaffer tape, and it was comically unreliable right up until the day I sold it.

So why on Earth have I just bought another?

It's not as if I'm not already familiar with the Mini's many, many shortfalls. It might be a packaging masterpiece but it doesn't come with a hatchback, so you can forget folding down the rear seats if you're carrying the likes of a large suitcase or a bit of garden furniture, things I could easily chuck into the back of the similarly-sized Renault 5 I ran around in last year. It might be a rally-winning giant killer but the price you pay for nippy handling is an unbelievably bouncy ride. Certainly, it might be a coveted classic, but one designed in the Fifties and built by British Leyland, so reliability isn't its trump card. And don't get me started on safety.

Yet I'd forgive my old Mini absolutely everything and it's the same with this one, because they're never anything less than a giggle to get through corners, they're a doddle to park, and when you do pull up people come over to you when and tell you about the one they used to run 30 years ago. What's more, I'm convinced this one will be much better than the last one because it actually works properly.

It's also got, to keep the speed freak in me happy, the extra oomph of the bigger 1275cc engine and a manual gearbox, which means it'll be a lot quicker than the 1.0 litre Automatic people still ask me about to this day. So I've promised the lady who sold it to me, a Champion reader in Crosby, to let her know how I get on with it.

Will it be rekindle my love of all things Mini? Will it prove I'm a sucker for seconds in the punishment stakes? There is, naturally, only one way to find out.

Watch this space...

Classic cars make financial sense. Honest

THIS week, I'm contemplating starting my midlife crisis at least a decade early. How young - or old - do you have to be to own a flash convertible?

Ironically, I've been pondering this dilemma, pint in hand, because the cost of driving a family hatchback around is soaring. Petrol, the last time I looked, was a scary £1.36 a litre, but the real rise is the one which doesn't get reported very often. The cost of car insurance, whisper it quietly, has rocketed over the past two years.

There is method in the madness, and I know this because I already own one old sports car. A year's fully comp in my everyday runaround, an elderly Rover 200, is £700, which is twice what I paid for the car. Logically, you'd reason the cost of me running around in my MGB, which is faster, more valuable and infinitely more treacherous on a wet roundabout, would be in the thousands for a dangerous twentysomething like me. But it isn't. It's £150 a year.

Why? Because the MG's covered by a specialist classic car policy, which limits me to 6,000 miles a year (what I'd usually drive anyway) and classic car owners are considered by the insurance industry not to be throttle-happy hedonists, but careful drivers who lock their toys away in garages and trailer them to shows. The upshot is that the cost of normal car insurance has shot up and classic insurance hasn't.

Because I've made the mistake of being young, insurance is the single biggest car expense I have, so the idea of saving money to keep an old classic on the road rather than the Go Compare tenor on the telly is wickedly tempting. I would love, for instance, the idea of an original Mazda MX-5 in the garage, which is both old enough to be considered a classic and reliable enough to actually get you to work.

It's not even as if you need it to be a two-seater sports car either, because there's no reason you couldn't get the likes of a Golf GTi or an original BMW M5, which you can just about pretend are practical family cars, if you've got dogs or kids to haul around. Even the very first Renault Espaces, which are now well over 25 years old, can get classic cover if you ask the insurers nicely enough. Sure, they might cost you more than a knackered old banger to buy, but in most cases a carefully-chosen classic will go up - not down - in value.

All you need now is some cheap petrol to run them around on. Oh wait...

Fire up the... Lotus Elise S

SATNAV, cruise control, electric seats, and a folding metal roof. These are some of things Lotus' latest Elise doesn't have, and it's all the better for it.

Clamber into the 1.6S verison of the Norfolk company's evergreen sports car - and it can be a struggle if you've got the roof up and you're not the athletic type - and on the face of it you don't get much for your £29,230, although the air con and Alpine stereo are luxuries owners of the original 1996 Elise wouldn't have got. The money, as befits a company famed for making its cars as light as possible, has been spent not on toys and gadgets, but making the two-seater roadster as thrilling as possible.

The mid-mounted Toyota engine, for instance, might only be 1.6 litres, but because it's breathed on by Lotus Performance and has so little weight to push around, the Elise is almost frighteningly quick when you really put your foot down, dealing with the sprint to sixty miles an hour in just 6.7 seconds. But the joy with the little Lotus is not how fast it goes, but how it goes fast.

You get the sense that you don't really need to slow down for the bends because it corners so capably, going exactly where you want it to while giving you an endless stream of communication through the tiny steering wheel, which goes without power assistance to give you even more feedback. Light, loud and low to the ground, the Elise is more like a four-wheeled motorbike than a car.

If I had to use a two-seater sports car every day I'd plump for the softer and more easily accessible Mazda MX-5, partly because it'd provide a smaller smile more of the time, but mainly because doing everyday things, like going to the shops, would take the edge of just what a special car the Elise is, which would be my choice as a second car for high days and holidays.

It's an upcoming classic you'd want to leave for sunny days and blasts along the B-roads, because at doing this the frantically fun Lotus is hard to beat.

As published in The Champion on March 16, 2011

Life On Cars EXCLUSIVE: details of Ormskirk Motorfest

LIFE ON CARS is the first media outlet to reveal the latest details of the exciting Ormskirk Motorfest, being held in the West Lancashire town in August.

At a special business preview event held in Ormskirk town centre today (Wednesday, March 11), members of the Aintree Circuit Club and West Lancashire Borough Council joined forces to unveil details of the August 28 event to residents, alongside three classic motorsport machines.

"Ormskirk is made for this event - in fact, the corner on the ring road opposite the church, for instance, reminds me of the Eau Rouge corner at Spa in Belgium, and the circuit is very much Ormskirk's Monaco," said John Bailie of Aintree Circuit Club, the event's organisers.

"It's the perfect venue, the perfect place to hold an event like this, and we want the whole community to come on board with us."

Along with showing residents and traders an MG ZR competition car, a BMC Formula Ford single-seater racing car and a Seeley 500 racing motorbike and sidecar, the club also revealed for the first time full details of the circuit, which will run along Derby Street, Stanley Street, Moor Street, St Helens Road and Park Road in the town centre.

Click this image to see a larger version of the route in all its glory:


Last year The Champion revealed that the club was working with the borough council to hold the inaugural event on the August bank holiday weekend, which will combine a display of classic cars in Coronation Park with a parade of sports and racing cars on the town's one-way system.

So far more than 100 owners of classic and racing cars have got in touch with the club to take part, with more than 90% of the interest coming from enthusiasts in the West Lancashire and Sefton areas.

The event is also being given the backing of the borough council, who have welcomed the boost the event will bring to the local West Lancashire economy over the Bank Holiday weekend.

"I thank John and his colleagues at the circuit club for all their hard work on the Ormskirk Motorfest," said Councillor Martin Forshaw, the local authority's portfolio holder for planning.

"It will be a great day for Ormskirk, a great day for West Lancashire and we are delighted to support it".

For more information on the event contact John Bailie, the event coordinator of Aintree Circuit Club, on 07860 255485 or get in touch with him by email on jb@aintree.org.uk

If you're getting in touch why not drop a line to The Champion and tell us about it? Let us know by sending an email to david.simister@champnews.com or by calling 01794 392404. Alternatively, leave a comment on the blog.

Every little helps...

As spotted not at a classic car show or in a cosy garage, but in the car park at Tesco, in Southport, on a cold Monday night.

Dedication to old cars, if ever I've seen it...

Life On Cars, Issue Four!

MUCH LIKE getting an old Nissan Serena to sixty, creating the latest edition of the Life On Cars Magazine seems to have taken an eternity. But it's here at last!

With everything from new car news and reviews to classic car events and features, it's all here, in a jam-packed 16 pages, including:

• The reason why the best car in the world, weirdly, isn't the most memorable moment in Ford's history

• The five best cars from this month's Geneva Motorshow

• A special feature on the glorious Jaguar E-Type and its 50th anniversary

• The car you need to take with you on a driving tour of the nation's toughest roads

...and much more besides.

Normal Life On Cars service will resume later this week but until then, enjoy the read...

Open publication - Free publishing - More autos

Geneva Motorshow: The Life On Cars top 10

SWITZERLAND'S biggest motorshow isn't just about shiny new supercars, apparently, although looking at some of the reports from this year's Geneva Motorshow you'd be forgiven for thinking it was.

But between the brand new stunners from Lamborghini and Pagani were a few cars you might actually be able to buy, so the new models* strutting their stuff were a brilliant - but mixed - bag.

Here's what Life On Cars is saving up for:

1) Suzuki Swift Concept S

The closest yet to a replacement for the wonderful Swift Sport Life On Cars tested last month. Here's hoping!

2) Lamborghini Aventador


The long-awaited replacement for the Murciélago, complete with a new V12 churning out no less than 700bhp. Worth waiting a decade for.

3) Jaguar XKR-S


Jaguar celebrates the 50th anniversary of unveiling the E-Type at Geneva with a 550bhp modern equivalent. You know you want one.

4) Aston Martin Virage


Right on cue is Aston's ripposte to the XKR-S, boasting 490bhp from the familiar 6.0 litre V12 and a name not seen since the company's coupes of the early Nineties.

5) Ford B-MAX


The Blue Oval's response to the Vauxhall Meriva, with equally clever rear doors.


6) Hyundai i40


What do you mean Korea can't do smooth and stylish? This sleek Mondeo rival bets you a fiver it can.

7) Alfa Romeo 4C


Straight in the footsteps of the 8C supercar comes this mid-engined, two-seater, rear-wheel drive Alfa sports car. Think of it as an Italian Elise.

8) Audi A3 concept


Not too sure about the saloon styling for the next A3, but the 408bhp V8's got to stay.

9) Range Rover "Evoque"


Not too sure whether this is what Land Rover meant when it was launching the smallest, lightest and greenest Range Rover model ever, but I like it anyway.

10) MINI Rocketman


As a former Mini owner this was the real star of the show, because it takes BMW's reinvention of the classic small car back to basics. I'll probably get panned by my fellow Mini enthusiasts for saying it, but I like it. A lot.

*The new models don't include Bertone's stunning B99 concept, which Jaguar has now said won't make production. Shame.

Read more on the Geneva Motorshow in the new Life On Cars Magazine, out this week.

Ormskirk Motorfest preview event revs up

ORMSKIRK'S traders are being invited to go full throttle next week at an event being held to give them a special preview of a motoring spectacular taking place in August.

Aintree Circuit Club said it is inviting representatives of Ormskirk's businesses to come along next Wednesday (March 16) to a preview of the Ormskirk Motorfest, a showcase and parade of classic and racing cars scheduled to take place in the town centre on August 28.

Event Co-ordinator, John Bailie, on behalf of organisers Aintree Circuit Club, said:

"We have been amazed at the incredible interest which the MotorFest has already generated. We'll have historic Grand Prix cars on the streets, along with a wide variety of racing cars and motor cycles, sports, classic and vintage cars and many more.

"This event is sure to bring many visitors to the town, so we're staging this Preview Event to show the Ormskirk business community how it will benefit them, and how they can play their part in ensuring its success".

Last year The Champion revealed that the club was working with the borough council to hold the inaugural event on the August bank holiday weekend, which will combine a display of classic cars in Coronation Park with a parade of sports and racing cars on the town's one-way system.

Martin Forshaw, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation at West Lancashire Borough Council, said the event would help bring nationwide attention to the town, and is keen for locally-based businesses to find out more.

"The West Lancashire Borough, all the town's High Street retailers and other local businesses stand to gain from the exposure that this event will give the town on a prime Bank Holiday weekend, and it's sure to attract media coverage on a local, national, and possibly international level," he said.

"That's why the plans for the MotorFest are being revealed to local businesses as a first priority".

As well as viewing plans for the MotorFest, attendees of the event, being held will be held at The Green Room, Moor Street will be able to view the MG ZR racing car which is regularly driven by Aintree Circuit Club's Chairman Mike Ashcroft.

If you'd like to attend the preview, or participate in the MotorFest event, please contact John Bailie on 07860 255485 or email jb@aintree.org.uk

The Lotus Elise: brilliant once you get into it

IT was at Forton Services that I pondered whether I'd picked the wrong car for the job.

Picture the scene; you've pulled in for a quick break from a long drive north, it's getting dark, and your passenger, who has a bad back, is trying to get out. In any normal car this wouldn't have been a problem, but I wasn't in a normal car. I was in a low-slung Lotus Elise with a letterbox-like aperture to clamber in and out of, and the roof was up. I've never witnessed
frustration like it.

The Elise S is the smallest, friendliest car Lotus make, but that's like buying a cheetah as your new family pet because it's smaller and more docile than a lion or a leopard. It's still going to make a life a little uncomfortable if you try and get on with it on a daily basis.

It is, for starters, mid-engined, which means the performance-tuned Toyota engine sits where the back seats should be, right behind your eardrums, and the space up front where you'd find the engine in your Ford Fiesta is taken up by an enormous radiator. There is a boot, right at the very back of the car, but it's tiny and almost entirely taken up by the roof, which you don't drop down on a sunny day but unclip and roll up, like a tent.

This will at least make the job of getting in, which is difficult even for a supple young reporter with the roof up, a little easier, because you can just step over the sizeable door sill and drop down into the thin, leather-lined plank that passes as a seat. To be fair, it's suprisingly
comfortable once you get in, or at least it will be until you try to pull away and realise the view over your shoulder is not of passing cyclists but of a chunky roll bar. This is particularly fun when you're trying to pull out on a motorway, for instance.

But here's the rub; if you've ended up on a motorway you're not really using this thing properly. Get rid of the passenger - they're only messing up the power to weight ratio anyway - and chuck this thing at any country lane, because on challenging roads this thing flies. For something that musters a mere 134bhp, the Elise is ridiculously rapid, buzzing and fizzing its way through bends with virtually no roll at all. It is, for better or worse, a really big go-kart.

Anyway, that's the warts 'n' all appraisal of the Elise, and why you shouldn't buy one if you've got knackered joints. If you haven't, tune in next week for a full Life On Cars road test to find out why you should.