The date is May 2023, the scene a big boy's toy box of vintage and post-war motoring exotica, much of it of the seven-figure persuasion, strewn about like discarded playthings on the ex-RAF Tarmac. The occasion? It is best described as a sort of works outing for Kensington-based dealer Gregor Fisken, who, handily for us, has rented Wroughton Airfield for the day as a means of exercising some of his most rarefied stock.
It's hard to know where to look, with Ford GT40, Jaguar C-type, Alfa 8C and Grand Prix Talbot-Lago to name-drop just the highlights. The company I'm keeping today is so exalted I've almost forgotten why I'm here. As the desirability levels ramp up, the car in question hoves into view: a small, dark-blue open two-seater Ferrari by Vignale. The imposing eggcrate grille of chassis 0051S leaves you in no doubt as to the make, while 'V' badges on the front wings identify this curvaceous but not entirely harmonious drop-top as a Vignale creation courtesy of Giovanni Michelotti, that winning combination of Turin coachbuilder and prolific stylist which did most to give Ferrari's earliest road cars a distinctive visual identity before Maranello's official hook-up with Pinin Farina from the mid-1950s.
Bereft of bumpers, it is a compact spider - or more properly a cabriolet - with an air of purpose about it, even if the chunky, tobacco coloured seats and gleaming espresso-machine dashboard tell you it was not designed with Mille Miglia victories in mind. Struggling, in profile, to hide its low-slung exhaust, this 2.3-litre Ferrari rides on a short wheelbase shorter even than that of a T-type MG, at 7ft 4½in and the inevitable tall Borrani wire wheels hiding big drum brakes.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Mick WALSH
'Had someone said that this worn-looking titan would win the most famous old-car event, we would have laughed'
ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QF
Rewriting the rulebook on what an SUV can do, and how it can make you feel
FLOATING INTO THE FUTURE
Citroën's DS-replacing CX was at a cutting edge so sharp it still looks fresh today, and it had the drive to match - as five superb survivors reveal
"It's a car for posing in really"
Broadcaster Michael Buerk reflects on more than three decades with his beloved Jaguar E-type S1 3.8 fixed-head coupé
HONDAS DECK THE HALL
The Japanese firm's Los Angeles collection is now on public display for the first time in two decades
ABSOLUTELY buzzing
Honda's Si Civics brought agile, cheap fun to motorists long before the Type R name got anywhere near a hatchback
THE FEMININE TOUCH
In 1955, General Motors styling guru Harley Earl brought 11 talented women into the male-dominated world of automotive design. What was their lasting impact?
Out on a limb
Panther's innovative Solo 2 was something completely different, both for its maker and the sports car market
Restyles with substance
Panther Westwinds blended a passion for pre-war designs with modern-era mechanical usability and remarkably fine coachbuilding
Dead ringers
The Maserati Kyalami and De Tomaso Longchamp share much, having emerged from the same stable, but are poles apart at heart