The latest video from our UK Touring Group is now online, and this time we're spending a wonderful day exploring the beautiful Cotswolds.

Join us as a varied collection of classic British cars winds its way through some of England's most picturesque countryside, visiting charming villages, enjoying quiet country roads and sharing another memorable day in great company. As always, it's the people as much as the cars that make these tours so special. Along the way there are plenty of smiles, a few unexpected moments, and some lovely stories that remind us why so many lasting friendships have been formed through this group over the years.

Whether you were fortunate enough to be there, or are joining us from elsewhere in the UK or around the world, we hope you'll enjoy coming along for the ride.
A huge thank you goes to everyone who helped make this video possible by capturing footage, recording voiceovers and sharing their experiences. Every contribution helps bring these tours to life for those who couldn't be with us.

​We hope you enjoy the video and do consider joining us next time!
Click below to watch.

​Before the Cars
Jeremy Clarkson was born in Yorkshire in April 1960 and began his working life far away from television. His parents famously built a business around selling Paddington Bear toys before Clarkson moved into journalism and local newspapers. (Wikipedia)
Like many great motoring writers, he didn't start by testing Ferraris. He started by writing whatever he could get paid for. Local newspapers led to motoring journalism, and motoring journalism led to something that would change British television forever.


The Accidental Television Star
In 1988 Clarkson joined the original format of Top Gear.
At the time, Top Gear was informative, worthy and about as exciting as a motorway service station sandwich.
Then Clarkson arrived.

According to former producer Jon Bentley, Clarkson stood out because he was opinionated, irreverent and, crucially, funny. Bentley later recalled that Clarkson could make cars entertaining rather than simply informative. (Wikipedia)
That was the breakthrough.

Clarkson understood something many television executives had missed; people don't really care about cars, they care about stories.

• A road test became a comedy sketch.
• A performance figure became an argument.
• A family hatchback became an opportunity for ridicule.

The formula sounds obvious now, but at the time it was revolutionary.

Controversial? Absolutely
No honest article about Clarkson can ignore controversy.
Throughout his career he has generated criticism from politicians, pressure groups, broadcasters and newspaper columnists. His outspoken style became almost as famous as the cars themselves. (Wikipedia)
Yet controversy often seemed to fuel his popularity.

Many viewers felt Clarkson was saying what ordinary enthusiasts were thinking. Others felt he crossed the line.
Either way, people kept watching and Top Gear kept growing.

A Quote That Explains Everything
Perhaps the best description of Clarkson came not from Clarkson himself but from producer Jon Bentley, who said he was "looking for someone who could make cars on television fun". (Wikipedia)
That's really the key.

• Not accurate.
• Not educational.
• Not responsible
  
  

...but definitely fun. 

​Clarkson recognised that enthusiasm is infectious. And before long, Britain was infected. By the late 1990s, the loud Yorkshireman with the floppy hair was no longer just a motoring journalist.
He was becoming a national institution.
​
In Part 2 we'll look at the period many enthusiasts still regard as the golden age: the relaunch of Top Gear, the arrival of Richard Hammond and James May, and how three middle-aged men managed to turn a motoring program into a global phenomenon.

The start of the new millennium found Britain’s motor industry in unfamiliar territory. Gone were the days when Austin, Morris, Triumph and Rover dominated the home market under British ownership. Instead, many of the country’s best-known marques were owned by overseas companies. BMW controlled MINI, Ford owned Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, Volkswagen had Bentley, while Rolls-Royce Motor Cars was preparing to begin a new chapter under BMW.

To some, it looked as though Britain had lost its motor industry.
In reality, quite the opposite was happening.

British factories were becoming some of the most productive in Europe. Design studios in Coventry, Gaydon, Warwickshire, Crewe and Oxford were producing cars that would sell around the globe. Engineering talent remained first-class, while overseas investment was modernising plants that only a decade earlier had uncertain futures.
​
The 2000s also saw a shift in what buyers wanted. Traditional family saloons gave way to hatchbacks and compact SUVs, premium brands became increasingly mainstream, and nostalgia became a surprisingly effective sales tool. Cars didn’t just have to be practical anymore—they had to have personality.
Several manufacturers got that formula exactly right.

Few cars have faced a tougher challenge than the new MINI. Replacing the original Mini, which had remained in production for more than forty years, was always going to divide opinion.

When BMW retained the Mini brand following the break-up of the Rover Group, many questioned whether a German company could successfully recreate one of Britain’s most loved cars. Fortunately, they didn’t try.
​
Rather than building a modern copy, BMW commissioned an entirely new design. American designer Frank Stephenson captured the character of Sir Alec Issigonis’s original without making it feel like a retro pastiche. The round headlamps, floating roof, upright windscreen and wheels pushed to each corner all echoed the classic Mini, but the new car was larger, safer and far more refined.

Underneath, it was a thoroughly modern hatchback. Early cars used the Tritec 1.6-litre engine, developed jointly by BMW and Chrysler, while the Cooper S gained an Eaton supercharger that transformed the MINI into one of the most entertaining hot hatches of its generation.

Owners quickly discovered something else.
The new MINI wasn’t merely quick—it was tremendous fun.

Sharp steering, minimal body roll and a chassis that seemed to encourage enthusiastic driving earned it praise from virtually every motoring publication. Journalists frequently described it as offering “go-kart handling”, a phrase that BMW was only too happy to adopt in its advertising.

​Production centered on Oxford, where BMW invested heavily in modernising the historic Cowley plant. Body pressings came from Swindon while engines were built at Hams Hall near Birmingham, creating a genuinely British manufacturing network despite German ownership. The investment paid handsome dividends. By the middle of the decade the Oxford factory was producing well over 200,000 cars annually, with the vast majority exported to more than 70 countries. The MINI rapidly became one of Britain’s biggest automotive success stories and proved that premium small cars could command premium prices without putting buyers off.

It also launched an entire family of cars. Convertible, Clubman and later the Countryman all stemmed from the original 2001 hatchback, creating a model range that continues to thrive today.
​
Perhaps the greatest compliment is that, twenty-five years on, the original BMW MINI already enjoys modern classic status.

Today almost every manufacturer sells SUVs, but at the beginning of the 2000s the market was still finding its feet. Land Rover had spotted the opportunity earlier than most.

Development of the Freelander began in the early 1990s under the codename CB40. The brief was straightforward enough: build a smaller, more affordable Land Rover that retained genuine off-road ability while appealing to families who spent most of their time on tarmac.

That meant abandoning some long-standing Land Rover traditions. Instead of a separate ladder chassis, the Freelander used a monocoque body. Permanent four-wheel drive remained, but the car was designed to be as comfortable in supermarket car parks as it was on muddy tracks.

It struck exactly the right balance.

The Freelander quickly became Britain’s best-selling four-wheel-drive vehicle and, for several years, Europe’s best-selling compact 4x4. Buyers appreciated the commanding driving position, practical interior and reassuring Land Rover image.

It wasn’t perfect, of course.

Early examples developed an unfortunate reputation for head gasket failures on K-Series petrol engines, while some transmission components proved less durable than owners had hoped. Yet even these shortcomings couldn’t stop sales.

Land Rover continued refining the model throughout the decade before introducing the all-new Freelander 2 in 2006.

The second generation represented a huge leap forward. Built on a more sophisticated platform shared with Volvo products within Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, it featured vastly improved refinement, better quality materials and more powerful diesel engines. It retained genuine off-road ability thanks to Land Rover’s innovative Terrain Response system while becoming far more comfortable on the motorway.

For many buyers it was the first Land Rover they could realistically afford.
​
The Freelander also demonstrated something increasingly important about Britain’s motor industry. Although ownership changed from BMW to Ford during its life, the engineering expertise remained firmly rooted in Solihull. The badge may have travelled internationally, but the knowledge stayed in Britain.

​Mention the Jaguar X-Type today and someone will almost certainly repeat the old joke that it was “just a Ford Mondeo in a suit.”
It’s a neat line; it’s also a considerable oversimplification.

​When Ford acquired Jaguar in 1989, one objective was clear. Jaguar needed a smaller saloon capable of competing with the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Without one, the company simply couldn’t grow.

The resulting X-Type arrived in 2001.

While it shared its basic platform architecture with the Mondeo, Jaguar engineers substantially revised the suspension, bodyshell, drivetrain and interior. Early models featured permanent all-wheel drive, something the Mondeo did not, while the cabin delivered a traditional Jaguar atmosphere with walnut veneer, leather upholstery and classic instrumentation.

The styling deliberately echoed the larger S-Type and XJ, giving buyers a recognisable Jaguar identity in a more manageable size.

Production took place at Halewood on Merseyside.

Only a few years earlier the factory had been producing Ford Escorts. Following a £300 million transformation, it became one of Europe’s most advanced automotive plants, capable of building premium vehicles to exceptionally high standards. The change was remarkable and demonstrated the confidence Ford had in British manufacturing.
The X-Type soon became Jaguar’s best-selling model.

Diesel engines arrived in 2003, dramatically improving its competitiveness across Europe, while the beautifully integrated estate version added extra practicality without sacrificing the car’s elegant proportions.

Sales inevitably slowed as competitors introduced newer models, but the X-Type succeeded in bringing thousands of first-time customers into Jaguar showrooms. It also laid important foundations for the modern compact Jaguars that followed.

Interestingly, attitudes towards the X-Type have softened considerably over the past decade. As the “Mondeo with wood” jokes have faded, enthusiasts have begun appreciating it for what it actually was: a comfortable, refined and well-built sporting saloon that represented excellent value.

​Sometimes history is kinder than contemporary opinion.

Looking back, it’s striking just how much confidence Britain’s manufacturers showed during these early years of the decade.
​
BMW invested heavily in MINI. Ford poured hundreds of millions into Jaguar and Land Rover. Bentley was being transformed under Volkswagen ownership, while Aston Martin was preparing an entirely new generation of sports cars.

Only one major manufacturer remained outside this wave of optimism; MG Rover.
Its story would become one of the defining—and most emotional—chapters of the British motor industry during the 2000s.
​
To be continued…

For British classic car enthusiasts, few models capture the optimism and engineering ingenuity of the 1960s quite like BMC’s ADO16 range—the Austin, Morris, MG, Riley, Wolseley, and Vanden Plas 1100/1300 family.

​Launched in 1962, it became Britain’s best-selling car for much of the decade (and into the 1970s), with over 2 million produced. It offered advanced front-wheel-drive packaging, class-leading space, and a revolutionary suspension system in a stylish Pininfarina suit. Often called the “big Mini,” it was more refined and practical, embodying Issigonis’s philosophy of maximizing interior space while minimizing mechanical bulk.

Following the 1959 Mini (ADO15), BMC needed a larger car to bridge the gap between the Morris Minor/Austin A40 and the larger Farina saloons. Codenamed XC9002 (later ADO16 for Austin Drawing Office project 16), development began around 1958–1959 under Sir Alec Issigonis.
​
Issigonis envisioned a scaled-up Mini with transverse engine, front-wheel drive, and enhanced refinement. Early prototypes (XC9002) closely resembled a stretched Mini but lacked character. Leonard Lord commissioned Pininfarina for styling, which transformed the design dramatically in 1959 with crisp lines, a balanced profile, and appealing proportions. Detailed engineering moved to Cowley under Charles Griffin (Morris Chief Engineer), with input from a strong team including Reg Job. Issigonis maintained oversight, visiting weekly.

Key innovations addressed Mini shortcomings:

• Enlarged A-Series engine (from 948cc prototype to 1098cc production, later 1275cc).
• Alex Moulton’s Hydrolastic interconnected fluid suspension (debuting on ADO16 after refinement; rubber cones plus fluid displacers linked front-to-rear for excellent ride and reduced pitch).
• Disc front brakes (controversial at the time; Issigonis reportedly saw them as “fashionable” but management pushed for them).

Charles Griffin played a crucial role in refinement. The car used a transversely mounted A-Series with gearbox in the sump, delivering impressive interior space rivaling larger rivals like the Ford Cortina.
​
​Production started at Cowley (Morris first), with Longbridge for Austin variants. Launch delays and badge engineering reflected internal BMC politics between Austin and Nuffield dealer networks.

The ADO16 excelled in space efficiency. Despite compact external dimensions (wheelbase ~93.5 in / 2375 mm, length ~146.65 in / 3725 mm), it offered a spacious cabin and decent boot. The Hydrolastic suspension provided a supple, pitch-resistant ride that contemporaries raved about—superior to conventional setups.

Pininfarina’s styling gave it a modern, upscale look with clean lines, cropped rear fins (early influence), and distinctive grilles per badge. Interiors varied from basic to luxurious (wood and leather in Vanden Plas). Two- and four-door saloons, plus estates (Countryman/Traveller from 1966), were offered. Mark II (1967) brought a wider grille and all-synchromesh gearbox; Mark III (1971) minor updates.

Contemporary praise: Motoring press lauded the ride, handling, and space. It felt modern and comfortable, a step above rivals. One review noted its ability to make rough roads feel smooth while remaining stable at speed.

The Morris 1100 launched on 15 August 1962, with Austin following in 1963. It quickly topped UK sales charts, holding strong market share (~15% at peak) thanks to its blend of innovation and practicality. Production hit over 2 million by the mid-1970s.

Challenges included early reliability niggles (shared with Mini), rust (notoriously poor body protection), and BMC’s slow updates. The 1300 arrived belatedly in 1967. By the early 1970s, it faced stiff competition from the Ford Cortina and Escort. Production ended in 1974 (UK), replaced piecemeal by the Allegro and Marina. Its legacy endures among enthusiasts for packaging brilliance, though survivors are rarer due to corrosion.

BMC’s badge engineering reached its zenith with ADO16. Core mechanicals were shared, with trim, grilles, badging, and minor power differences distinguishing them.​​

• Austin 1100/1300 (incl. 1300GT): Longbridge-built. Wavy-bar grille; GT had twin carbs, vinyl roof, sportier trim (from 1969).
• MG 1100/1300: Sportier twin-carb versions. Octagonal badges, unique grille, higher tune.
• Riley Kestrel (1100/1275/1300): More luxurious Riley badging; dropped in 1969.
• Wolseley 1100/1300: Upmarket with Wolseley grille and illuminated badge.
• Vanden Plas Princess 1100/1300: Luxury flagship with wood, leather, and Vanden Plas refinement.
  
• Morris 1100/1300: Initial launch model (Cowley-built). Basic to mid-range, straight-bar grille.

Estates: Austin Countryman / Morris Traveller.
​Overseas: Austin America (US, two-door), various local names (e.g., Apache in some markets), Innocenti in Italy.

The ADO16 remains a high-water mark for BMC innovation: Issigonis packaging, Moulton suspension, and Pininfarina style in one affordable package. Quotes from the era capture the excitement, while its sales success proved the formula. For enthusiasts, restoring one highlights the clever engineering—and the rust battles. It’s a quintessential British classic that shaped 1960s motoring.

What’s your favourite ADO16 variant? Share in the comments—perhaps a pristine Vanden Plas or a peppy MG 1300? 

If we mean one British car of the 1970s that consistently generates the broadest enthusiast interest today, the strongest candidate is probably the Ford Escort Mk1 and Mk2 — especially the sporting and rally-derived versions.
​
That answer sometimes surprises people because enthusiasts often instinctively think of more exotic machinery like the Jaguar E-Type or Triumph Stag. But the Escort has an unusually wide appeal across generations and enthusiast groups.

1. Motorsport heritage
The Mk1 and Mk2 Escort became legends through rallying, especially the RS1600, Mexico and RS2000 variants. Drivers such as Roger Clark helped make the Escort synonymous with sideways rally action and accessible performance.

2. Huge nostalgia factor
In Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Ireland especially, Escorts were everywhere in the 1970s. Enthusiasts often want the cars they:

• learned to drive in,
• watched race,
• owned when young,
• or aspired to own.
  ​
  

3. Strong club and aftermarket support
You can still buy almost every panel and mechanical component for an Escort. That makes them practical classics rather than static museum pieces.

4. Cross-generational appeal
Older enthusiasts remember them from period rallying. Younger enthusiasts discovered them through:

• historic motorsport,
• drifting,
• retro builds,
• YouTube restorations,
• and video games.
  
  

5. Auction values
Fast Escorts now command serious money internationally, especially genuine RS models. That keeps them constantly in enthusiast conversation.

MGB/MGBGT
Probably the most owned and driven British classic today. DVLA data suggests it remains one of the most numerous 1970s classics still on UK roads.
It attracts:

• traditional classic enthusiasts,
• touring drivers,
• and newcomers wanting an affordable British sports car.

Ford Capri
The Capri has enormous nostalgic appeal — essentially Britain’s “everyman’s muscle car”. Enthusiast interest is especially strong around the 2.8 Injection and 3.0S models.

Range Rover Classic
The original Range Rover has exploded in desirability over the last decade. Early two-door cars now attract collectors who previously ignored 4x4s entirely.

Jaguar XJ Series I
Among design enthusiasts and motoring journalists, the XJ is often regarded as one of the greatest saloon cars ever made.

Triumph Dolomite Sprint
A cult favourite among enthusiasts who appreciate clever engineering and underdog British Leyland performance cars.

Join the Enthusiasts of British Motor Vehicles Touring Group for our “Discover Dorset” tour of April 2026 — a relaxed and scenic journey through one of England’s most beautiful counties in a wonderful variety of classic British cars.

Based at the lovely West Bay Holiday Park, the tour took in some of Dorset’s best-known landmarks including Portland Bill Lighthouse, Nothe Fort and The Hardy Monument, along with plenty of winding country roads, coastal views and classic motoring conversation along the way.

This video combines driving footage and still photographs captured during the trip, showcasing the scenery, atmosphere and enjoyment of touring Dorset with fellow enthusiasts of British motoring heritage.

Whether you enjoy classic cars, British motoring history, scenic road trips or simply beautiful English countryside, we hope you enjoy coming along for the ride.
Featured locations include:
• West Bay, Dorset
• Portland Bill Lighthouse
• Nothe Fort, Weymouth
• The Hardy Monument
• Dorset coastal and countryside scenery
​
If you enjoy the video, please like, comment and subscribe for more classic British motoring adventures from Enthusiasts of British Motor Vehicles.
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By Paul S

There’s a simple way to understand British car culture: follow the money. Not the glossy brochures or motor show fantasies—but the actual pounds leaving people’s wallets. Because while enthusiasts talked about horsepower and top speed, most buyers were quietly doing a different calculation:

“What can I afford… and what do I really wish I could afford?”

​The gap between those two answers is where the story lives.

​Across the decades, Britain’s best-selling cars were sensible, honest machines—often modestly powered and carefully priced. Meanwhile, the cars people dreamed about were faster, more glamorous… and typically two, three, sometimes four times the cost.

🧠 The Numbers Behind the Dream
Across 70 years, three patterns emerge:
1. Power gap
Typical buyer: 30–100 bhp (early decades), rising to ~140 bhp
Enthusiast dream: consistently 2–5× more power
2. Price gap
Dream cars were usually 2–4× the price
Sometimes more (hello, XJ-S)
3. Performance gap
Ordinary cars: “fast enough”
Dream cars: transformational

Final Thoughts
The fascinating thing isn’t that people bought the sensible option. It’s that they knew exactly what they were missing.
Because whether it was a Morris Eight or a Ford Focus Mk2 parked outside… there was always something faster, louder, and far more exciting parked in the imagination.
​

On a personal note, shown at the start of this blog were my first three cars - a classic Mini 850, an Austin 1100 and a Vauxhall Viva. All were very definitely what I could (just about) afford at the time.
​Below is one of my current cars, which is the kind of car I have always dreamed of and never thought I would own. After a lifetime of being mostly sensible, it turned out that a 5.0L Supercharged Jaguar is just the thing!