Autos and airplanes shared the limelight this past weekend as “The Classic & Sports Car Show in association with Flywheel” celebrates vintage racing cars, the centennial of Britain’s Royal Air Force and the end of World War I in an event at Bicester Heritage, a former RAF base that has been converted into a vintage vehicle center.
Among the cars taking to the demonstration track were a 1914 aero-engined Fafnir Hall-Scott Special and a 1926 Bentley 3-Liter Sports that raced at Le Mans.
Taking to the sky were all sorts of vintage aircraft, highlighted by a Hawker Hurricane flown by 97-year-old John Francis “Tim” Elkington, who flew the same plane during the Battle of Britain in 1941.
There not only was an official Flywheel Concours, but a People’s Concours. The Flywheel event featured classes such as Dawn of the Supercar, Movie Star Cars, 50 Years of British Leyland, etc. Best in Show went to a 1962 Jaguar E-type coupe, now owned by Lee and Denise Choat and driven by Sean Connery in the 1964 British film Woman of Straw.
Top honors in the People’s Concours went to a 1960 Hillman Minx Series 3A (Saturday) and a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach I (Sunday).
“The response to this year’s show has been phenomenal,” Alastair Clements, editor in chief of Classic & Sports Car magazine, said in a news release. “Flywheel has established itself as a must-attend event in the past three years, but as our first year as The Classic & Sports Car Show in association with Flywheel this has been taken to a new level in a way that seems entirely appropriate. It’s not just a car show and not just an air show; there’s a bit of something for everyone.
“There are lots of families here enjoying themselves and we’re really glad that the Show has preserved the very special and relaxed atmosphere it’s had in the past while combining more of the fantastic machinery and classic cars that visitors want to see up close.”
Show dates for 2019 are June 22-23.
