Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) One & Done?

Sir P - fully agree with you re the Peugeot 205GTI . Best, most fun car I had for London daily driving . So Red, so nippy, so easy to drive around town in the 80’s congestion. Did commute in the Morgan’s as well but a totally different drive experience. Sadly my 205 leaked from the after market installation ( by main dealer) sunroof. My driving was what I would now call - to determined…..I from on that now.
Friend bought a browny gold(?) 1.9 GTI, which made me envious but when I drove his, it seemed to lack something .Don’t understand why - should have just been quicker and handle the same but…..?

John V6 - my wife has always wanted us to drive Route 66 but only done part of it. Yosemite is where she wants some her ashes scattered* as we have loved the place - trying to talk her out of it as I now understand it is just far far to busy to visit. I know Highway/ US1 has had lots of closures in 2024 and I’m sure I read in the Sunday Times recently that it’s so costly to upkeep it might shut for good . Surely Trump could sort it out on a day off !?

I sometimes think we might be the last generation to enjoy unrestricted travel and tourism. Far too busy these days with umbrellas/parasol’s everywhere. I think Generation Y (one after Z will travel by Virtual reality headsets. Travel programs have ‘ruined’ my travels by showing me everything before getting there. Thankfully we enjoy the local people side as much as sightseeing but getting away from fellow travellers is a skill we have learnt . Nighttime driving seems to be an extension of my desire to be away from fellow travellers/road users.
MM
PS Love a Gordon Keeble to but only been driven in a Uni friends dads one - that was some years ago !
* I’m not climbing El Capitan or Half Dome & perhaps I can persuade her Blackpool Tower would be just as appropriate .

There's a 4 door version for sale at Mattewsons Auctions guide £7-8000

^ Wow, that's proper depreciation !

Heinz great car, rare to see one in such fine condition

Bentley Brooklands Coupe. Old school brute.



Yes a fair statement. I owned a CL600 and it was stunning, trying to replace it was a nightmare, everything failed the grade. I was that close to buying one of these which was up for a big discount due to the seller circumstances when my brain engaged and told me I was being a twit on a massive scale and it would bankrupt me. It was when I picked up the service history with both hands and saw the sheer number of 00000000's on the parts and labour. It remains my itch.

There is a bit of difference between the original Brooklands 4 door and the Brooklands Coupe to be fair. They share nothing. The Coupes were almost totally hand formed top of the range monsters. The original Brooklands saloon was a "poverty spec" Rolls-Royce T based model they first built when RR bought Bentley. Still a lovely motor car by most standards but not the hand built lump that the Coupe represents. I could possibly afford the car (and running costs at 9mpg etc) of the 4 door at a push, the Coupe, ha ha ha. I would still have to be mad, but I kind of am?

Do it - when No2 daughter and to be son in law had a house in Hildenborough the chap next door had one and it was magic when he started it up outside our bedroom window, his name was Mr Bentley and he has arrived alright.

Coincidently there was a riding stable opposite so quite a gathering of thoroughbreds one way and another 🐴🏎

A thing of grace and style.

If we are being a bad indfluence, old boy, can one throw this little filly in the mix...

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1819124

The interior is less vaudevillian... or should that be Bond villain?

There is also a 'less expensive' green one that is rather fetching: https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1828930

There is certainly something about an older Bentley coupe but, as someone mentioned, I would always live in fear that the 'something' was a massive bill around the corner!

I think this is part of why the 911 has appealed to so many since the 1960s. The only downside, in my experience, other than the small rear seats is the reaction of some other road users and/or pedestrians. Whilst not as 'in your face' as many luxury sports cars, it still can provoke an unwanted (and often unwarranted) adverse reaction. For instance, on more than one occasion I recall being yelled at to slow down, by pedestrians, as I drove below the speed limit through villages. Stock exhaust, sedate colour, just bumbling along but some people still see it as a red rag to rage against. Strangely, or perhaps not, I never experienced this in classic 911s (just 996 forward).

Everyone has to judge their own One & Done on individual merits but the actions of other road users and the public as a whole would influence my decision. In terms of ideal choice, a 991, or newer, 4S variant would be pretty close to perfect - all weather traction, performance when you want it and more than adequate!, excellent build quality and reliability, suspension a little stiffer than I like on our poor quality road (but I'm getting older and comfort is starting to win over performance!) but still acceptable and very capable... so, as above, I'd only dock a point (in my own personal grading scale) for 'overall friendliness / general likeability.' Which bring me nicely to my next point...

I do wonder if this is why Restomods have become so popular? The benefit of modern tech, the looks of a classic, which combine to make for a generally more pleasant ownership experience on all fronts.

No one has mentioned the Jensen Interceptor... thus I'd like to throw the restomoded version of one of those into the One & Done mix...

https://jensen-sales.com/portfolio/jensen-interceptor-r/

I'd have mine in a different colour but you get the point...

The funny thing is that Porsches have always triggered negative reactions as long as they are fairly new. It was the same in my area in the 70s and 80s with the then new air-cooled versions of the 911. It's nice to see that the older models are viewed with more goodwill and sympathy these days. It is certainly an opportunity to acquire an old Porsche with newer technology. But an unmodified 911 S from, say, 1971 was already a cool, fast car.

The Jensen is in a class of its own, super tasteful and a concept that was way ahead of its time. Very elegant and individual in my view. And it has the finest form of practicality.

BTW when something new is done very well as retro then my heart is warmed. This is not meant to be a thread drift! I thought I would never need new audio gear again. Well recently this new series of Quad 33/303 amps came out. I had a 33 preamp for 18 years and bought it as a 16 year old from vacation work as a schoolboy. I can only go weak at the knees. Maybe some people feel the same way when they buy a Singer Porsche or something similar.

https://quad-hifi.co.uk/collections/33-303-series

We are in the thread “one and done” and it may not be a thread drift but a fact that we have ended up with vintage cars again. Because as practically as a new car could fulfill “one and done”, wouldn't it be more boring if more perfect than a vintage? Because if “one and done” must in some way be a compromise for different tasks, then at least if you drive a Morgan, you don't want to end up with a modern Volvo station wagon...if it were really your only car. So we're collecting suggestions here that either amount to very expensive or vintage cars.