1976 Mercury Cougar XR-7

This car was displayed by the American Auto Club North West at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a third generation 1976 Mercury Cougar XR-7 with the 351 cu in (5.8 litre) V8 engine, the XR-7 having more luxury features than the standard Cougar. 400 cu in and 460 cu in models were also available.

1969 Maserati MIstral

I photographed this car at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2003.

It was in a part of the parking area set aside for Maserati owners and is a 1969 Maserati Mistral. The Mistral was a replacement for the 3500GT and was the first of a series of Maseratis named after famous winds, the Mistral being a cold northerly wind of southern France. The Mistral was in production from 1964 to 1969 and the original 6-cylinder inline engine of 3,485cc was increased first to 3,694cc then to the 4,014cc of the car pictured above, 454 examples of which were built. The 2-seater fastback body was designed by Pietro Frua.

1923 Singer 10

This car took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in May 1987, and is pictured here in the Exchange Station car park in Manchester before the start of the Run.

It's the 1923 Singer 10 of Clive Cooper and has a 1,097cc 4-cylinder inline sidevalve engine, and a note in the programme of the event said this about the car:

32      1923 Singer

           Reg: ND 1891  4 cylinder 9.7 hp

           (Clive T. Cooper, Cheadle Hulme)

This Manchester registered car would appear to

have remained in the area all its life. A product

of the takeover by Singer of the Coventry

Premier Motor Co., it represented an entry into

the popular market, being a less costly version

of the Edwardian 10 hp model. The engine is

overhead valve, actuated by exposed push-

rods. It runs on beaded-edge tyres and has rear

brakes only.

There's a Singer Owners' Club for owners of the car and for Singer enthusiasts.

1977 Hesketh 308E

This car took part in the 'Silverstone International Trophy for Pre 1978 Grand Prix Cars' race at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001.

It's the 1977 Hesketh 308E of Philip Walker, driven in the race by Andrew Wolfe, and is chassis 308E/1. Designed by Frank Dernie and Nigel Stroud it has a 2,993cc V8 Ford Cosworth engine and was driven in the 1977 season by Rupert Keegan, whose best result was seventh place in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph during the traditional 'Demonstration of Italian Racing Cars' at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

It's Mike Littlewood driving John Fenning's 1980 Ferrari 312 T5, chassis 048 at McLean's Corner. The car has a 2,992cc flat 12 engine and was driven by Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve in the 1980 season, but the results were very poor, Jody Scheckter winning only 2 points in the World Drivers' Championship and finishing in 19th place, and Gilles Villeneuve finishing in 14th place with 6 points.

Cooper Bristol T25

This car took part in the Coys Race for Pre-1959 Drum Brake Sports Cars at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2002.

It's the 1954 Cooper Bristol T25 of Eddie McGuire, originally built for Sid Greene's Gilbey Engineering concern where it was given the engine from a Maserati A6GCS that the team had been racing, but had become uncompetitive. It was driven by Alan Brown and Roy Salvadori in the 1955 season and then sold to Horace Gould minus the Maserati engine. Horace Gould installed a 1,971cc Bristol engine and took the car to New Zealand, where it remained until the mid-1980s. It appears to have been given a Maserati engine again since this Donington Park event according to these photographs from the Padua Auto e Moto d'Epoca in 2017 that show the car with a Maserati badge and grille (which seems to be from a Maserati A6GCS). The Maserati engine has a number 3033 stamped on it which, if it's the engine serial number, should relate to a 1939 Maserati 8CTF unit of 2,991cc that was supplied to American Mike Boyle in 1939 - but that was an 8-cylinder engine, and the one here has only six cylinders.

McLaren and Lamborghini

Here are some photographs of a couple of cars I saw on the Manchester United car park at Old Trafford in early December 2019.

This is a 2018 McLaren 570S Coupe

It's a rear-mid engine car and is powered by a 3,996cc twin-turbocharged V8 engine

With the late afternoon sunshine fading I found this 2019 Lamborghini Urus SUV

This car also has a 3,996cc twin-turbocharged V8 engine, but it's at the front of the vehicle