For The First Time This Year

With how busy my work life has been thus far and using the rest of my home life for resting, I haven't had much time to take in a good, local car show for 2018.

Good thing there just happened to be one near one of my work assignments recently.

However, making the time to go to one, while working, didn't feel very professional to me. I am there to do a job (not for the show itself, but the surrounding area outside their fence line), not partake in a "personal passion" on the company dime, so to speak. 

But, with how calm and orderly everything was that day, my partner (we travel in pairs, for safety and shared suffering) convinced me we could spare a few moments and take in the event.

As much as some readers would have liked for me to snap pictures of all the event's entrants, I just couldn't make that amount of time happen. In fact, I am rather surprised with how much I was able to accomplish in the 10 minutes I allotted for myself, capturing mostly British vehicles, a recent theme I have going on.

The first vehicle that caught my attention was this Jaguar sedan, seen zoomed in from a distance. I knew from the shape it was obviously an XJ of some type....

Upon closer inspection, I learned it was a 1999 XJR, all original with a factory 4.0 litre, supercharged V8. I wonder what kind of mileage it gets, under "spirited driving" conditions?

This is how I usually see a XJR, driving away from me.

Red Rover, Red Rover, we call the....

.... 3 Litre Automatic over (yeah, good thing I have a day job, song writing won't make me a living)!

This gorgeous blue 1969 Triumph TR6 held my attention just a little longer than it should have.

I have been lusting after one of these, or a decent MG for many, many years.

Now, I have been to a few car shows in my life, but this is the first time I have seen and got this close to a Morgan.   

This hand built 1969 Morgan +8 is powered by a Rover V8 and after a brief conversation with the current owner, thoroughly loved and not to be parted with any time soon (don't blame them).

Sitting along side the Morgan is a truly rare car. Between 1964 and 1967, Sunbeam-Talbot put a small block Ford V8 into their Alpine roadster....

....and created the Sunbeam Tiger (think of taking a V8 from a Ford Mustang and stuffing into a Mazda Miata/MX5). Just over 7000 cars were built and was made famous from the 1960's Get Smart TV show.

If you haven never heard of a Daimler, that's okay, there are quite a few folks who haven't. Late model Daimlers (from around 1960 and onward) were exclusive, lavishly appointed upscale Jaguars, but recognized as their own models.

I was entranced by the smell of the wood and leather while taking this interior shot.

A quick tip if you see a Daimler, but think it's a Jaguar, look for the "fluted" detailing on the front and/or rear chrome body pieces.

Last, but certainly not least, is perhaps the most iconic British car ever produced, the Classic Mini.

Simple and timeless. Despite being in production for 41 years, it is becoming a bit of a rare sight these days.