WATCH: Classic Motor Show is the biggest yet
Ryan Taylor
The Shetland Classic Motor Show has celebrated its 40th anniversary.
And the much-loved event has grown to be bigger than ever, too, with around 220 cars and 160 motorbikes on display.
Chair Colin Nicholson has spoken of the changes seen at the show since the first one was held in the Gilbertson Park Games Hall back in 1984.
Back then, exhibits were displayed by invitation, and the small-scale event attracted 28 bikes and “seven or eight cars”, along with a handful of stationary engines.
This year’s event saw many of the exhibits from the first show make a return, including a number of motorcycles and a vintage Austin 7 car that has been at every single show.
Poignantly, the event was the first since the death of show supporter Mark Fuller, who was well known for his love of Triumph sportscars.
His family were exhibiting his much-loved TR4A – a car Mr Fuller took to Le Mans.
Also missed is regular volunteer James Hutton – who accompanied Mr Fuller to Le Mans – and who also became a fan of the Triumph marque.
There was also a host of literature, models and agricultural machinery, along with buses and commercial vehicles.
But a real rarity among the cars on display was a “one-of-one” Jaguar estate, produced by the company as a toe-in-the-water experiment to test the market.
“It ended up in the Jaguar Heritage Museum, and it’s been loaned to a restorer,” said Mr Nicholson.
“There was a guy who’s got his own company and specialises in Jaguars. He had his own estate, a conversion by another company. He booked that into the show.
“But because the heritage centre found out he was coming here with his one they said, ‘why do you not bring our one?’ It was this unique one-of-one built by Jaguar.”
