The end of August means one thing, the return of the Retro Rides Gathering (RRG) to Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb in Worcester… A mix of club stands, retro parking and of course some intense cars giving it hell up that famous RWYB hillclimb. A day of adrenaline, petrol fumes and burning rubber – what more could a petrolhead want at a car show? What we love about RRG is the variety of vehicles that turn up every year.. It’s a rather ‘anti-scene’ show – this is the place where a retro classic that is a little rough around the edges will shine over a typical ‘show car’ that’s had a full respray, retrim and air install, although there were still plenty of the latter getting recognition. This is the event where cars that will normally stay hidden away throughout the year, will make an annual appearance at RRG. There’s something special about this show, you just have to be there to fully appreciate it. Take the hillclimb for example, you’ll see everything from a Metro to a full bore race car blasting up there – jaw dropping!
Things were unfortunately a little quieter this year, due to a disastrous weather forecast which no doubt put a lot of people off the idea of coming to a venue which is essentially situated on a grassy, hilly field. With that in mind, the turnout was still pretty good, with plenty to keep you entertained. We had a few hours in the morning to get round the venue before one of the worst rainstorms we’d ever seen came down in full force…
Honda Prelude Thundersaloon
DS Motorsport’s BMW 2800 CS
Mark Fandango’s BMW E30 M3 on KW suspension & BBS Magnesium split rims
Land Rover 101 Forward Control
(see what we mean by varied! Going up the hillclimb, too!)
Liam Stolton’s Mk2 Ford Fiesta
Whitspeed’s Mk1 Ford Escort
Charlie Croker’s bagged 1977 Lotus S1 Elite
Austin Watts’ (Waboo Automotive) 1967 Commer Car-Camper
Tom Earwicker’s Volkswagen Mk1 Golf on G60 banded steels
Lee Curtis’ Volvo 240 estate
Pipey McGraw’s 1952 split-oval (Zwitter) Beetle on hydraulic suspension & narrowed beam
Coltech Classics’ 1930 Ford Model A pickup
Josh Pritchard’s Ford Mk4 Zodiac wagon
Ryan Flyng-Jones’ & Charlie Evans’ BMW E28’s
Ellz Henderson’s Toyota Corolla AE86 on 14″ Impul’s
Scott Andrews’ Datsun 140Y B310
Jamie Carter’s 1988 Nissan Laurel w/Skyline RB25DET swap
Lotus Esprit 3
Robert Cumberbatch & James Ibbotson’s Hillman Imp’s
Mercury Marauder
Phill Hall’s BMW E30 coupe on Image split rims
Dean Flowers’ Mercedes-Benz W140
Simon Finnegan’s Volvo 240 on Ferrari 308 wheels
Jake Ryan’s bagged BMW E30 318is on OZ Futura’s
Matthew Veal’s Toyota Cressida
BMW E21 w/M60B40 V8 conversion
Rich Tapp’s Nissan Skyline R32 on Fifteen52 Tarmac wheels
Greg Fulford’s Volvo 240 GL
Lewis Webb’s Honda EF Civic sedan
Mazda B2000 pickup on air ride
Matt Creed’s bagged BMW E30 on 16″ WORK Meister CR01′s
Kevin Fitzgerald’s bagged BMW E30 325i Touring on Klutch SL1 wheels
(Click here to check out our feature on Kevin’s E30)
Vauxhall Nova saloon
The Motorworks lineup
Tom Harris’ Volkswagen Mk2 Golf on BBS RM’s
Ian Woodridge’s bagged 1969 Mercedes-Benz W114 (w/install by Studio Incar)
Steph Clarke’s BMW E30 ‘loon
Sam Beach’s bagged BMW E24 635CSI (w/install by Studio Incar)
Volkswagen Mk2 Golf GTI on BBS RS
BMW 2002
BMW E36 coupe
Triumph Vitesse
James Mc’s Volkswagen Mk1 Jetta
Ever wanted to see what a Volvo V70 looks like on fire? This unfortunate example randomly went up in flames!
That sums up our highlights of the show before the bad weather hit and made it somewhat impossible to shoot. Amazingly people still stuck around during the torrential rain, and those waiting to go up the hillclimb didn’t even seem put off, continuing to send the cars up until the end of the day. Impressive, yet mad! After spending the whole weekend in the campsite, we however decided to call it a day at about 2pm and made our way home. Despite the rain, Retro Rides Gathering continues to surprise us every year, it will always be at the top of the list for hunting out unseen cars and including the ones you only see once a year. Finally, thanks to the organisers for having us!