We stumbled across these very lovely images from the Rolls/Bentley brochure recently and were taken aback by the range of truly beautiful cars that were being produced in England at the time.

These wonderful cars were of course heading up the high-end. But there was at each echelon of British motoring a choice selection of vehicles with real panache.

From Aston’s DB 3 right down to the MGA — taking in Bristol’s sports cars and of course Jaguar’s XK series on the way — the English motorist, as long as he had a bit of cash at his disposal, was spoilt for choice.

For us we would have gone for the Bentley Continental Park Ward coupé convertible (above) — preferably in patriotic racing green with, perhaps, a deep chocolate brown hood and leather to match.

Perfect for both intercontinental dash to the Riviera as well as negotiating the elegant streets of Mayfair and Belgravia.

For some reason, it has only just come to our atention that the Datsun Roadster series of cars are an extremely pretty collection of open top sportsters.

These sunny sundays we’ve been blessed with of late have been great for classic car spotting. The English summer sun has a habit of teasing out blooms that spend at the dark, colder months locked up in storage.

This weekend we caught a fleeting glance of a pod of Datsun Roadsters burbling prettily along a country lane. At least one of our party reckoned that they’re “like MGB roadsters, only prettier and, somehow, cooler”.

We couldn’t agree more. And in fact, you can’t help thinking that the Datsun corporation must have been inspired by MG to produce an entry level sports car to compete with the tweedier, stuffier Morris — particularly in North America.

Strange loungecore movie featuring a Datsun Roadster here.

Today the word “extreme” has very fixed connotations: danger, excitement, even borderline ridiculous.

But when you think about it, the people that make this festival what it is are true Automotive extremists. The lengths to which those involved will go to ensure the authenticity of the revival experience is incredible.

Whether it be the invitation-only racers, the individuals’ outfits, or the newspaper wrapped fish and chips, every detail of retro culture at the annual tweed fest is exact.

But The revival is not just about British motoring culture, and there the place is plastered with material other than tweed. It also draws in a legion of aviation enthusiasts, who lust over beautiful pieces of Aeronautical design, like the P51 Mustang. This year’s Revivalists were treated also to a spectacular flypast by a Lancaster bomber and a duo of Spitfires to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

There’s the Hotrodders with their girls dolled up in classic Americana that screams of chrome-clad diners and milkshakes, there’s the old boys in leather helmets, the cheeky burlesque girls and their curves and lipstick. Good wood at the time of th revival is a sort of Bermuda triangle that sucks in people seeking refuge from the aesthetically converged contemporary culture: and a place where they can safely revel in nostalgia. Even if that nostalgia is for a time most of the attendees have never known.

And it seems to be contagious. Over the last few years entrance figures to the Revival has skyrocketed — as have attendance to other shindigs like Race Retro; this year’s Vintage at Goodwood was a multi-faceted newcomer and a great success — and events like thissure to be a regular on the sumer calendar from here on in.

What makes these events so increasingly popular? As these glory years get further and further away from living memory are people more desperate to cling on? Or is it merely that vintage is becoming ever more fashionable as the demographic grows more aged with every generation?

Here is a selection of photos from this year’s Revival to help you decide.

Pics by John Isaac

The MG EX — E was rather ahead of its time. Used as a test bed for future AR platforms, you can still see the embryonic MGF embedded deep in its spacey lines. And you don’t have to squint to see the side profile of the second generation Toyota MR2 and the Ford Probe.

Seeing former concepts from grand old badges like the MG makes you blanche at the way the marque has been devalued since the grand old days.

While Lotus are keeping the candle burning for (sort of) accessible Brit sports cars, we’re hoping the machinations of Chinese co-operation finally end up producing an MG sports car to which we can truly aspire.

On this particular day, when we’ve been saturated with admonitions to change your own and your neighbour’s lives by sticking a little cross next to one politician or another’s name, we thought that the various spin doctors of party politics could take a leaf out of this brazen Beemer bike ad from the seventies.

And we’re sure you know that size is not the measure of true happiness. But surely British leyland were pushing the boundaries a bit when they put forward the Mini as the answer to contentment.

But in the way that this woman is lovingly assisting with the safety of the situation with the handbrake, we think that the MG Midget just might be the answer. Maybe size doesn’t matter, after all.

Did you see our future classics feature in issue 6? We selected 10 current-ish cars, which our experts think have the best chance of becoming a genuine future classic in years to come.

But, if you’re like me, you probably disagree with the choices our so called experts made, and here’s your chance to do something about it.

For starters you can vote on which of our choices you think is the most likely future classic in our poll, here are some pictures of our 10 to help you choose.

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Second, you can suggest another car that you think should have made the list. So if you think the Rover 75 V8 is a steaming pile which is going to be outlasted and outloved by the Jaguar S Type, simply tell us as much in a comment on this post. And you can do likewise if you think that the Renault Avantime is a singularly pointless car that needs forgetting like a bad dream and replacing with a car that actually serves a purpose, like the Audi TT Mk1.

We’ll even see if we can come up with a small mystery prize for the best argued case for future classic status*, so get those thinking caps on.

A couple of rules to make it a bit more interesting:
1.) No out-and-out supercars or uber-luxury brands — cars with a Rolls-Royce or Ferrari badge can’t help but become classics — I’m looking for suggestions that anyone could aspire to.
2.) No ‘cult’ revivals, so new Mini, new Beetle and new Fiat 500 are all out — regardless of how great these cars are in themselves, their classic status is virtually guaranteed by their inspirational forebears.

*We’ll decide the winner at the end of October.