A Very English Car Scandal

Suffering from cars on the brain

Car nuts like me aren’t able to just watch and enjoy films and TV series like most normal folk. No, while others follow the plot, we can’t help scanning the background for any sign of an interesting car. What’s more, I usually have to point out what they are in great detail to my long-suffering wife.

A good example was the very enjoyable series, A Very English Scandal, about the controversial affairs of former British leader of the Liberal Party, Sir Jeremy Thorpe.

As much as I enjoyed the series and excellent performance by Hugh Grant and the rest of the very fine cast, the cars that would appear in the background constantly draw my attention away from the main storyline.

In this instance, the production team not only found totally period correct vehicles, but they also managed to feature particularly obscure variants. Cars that I just about remembered existed at all. And, just to tease me further, they often allowed just passing glimpses to see if I was really paying attention.

Limited automotive excitement in Dublin

We briefly nip over to Dublin where we spot a Morris Oxford VI taxi, a car worthy of, well, nothing that I can recall.  I mean, who aspired to Morris ownership? Next, to the Oxford taxi, we see a Ford Anglia 105E type van – can’t be many of those left now.

When we return to the UK scenes, an Austin A60 makes an appearance. Keep an eye out for one of those forgettable Austin’s in the country village when Jeremy Thorpe bumps into his boyfriend once more. Pininfarina styling at its most uninspired – how many millions did they make out of the BMC Group in the 1960s? In the background is one of the many Morris Minor’s that appear in the series.

Weird rear windows – reverse rake and concave

There was no time to relax, shortly afterward there’s a Ford Consul Classic parked on screen. Not to be confused with a common old Consul, it was the very rare 1961-’63 109E model, with reverse rake rear window, as first seen on the smaller Anglla105E model (and Edsel!).

Then we briefly see a Vauxhall Victor, the one I had almost forgotten, the bulbous 101 model, with a concave rear window. What was it with this obsession with weird rear window designs? I recall my old Citroen CX had a concave rear window too, “not many people know that”, as Michael Caine would say.

It’s a miracle I’m keeping up with the story because I spy a Commer van with semi-enclosed wheels, just like an old Corgi model I had as a kid. It’s funny how these things trigger memories of things I thought I’d have forgotten. (My wife pretended she was interested in my sharp observations as she chose to concentrate on the storyline, not the background vehicles).

In some of the busier scenes, we catch a glance of a few other 1970’s classics, like the yellow Triumph 1500, a dark blue/black Mini saloon and a brown Ford Granada lurking behind the crowd.

A rare Jag and a Stag

Obviously, we saw plenty of Sir Jeremy, brown trilby stylishly askew, driving his Rover 3.5 Saloon then, later, his white Triumph Stag. A kind of poor man’s Mercedes Benz SL, in my view, but not a bad old thing I suppose, despite the engine problems.

There was no time to become complacent, however, soon I spy a black Jaguar Mk 1 saloon, so much more stylish to my eyes than the more revered and popular MkII model. Hmmm, I wouldn’t mind one of those, with a 3.4-litre motor and wire wheels – poor Mike Hawthorn died in his, sadly. This one, with one hubcap missing,  is probably a cooking 2.4-litre model. Still looks cool to my eyes though.

The killer most ordinary

Next up, we see the villain/idiot/hired killer, who drives a Honda Civic (first series) in yellow, with a horrible vinyl roof. I recall vinyl roofs were all the rage for in the seventies.  I wonder why they were so popular, they looked tacky then and now.

He (the villain) switched to a beaten-up Ford Cortina Mk1 when he was ready to kill his victim.  I think I  managed to identify most things automotive up to this point, but the sharp-eyed might tell me where I went wrong.

What was the 1930’s tourer?

A really tricky one for me was when we see the interior view of a 1930’s open tourer, in grey with a deep red leather interior. Obviously, an upmarket machine and my best guess would be a Bentley 3 1/2 litre or 4  1/4 litre tourer, although it might be an Alvis Speed 20/25.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure, especially because many British car makers used the same coachbuilders at times. If we saw the radiator grill it would be much easier – they are testing us, surely? Please correct me if you know what it is, I’d love to know.

The thirties tourer passes a Volvo 244 and another bloody Morris Minor behind that. So British they kind of blend into the scenery.

More teasers

Two other cars had me slightly baffled too. In the background of one scene with the yellow Honda Civic in the foreground, I see a rear view of something that doesn’t look quite right. An Austin 1800? No, wrong tail lights. An Austin Maxi? Maybe, but why is it a two-tone? They never made a Maxi in two-tone originally. I still think it’s a Maxi, though somebody might prove me wrong. Again.

The other puzzler was another rear view. It looked like a Hillman Hunter, but why does it have a vinyl roof? I’ve no idea if it’s original or aftermarket. I shouldn’t care, but I do.  Was it the more upmarket Singer version perhaps? There’s a mere second of the rear aspect before, annoyingly, the director moves on. Bastard.

My spotter’s list also notes a Rover 2000 and, a rare one this, a Triumph Herald estate car, and  Police ‘Panda’ Minor 1000.

So that’s my slightly abnormal review of A Very English Scandal, a wonderful production that I can thoroughly recommend to normal people and car nuts alike. 10 out of 10 for the series and 10 out of 10 for finding totally correct period vehicles throughout. Nice work.