Sunday Scramble returns to Bicester Heritage
Bicester Heritage opened its gates to the public for the first time in 2017 on January 8, as the first Sunday Scramble of the year returned to the historic motoring community.
Sunday saw specialist businesses open their doors to more than 1,000 guests of all ages as the twelfth instalment of the event took centre stage in the wake of Scrambles past. Visitors were able to explore behind the scenes of more than 30 dedicated restoring businesses and admire the displays of historic motorcars and aircraft spanning 100 years of automotive and aviation history.
Bicester Heritage was recently crowned the Industry Supporter of the Year at the 2016 International Historic Motoring Awards (IHMA). The event was a fitting way for visitors to become immersed in the atmosphere of this supportive ecosystem of business, skills and engineering expertise.
Home to serviced vehicle storage firms, specialist dealers, an upholsterer, vintage car radiator manufacturer, exhaust fabricator, classic car service centre, grand-prix car preparation, and more, Bicester Heritage is regarded as the home of the classic car and a one-stop-shop for its owner.
The Scramble is one of few events where you can see the likes of a Ferrari F40 parked alongside a BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile, a line-up of vintage Bentleys and Austin 7s, a grouping of legendary two-stroke RD350 YPVS and RD400 motorbikes, and a Tiger Moth biplane, in all their glory, in the same place.
The Scramble marked a first for a new Bicester Heritage specialist, The MG Automobile Company, specialising in pre-War MG parts, and Hagerty International hosted its fifth live Valuation Arena at the event, allowing classic car owners to have their vehicle assessed by a team of experts who provide a valuation certificate.
The first Sunday Scramble of the year also provided visitors with the chance to sample the charming dereliction of the unrestored buildings of the former RAF base, before Bicester Heritage rolls out its fourth phase of restoration. More than 70 per cent of the site has been carefully restored and reactivated for modern commercial use so far, using 1930s British Standard colours, period correct brickwork and roof tiles.
The completion of phase four means an extra 30,000 square feet of workshop, office and engineering space, effectively bringing the majority of the historic Technical Site to completion.