David Essex sang about the wrong type of vehicle, as indeed did Hawkwind; the real deal "silver dream machine" is Vauxhall’s High Perfomance Firenza (HPF), at least in my considered opinion.
This weekend (17th May) saw the Droop Snoot Group (DSG) mark the occasion of the 40th birthday of a truly marvellous motor. The HPF, aka the droopsnoot, launched by Vauxhall in 1974, quite rightly had a party to celebrate - and I went along. This post is to share the occasion and some jolly nice photos with you.
The Heritage Centre, Vauxhall’s museum on the site of the company’s head office, was the venue for the celebrations, which was appropriate given that the car was conceived and built in Luton.
The arrangements followed a tried and tested formula (see an earlier post) which saw vehicles displayed all around the car park outside of the museum’s entrance. Some catering was laid on, some relief facilities were provided and the DSG had a merchandising presence. In addition a presentation was delivered by Roy Cooke, the chief engineer in charge of the HPF development programme back in the seventies – I am sure that I listened to the same stories 15 years ago.
In 1999 I went to the 25th anniversary celebrations for the HPF at Thruxton race circuit. That event was a much larger and more glamorous spectacle that saw more vehicles on show and more of the characters that contributed to the car’s story in attendance. Roy Cooke delivered a similar speech.
Whilst Saturday’s event was rather low key in comparison, some well known figures of the time were present including Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams (racing driver), Gerry Johnstone (racing preparation expert) and Will Sparrow (rally driver). I got chatting to Will because for years I used to have a poster on my bedroom wall celebrating him winning the 1974 RAC Group 1 Rally Championship in a Vauxhall Magnum 2300.
It turned out that Will, whilst driving rally cars for Dealer Team Vauxhall (DTV), had a Vauxhall provided company car that was also used as a press/advertising car. The actual car, WXE266M, was on display and is now owned by Paul Dickinson (I have written about his car before). A picture shows Will Sparrow reunited with his snoot.
Many of those in attendance on Saturday were also present at the Thruxton event in 1999, the effects of 15 years of aging regrettably apparent on all of us – there was much silver/silvering hair present to complement the paintwork on the cars.
Since 1999 some legendary names have passed on, most notably Bill Blydenstein and Gerry Marshall; but their vehicles and their work live on. Gerry Marshall’s Old Nail racing car looked splendid.
The celebrations didn’t end on Saturday because the DSG had also organised a trip to the Millbrook Proving Ground. This took place on the Sunday but unfortunately I wasn’t in a position to attend. It would have been great to see the snoots side by side on the bowl.
Thanks go to the DSG for organising the event, Vauxhall for hosting it and to Will Sparrow for being prepared to chat to a not so young anymore fan. Here’s to Billing in July and the 50th birthday celebrations in 2024.
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P.S. Click on the pictures to enlarge them. I have these images and many more in higher resolution, get in touch if you'd like any sent on to you.
This weekend (17th May) saw the Droop Snoot Group (DSG) mark the occasion of the 40th birthday of a truly marvellous motor. The HPF, aka the droopsnoot, launched by Vauxhall in 1974, quite rightly had a party to celebrate - and I went along. This post is to share the occasion and some jolly nice photos with you.
The Heritage Centre, Vauxhall’s museum on the site of the company’s head office, was the venue for the celebrations, which was appropriate given that the car was conceived and built in Luton.
The arrangements followed a tried and tested formula (see an earlier post) which saw vehicles displayed all around the car park outside of the museum’s entrance. Some catering was laid on, some relief facilities were provided and the DSG had a merchandising presence. In addition a presentation was delivered by Roy Cooke, the chief engineer in charge of the HPF development programme back in the seventies – I am sure that I listened to the same stories 15 years ago.
In 1999 I went to the 25th anniversary celebrations for the HPF at Thruxton race circuit. That event was a much larger and more glamorous spectacle that saw more vehicles on show and more of the characters that contributed to the car’s story in attendance. Roy Cooke delivered a similar speech.
Whilst Saturday’s event was rather low key in comparison, some well known figures of the time were present including Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams (racing driver), Gerry Johnstone (racing preparation expert) and Will Sparrow (rally driver). I got chatting to Will because for years I used to have a poster on my bedroom wall celebrating him winning the 1974 RAC Group 1 Rally Championship in a Vauxhall Magnum 2300.
It turned out that Will, whilst driving rally cars for Dealer Team Vauxhall (DTV), had a Vauxhall provided company car that was also used as a press/advertising car. The actual car, WXE266M, was on display and is now owned by Paul Dickinson (I have written about his car before). A picture shows Will Sparrow reunited with his snoot.
Many of those in attendance on Saturday were also present at the Thruxton event in 1999, the effects of 15 years of aging regrettably apparent on all of us – there was much silver/silvering hair present to complement the paintwork on the cars.
Since 1999 some legendary names have passed on, most notably Bill Blydenstein and Gerry Marshall; but their vehicles and their work live on. Gerry Marshall’s Old Nail racing car looked splendid.
The celebrations didn’t end on Saturday because the DSG had also organised a trip to the Millbrook Proving Ground. This took place on the Sunday but unfortunately I wasn’t in a position to attend. It would have been great to see the snoots side by side on the bowl.
Thanks go to the DSG for organising the event, Vauxhall for hosting it and to Will Sparrow for being prepared to chat to a not so young anymore fan. Here’s to Billing in July and the 50th birthday celebrations in 2024.
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P.S. Click on the pictures to enlarge them. I have these images and many more in higher resolution, get in touch if you'd like any sent on to you.
 |  |  |  |
 Old Nail - Marshall Power |  |  Will Sparrow reunited with his old company car |  Bill Blydenstein lives on |
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