Autoism at Duke of London - 03/06/23
Words and Images by Mitcham Media
Saturday morning started with a nip down the M40 with the sun burning through the cloud cover en route to the Brentford Riviera for the Autoism morning at Duke of London.
Arriving in the sun beside the river the blue road was filling up with an eclectic mix of the weird and wonderful. Not sure the Sultan of Bruni would have anticipated his Maserati would one day be lined up next to a Jordan Civic and a Mini van. As a bit of a Porsche enthusiast there was a nice mix too with a 964 Carrera, 997.2 GT3 and 991 GT3 amongst the crowd.
Keep reading to see more details from the morning in London.
A personal highlight was the green on green Porsche 911 Speedster. There’s something about the shape of the rear which is just stunning and sleek.
The underpinnings of the 991 911 Speedster was similar to the GT3 with the 4.0 flat six pumping out 503 horsepower to the rear wheels and pushing the streamline shape up to 193mph. This 991 variant is the last of the naturally aspirated speedsters.
This stunning spec was chassis number 1413 of the 1948 examples produced world wide. The Brewster Green paint work, colour matched wheels and deep green leather interior is a phenomenal choice by the owner.
The name Speedster has been used by Porsche for decades starting with the 356 Speedster in 1954. The Speedster spec has always been a more raw and visceral, stripped-down version of the road going 911, with a shorter windshield and fabric convertible top.
Interestingly the original light weighting and spec reduction was to produce a lower cost 356 convertible, what it spawned has become an icon.
The term "Speedster" was influenced by Max Hoffman, Porsche's US importer, who believed the name was an improvement over "Carrera Cabriolet."
Sitting beside the 911 Speedster was a pristine Mini van, blemish free paint work and all the period correct additions.
The Mini van was produced from 1959 through till 1982, originally coming with a might 850cc A-Series engine sporting a fear inducing 34 horsepower. Even with the considerable power challenge, the van was capable of carrying around 200kg payloads at speeds of 65mph.
Two mighty Italian Stallions were soaking up the sunlight, A Lancia Delta Integrale and a race prepared Alfa Romeo 105. The 105 chassis was a GTA styled build with the widened stance making it pretty much a square wheelbase, and with the two webber 45’s plumbed into the ground up built engine it sounded mean and ready to race.
Heading inside you’re never quite sure what to expect with bars, cobblers, pizzerias and a full compliment of Duke of London inventory.
Starting off downstairs in the storage area you’re left guessing what’s under the deep green covers with only silhouettes and key features visible to give subtle nods at what’s underneath.
Once again the inventory held by Duke was varied to say the least, from first generation BMW Z3’s and Audi TTs to a Morgan Aero 8, more Range Rover classics than you know what to do with, classic Ferraris and American Muscle cars.
The mix of art work, memorabilia, art work and neon signs gives the whole show room an epic feeling.
As always, Duke of London has helped to put on an excellent event which shows why the UK car culture can be so good with everyone coming together for a love of all things cars. The chatter around the site was excellent with the mix of vehicles being a great talking and learning point.
Thank you to Merlin (Duke of London) and Leon (Autoism) for organising an excellent morning, and thank you to all the owners who came along in their cars providing some amazing opportunities to see and photograph some interesting vehicles.
Check out more photos from the morning below.
