Description
As evidenced by a certificate from the BRITISH MOTOR INDUSTRY HERITAGE TRUST, the car was built in May 1982 and originally exported to Italy. According to the original British owner, who I met by chance on a Paris street twenty years ago, he originally bought the car for use at his family holiday home in Portugal, where it remained until October 1987, when it was brought back to and registered in the UK.
I then acquired it in July 1998 and the car was then registered in my name in the UK, and has subsequently been kept in France as an occasional-use collector vehicle since the early 2000s.
As the insurer was no longer able to insure vehicles registered abroad, the car was cleared through customs and registered in France as a collector's vehicle in 2023. Its original colour was "vogue bleu" with a beige interior, but the first owner had it repainted grey and had the seats covered with tartan fabric in keeping with his family's Scottish and Portuguese origins.
The brakes have recently been completely rebuilt, as has the cooling system, with an overhaul of the engine and replacement of a cylinder head gasket, as well as painting of the wheels and bodywork. The fairly corroded floorboards and suspension remain to be overhauled. I have owned this car for twenty-seven years, but given my age, I would like to entrust its further restoration to another enthusiast.
