Shelsley Walsh Chill on The Hill

At Car and Classic we’re all about driving classic cars. Much as we love collector cars, we’re here for the road trips, the track days, and the hill climbs, even the weekend wanders around country lanes.

That’s why a few weeks ago I took my 1983 Alfasud to Shelsley Walsh’s Chill on the Hill. The record for covering Shelsley Walsh’s 1000 yards of Worcestershire hillside is 22 secs, topping out at 140mph. My dawdle up added minutes to the time and lopped a ‘1’ off the maximum speed.

You’ll gather, then, that my Shelsley experience is not the story of smoking tyre tracks and door handles grazing tarmac. But it is one of fun and a wish list ticked.

Every year Shelsley holds a ‘Chill on the Hill’ weekend when you can run what you brung. The hillclimb isn’t far from my home, and in recent years I’ve never had the time to go. For similar reasons, I haven’t got much use out of my Alfasud. This year, I decided to address both issues by booking the car for the event. It would be a chance to see how a 105bhp 42-year-old Italian car driven by a 56 year old bloke could show up all the enthusiastic chaps and chapesses in their GT3s and Caterhams. Spoiler alert, it didn’t and I didn’t.

I’ve owned my Alfasud for about 16 years. It’s one of the last of the evocatively named ‘Quadrifoglio Verde’ cars, which is known as the Green Cloverleaf to anyone not born in Turin. These cars had the 1.5L ‘Boxer’ motor and a 10bhp performance tweak to help them bring an old-school twin carburated fight to the early 80s fuel-injected hot hatch party. I hesitate to use the word ‘boost’, so I’ll say that this performance increase meant that 60mph now arrived in single digits, even if that single digit was a 9.

It’s fair to say that in 1983, the Alfasud was quite old. 42 years on, it feels very much like a 70s car in a plastic-clad 80s suit. But, as my car quivered on Shelsley’s start line, it had one ace up its bright red sleeve: the handling.

The Ti may not be particularly quick in a straight line, but it has a remarkable ability to maintain speed whatever the road throws at it. Like sharp bends. Thanks to that Boxer motor and a standard 5spd gearbox, it takes little skill to circumvent even the sharpest of bends without losing much speed. Perfect for a winding hillclimb with a torturous duo of corners simply called the Esses.

Shelsley Walsh is the oldest motorsport venue in continuous use in the world. That may need a moment to sink in. It was established in 1905 and remains largely unchanged, save for a slight extension of the track to 1000 yards. Key to the venue’s appeal is its relaxed vibe and sense of an enthusiast-run venue rather than a corporate money grab. That it also happens to be in an utterly gorgeous corner of Worcestershire certainly helps. Unlike Silverstone or Monaco or Bahrain, you can enjoy the racing and climb to a stunning 180 degree panorama of verdant green countryside. At the same time. It’s an adrenalin fix and a healthy country walk combined. If anything has changed since 1905, it isn’t immediately obvious. There is a working mill and water wheel, and they serve very good sausage sarnies. They really are quite delicious.

I arrived at Shelsley early and parked up in my allotted paddock bay. Helmets were issued. Things felt serious. When the briefing began, they got properly serious. And perhaps, when you’re piloting 700bhp of RS6 up a snaking 1000-yard ribbon of narrow road, they are. I took things seriously, but I felt that I was more at the ‘enjoying the scenery’ end of the hill climb competitive diaspora.

Around 140 cars had entered, ranging from classics like Simcas, V8 TR7s, and TR3s to more modern Porsches and Maseratis. There was an Aston too, but it was a Cygnet. The sheer variety of what arrives and drives is what made wandering the paddock pre-drive fascinating. Likewise, meeting the other drivers – Chill on the Hill brings together enthusiasts rather than competitors. Which is a relief when you have a paltry 105bhp under your right foot.

I was in the first group of cars to go up the hill. I waited, fully helmeted up, for my turn. Despite having plenty of experience driving on tarmac, my nerves were elevated. Luckily, spectators were few – this event tends to attract entrants rather than observers.

I lined the Alfasud up on the start line, letting it roll back slightly to rest on the chock. The marshall made some remark about rain and Alfasuds. I grimaced. Thank goodness for full-face helmets, but maybe my eyes gave me away. I blipped the throttle, partly for show, partly to clear the carbs, partly for something to do.

And we were off. If you’re imagining the sort of tyre-scrabbling, engine-screaming antics of a Le Mans or even the traffic lights by your local Asda on a Saturday night, let me recalibrate for you. The Alfasud progressed. It moved off. It gathered speed. My foot was to the floor, the revs were flying round to 5,000 rpm, but that hill is steeper than it looks, ok?

The advantage of not going very fast is that you don’t have to brake at Kennel Bend, the first corner. You do have to do that in your RS6 or GT3. And you don’t have to lift at Crossing. Ditto. I like to feel that as I passed, a light breeze rippled the neatly cut hedge, and I gave the spectators, such as they were, their money’s worth.

Over successive runs, I got faster, but using that word is misleading. None were very fast. Each run highlighted what I already suspected – that the carbs needed tuned. Their reluctance to gulp fuel was resulting in a major flat spot just at the point where the straight opened out and 4th gear lay within grasp.

But who cares? I did Shelsey Walsh and I enjoyed it. I confirmed that an Alfasud, even one going quite slowly, corners like it’s on rails. These cars have dainty, precise steering that is a world away from modern power-assisted systems. And that flat four sounds superb, even through my pea-shooter factory exhaust.

I recommend a trip to Shelsley Walsh. Even better, if you have a classic, modern or otherwise, drive it up. Chill on The Hill costs £140 per car plus £10/passenger. You get five or more runs, which feels like a bargain. Or just visit the hillclimb. It is one of the most relaxing, eclectic and fascinating venues in the UK and one where you get properly up close and personal with the machinery. With the added benefit of a fitness workout on the climb to the top.

You can find out more about Shelsley Walsh here.