International Racing Car Show then and now - 09/01/2012
The Autosport International Racing Car Show gets under way at the NEC in Birmingham this weekend (January 12-15), reviving memories of my first visit to the event imore than 40 years ago.
The 1971 show was opened by Jack Brabham at Olympia and featured a wide variety of machines, ranging from F1 to Can-Am.
A Yardley BMR P153 sat alongside Chris Amon's March 701 and Denny Hulme's McLaren M14A, while centre-stage was taken by Jochen Rindt's championship-winning Gold Leaf Team Lotus 72.
A Matra Simca 650 complete with headlights and scratches took pride of place in the sports car section next to a Gulf Porsche 917 and the McLaren M8D that Denny Hulme drove to victory in the 1970 Can-Am championship.
The show programme cost three shillings (15p) and featured an advert for Peco big bore silencers costing 77 shillings (£3.85).
