Rescue mission for British classics

Research by a leading classic car insurer, ClassicLine has revealed that a number of once popular British classic cars are close to disappearing.

The list of top 10 most under threat cars in Britain has been published by the insurance specialists as part of it’s new ‘Save our Classics’ campaign. Taking the top spot on the list is the British Leyland built, Morris Ital. The new figures revealing that there are only 35 registered examples left.

The new data also highlights the decimation of the iconic Ford Sierra with over 64,000 being lost in the last decade. Less than one per cent of the total built now remain.

Other cars high on the Save our Classics list include the 1980’s best seller, the Austin Metro, the once popular Ford Cortina, the Austin Allegro, the Vauxhall Victor and the Hillman Avenger.

The new Save our Classics campaign, launched by ClassicLine encourages the preservation of British classic cars and has called for a number of incentives such as reducing the current UK road tax exemption from 40 years to 30 years to help enthusiasts maintain the dwindling stock.

Save our Classics Top 10	2015	2005	Amount built	% lost
Morris Ital (1980 – 1984)	35	185	175,276	99.98004
Austin Maxi (1969 – 1981)	140	318	472,098	99.97035
Austin Allegro (1973-1982)	170	543	642,340	99.97354
Vauxhall Chevette (1975 – 1984)	202	765	416,058	99.95145
Hillman Avenger (1970-1981)	215	291	638,631	99.96634
Morris Marina (1971 – 1980)	273	550	809,612	99.96629
Austin Metro (1980 – 1991)	464	8395	1,518,932	99.96946
Vauxhall Victor (1961 – 1978)	828	1050	827,159	99.8999
Ford Sierra (1982 – 1993)	3350	67817	3,470,524	99.90348
Ford Cortina	3580	4967	4,154,902	99.91384