Rewind to the 80s

The 80s gets a bad rap as the decade of excess. Big hair, big shoulders, big spoilers on your car. But there's one 80s icon we've discovered that proves that in the era of bigger is better, less meant more.
We're talking about the Peugeot 205 GTI. Light and small with a minute 1600cc engine and pleasing lack of go-faster paraphernalia, we've just rediscovered how good the 205 GTI is. The Great Escape Classic Car Hire Peugeot has just returned from a few weeks of fettling that has returned the car to the B-road banzai it should be. Frankly, this is one heck of a car.
23 years since our 1988 car was built and we're not sure its combination of peppy, rev-happy acceleration and go-kart like handling precision have been bettered. Here is a front drive car that entertains along every inch of the road. The steering is super-direct, with plenty of feedback, and the handling is a delight. The 205 doesn't achieve handling greatness at the exclusion of driver input and skill, in the way that say a Mazda MX5 does. This is a car you have to drive, that has character and verve. And it will catch you out. The Peugeot's lift off oversteer is the stuff of legends - for good reason. Release the throttle mid-bend and chances are you're going to hit the greenery. But it's these flaws that make the MX5 great. There are plenty of faster cars that will get you from A to B more safely and with less effort, but that isn't the point of a driver's car.
Today the Peugeot 205 GTI has to be the ultimate classic car bargain. Good examples start at £1500. They're easy to fix, pretty reliable and economical too. And at that price, sacrilige it may be, but if it goes seriously wrong, scrap it. There are plenty about.
Having driven E Types, Jensens, Astons and Porsches that cost more to service than the Peugeot costs to buy, frankly I'm amazed more people haven't caught on to the Peugeot 205 GTI. We'd like to see more people hire this amazing little car - and at just £95 for 24 hours, including unlimited mileage, it must surely be the most enjoyable way for a classic fan to spend under £100.
The Peugeot5 205 GTI is available to hire from our Cotswolds site near Stratford Upon Avon. For more details call 01527 893733 or visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/.

Great Escape Classic Car Hire has introduced a new range of low cost 1980s classic cars for hire. Based at the company's Cotswolds HQ, the new cars are available to hire with the best value hire package on the market.
The range of new cars are from the 1980s and include a Saab 900 Turbo 16S, Peugeot 205 GTI, VW Golf GTI Mk1 and Rover SD1 Vitesse. Prices are just £95 for 24 hours use or £160 for a 48 hour weekend, including unlimited mileage, comprehensive insurance and full nationwide AA breakdown cover.
"Our customers want to drive the cars they remember from their youth and 1980s classic cars are the next thing in classic car hire," explains Graham Eason of Great Escape. "We've put together a range of iconic classic cars from the 1980s and by sheer chance, most of them are finished in period bright red.
"Some people are a little sniffy about 1980s classic cars but the Saab, Peugeot, VW and Rover are simply brilliant drivers cars. We can offer them so cheaply because they are more reliable than our older fleet - so they cost us less to run."
For more details on the new range of low cost classic cars to hire from Great Escape Classic Car Hire visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/ or call 01527 893733.
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Rover SD1 is cover star

The Great Escape Classic Car Hire Rover SD1 Vitesse is the star of a great feature on buying one of these rare British saloons in the February 2011 issue of Classic Car Mart. The article extolls the virtues of the big Rover, which was the last 'true Brit' Rover before the company partnered up with Honda to develop its saloon car range.
The Great Escape Rover SD1 Vitesse was chosen to illustrate the piece because it is in excellent condition. When we acquired the car in March 2010 it was in very good condition but we have continuously improved it over the intervening months. The car is one of the last Rover SD1s ever built and features the limited production high performance Twin Plenum version of the venerable Rover 3500 V8 engine.
The Rover SD1 Vitesse is one of a small group of 1980s cars that are both rare and increasingly sought after. Prices have risen dramatically in the last couple of years as good examples are snapped up. The car is part of Great Escape Classic Car Hire's new 1980s classic car rental fleet, which also includes a Ford Capri, VW Golf GTI and Jaguar XJS.
"1980s classic cars are becoming increasingly sought after," explains Graham Eason of Great Escape. "In the current straightened economic times it makes sense to hire the classic car of your youth rather than buy one."
For more details on the Rover SD1 Vitesse visit www.greatescapecars.co.uk or call 01527 893733.
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Porsche or Aston Martin - now you can decide

Great Escape Classic Car Hire is helping motoring fans live out their fantasies with two further additions to its UK classic and modern classic car hire fleet. The company has added a 1982 ice white Porsche 911, complete with iconic 'whale tale', and a beautiful gunmetal metallic Aston Martin DB9 Volante supercar.
The new self drive hire cars are available for rental from Great Escape's Worcestershire base on the edge of the Cotswolds. This is a great starting point for exploring the Cotswolds, Welsh Borders, Shropshire hills or Forest of Dean. The Porsche 911 and Aston Martin DB9 can be rented by the day or weekend and are suitable for weddings - on a self drive or chauffeur hire basis - or for a great day out to create a weekend break or celebrate a special birthday or anniversary.
The new Porsche 911 complements Great Escape's existing 1967 Porsche 911 in Suffolk. It is a 1982 3.2 litre Carrera in ice white with tan interior and five speed manual gearbox. It has seating for two adults and two children.
The Aston Martin DB9 Volante is a very high quality convertible fitted with a power hood, automatic gearbox - with paddle shifts - and 6 litre V12 engine. The gunmetal grey paintwork is complemented by a burgundy leather interior.
"These are two fantastic cars that will suit enthusiasts as well as anyone who just wants a great car for the weekend," explains Graham Eason of Great Escape. "They join or Worcestershire fleet, which is ideally located for visiting some great and scenic places and accessible from London, Birmingham and Manchester."
Both cars are backed by Great Escape's comprehensive hire package. This includes a full 24 hours use for every day booked, insurance for 1 driver and, AA breakdown cover. The Porsche is available with unlimited mileage and the Aston Martin price includes 150 miles per day.
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Police using Rover SD1 again

We were very interested to read in today's Times newspaper (17th June 2010) that the UK police have gone back to using trusty Rover SD1 V8 saloons, like the one we hire out here at Great Escape. Apparently with felons to apprehend nearby and a dearth of modern patrol cars in the car park, officers at Ruislip in Middlesex had to use a Rover 3500 SD1 kept in the police car pool.

The Rover SD1, in full police livery complete with blue flashing lights, apparently belongs to one of the officers at the station and is one of three police-liveried cars that he owns. He also has a 1962 Jaguar Mk2 and a 1956 Wolseley. In similar circumstances with the long arm of the law to extend, for us it would have been a toss up between the Mk2 and SD1 - the Jaguar Mk2 is more powerful (220 bhp according to Jaguar, versus 155bhp for the Rover) but the SD1 copes better with taking corners on the doorhandles. We are told.

Full marks to the police and we hope the miscreants were apprehended. Perhaps they gave up - after all, who'd want to miss a cosseting ride in the big 80s Rover?

You can imagine recreating the scene with Great Escape Classic Car Hire's 1986 Rover SD1 Vitesse - the ultimate high performance limited production Twin Plenum model. You can hire it by the day or weekend with classic car hire prices starting at £165 for 24 hours, including insurance and unlimited mileage.

Jaguar XJ6 adds 1970s glamour to photoshoot

A 1974 Jaguar XJ6 saloon from Great Escape Classic Car Hire has been specially selected for a glamorous fashion shoot because of its distinctive colour scheme. The creative team from fashion label Tucker loved the Sable with green interior Jaguar XJ6 Series 2 car and decided to feature it in the photo shoot for their new catalogue.
Great Escape delivered the car to The Master Shipwright's House in Deptford, London on Easter Friday at 7am for the day-long photo shoot. The unique waterfront location was selected to suit Tucker's London-themed shoot. The Jaguar XJ6 was chosen as a typically British 1970s saloon car and the colour scheme fitted right into the period feel.
The Tucker shoot is one of several music video and static photoraphy location projects that have featured Great Escape cars in 2010.
"We have a lot of experience of working with production teams," says Graham Eason of Great Escape. "It's important to be flexible. This shoot was short notice, on a Bank Holiday and involved a very early start. But we like that kind of challenge.
"Our 1974 Jaguar XJ6 saloon has quite an unusual colour scheme, which was very fashionable in the 1970s but lost favour in the 1980s and 1990s. We think it makes the car stand out, which is what you want when you hire a car. It's great to see that the car is once again fashionable."
The Great Escape Jaguar XJ6 is available to hire by the day, week or weekend from Great Escape Classic Car Hire's Worcestershire base.
For more details visit the Great Escape website.

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Capri braves the snow again

Last week I had to swap cars between Great Escape Classic Car Hire's Suffolk and Worcestershire sites. Since one of the cars being moved was our 1984 Ford Capri 2 litre S readers of this blog will know that inevitably it snowed. Snow and our Capri are like gin and tonic - whenever one appears, the other closely follows. Fortunately the Cappa, as it's known, excels in the slushy stuff despite being rear wheel drive. It is light and very easy to control with narrow tyres, all of which helps it plough easily through the snow.

This time we got caught in a blizzard on the A14 east of Kettering. The snow fell rapidly and quickly clogged up the roads, causing lorries to slide into ditches and bringing traffic speeds right down. The weather worsened as we headed west but by 9.30pm we had made it as far as Stratford Upon Avon. Problems on the A46 Stratford to Alcester section - caused by a steep hill - nearly forced us to abort and B&B overnight in a deserted Stratford. But the mighty Ford Capri pulled through and a hairy detour via snowy roads to Bidford finally got us through.

So thanks again to the Ford Capri. The Ford Capri S will be heading back to Suffolk in early March when our Ford Capri 280 Brooklands arrives in Worcestershire. So Capri fans - or anyone who fancies a 1980s fix - can hire a Ford Capri from Suffolk or Worcestershire from Great Escape.

To find out more about the Ford Capri cars for hire visit the Great Escape website or call 01527 893733.

Bodmin or Bust

Bodmin is a long way from the Great Escape HQ in Worcestershire. So when the Historic and Classic-car Hirers Guild (HCHG) decided to hold its AGM in Cornwall's former judicial centre our first thought at Great Escape was - which car shall we take?

The obvious choice for the wet weather, 225 mile mainly motorway jaunt was either the Porsche 928 or the Jaguar XJR saloon. These mile munchers are perfect for long distance travel being extremely comfortable, very fast and very relaxed at motorway speeds. Except by the time the AGM came around both of these cars were out on hire with customers.

So we took the Alfasud. Our 1984 Alfa Romeo Alfasud Green Cloverleaf is new to our fleet. Like all of our new cars it has to have a minimum 500 mile 'shakedown' before it goes on hire to iron out any problems. So what better way to do it than a trip down to Bodmin?

The Alfasud performed faultlessly, holding a steady - if a little noisy - 70 all the way from Worcestershire to Bodmin via a short stop in Paignton. For 6 hours it battled torrential rain, wind and bad motorway drivers to reach Cornwall. And the next day it did it went all the way back again.

Over 450 miles the plucky little Alfasud used just 70 litres of fuel and held a steady engine temperature and oil pressure. So who says Alfas are unreliable?

We bought the Alfasud at the end of 2009 and have spent the last few months steadily fettling it to a hire standard. The car was already in excellent condition - it was used as a dealer showroom exhibit for many years - but needed detailing to bring it up to the standard we expect. After 18 months off the road it sailed through its MOT.

The Great Escape Classic Car Hire Alfasud is now available to hire from our Worcestershire site. It is part of our growing fleet of 1980s classics, joining our existing Jaguar XJS convertible, Porsche 928, VW Golf GTI and Ford Capris.

Alfasud for hire

At Great Escape we're all about great cars and there are few better than the mighty Alfa Romeo Alfasud. There are less than 100 Alfasuds left in the UK and now you can drive the only one for hire in the world. Grab a unique chance to drive one of the best handlng front wheel drive cars ever made. If like us you grew up in the 70s and 80s, the Alfasud is for you....

Great Escape Classic Car Hire has extended its fleet of retro 1980s classic vehicles for hire with the addition of a 1984 Alfa Romeo Alfasud. The Alfasud is available to hire from Great Escape's Cotswolds base near the M5, M40 and M42. The location is ideal for exploring the Cotswolds, Welsh Borders or Shropshire. Great Escape also operates bases in Dorset and Suffolk.
Great Escape operates a fleet of 50 classic cars across the UK and is busy developing its fleet of retro 1980s classic cars. As well as the Alfasud the company has cars from the 1980s like the Ford Capri, Porsche 928, VW Golf GTI and Jaguar XJS.
The Alfa Romeo Alfasud is available to hire with Great Escape's transparent hire package. This give you a full 24 hours use for every day you book, unlimited mileage, insurance and, breakdown cover. So the price you see is the full price you pay.
For more details on the Alfasud visit Great Escape's website or call 01527 893733.
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New Mercedes Classic Car Hire Fleet

Great Escape Classic Car Hire has teamed up with Classic Mercerdes Hire to create the largest fleet of Mercedes classic cars for hire in the UK. The classic cars are available to rent from the company's Worcestershire base and include classic convertibles, coupes and saloons from the 1960s to 1990s.
Great Escape now offers the widest choice of classic Mercedes to hire in the UK from its base in Worcestershire. the fleet of 10 classic Mercedes Benz coupes, convertibles and saloons is the result of a partnership with specialist Classic Mercedes Hire.
The cars range from the 1960s to 1990s and include the elegant Pagoda as well as examples of the company's best coupes, convertibles and saloons from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
The new Mercedes Benz hire fleet is ideal for a weekend away or a wedding. Many of the cars are 'modern classics' from the 1980s and 1990s and will appeal to customers who want the distinctive style of a classic car with the convenience of a modern car.
The new fleet is available to hire with Great Escape's fully transparent classic car hire package. This includes a full 24 hours use for every day booked, unlimited mileage, insurance and breakdown cover.
To find out more visit Great Escape Classic Car Hire or call 01527 893733.
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Rewind to the 1980s

When your business is running a classic car hire fleet you can end up spending quite a disproportionate amount of your time ruminating on what's going to be the next classic car that everyone will want to drive.

At Great Escape we like trying to second guess what cars people will want that we don't already have. Certain cars like MGBs, Jaguar E Types, Morris Minors and Jaguar Mk2 will always be popular. But for many customers in their 30s and 40s these are cars from an older era. What we've realised is that people love the cars they grew up with.

So here at Great Escape Classic Car Hire we've rolled up the sleeves on our collective white jacket, pulled up our white socks, smoothed down our rumbled Stay-Press trousers and donned our comedy baseball cap with cap-mounted beer and drinking straw to ponder the 1980s.

The decade that fashion apparently forgot is now actually extremely fashionable. Pop stars have raced to revisit the age of gold Bacofoil jumpsuits and frightwig hair. And we're racing to cars like the Rover SD1, VW Golf GTI, Porsche 928, Jaguar XJS, Ford Capri and Ford Granada Ghia X. These cars epitimosed motoring 1980s-style and if you're like us you'll remember seeing or being in these cars when shorts were something you wore rather than something to help you unwind.

We've spent the last 12 months developing our fleet of 1980s cars and several iconic classic cars from this list are already on our fleet. If you fancy rewinding the clock and either getting behind the wheel of a car you've always loved or reliving your first car or your dad's car, call us on 01527 893733 or visit the Great Escape Classic Car Hire website.

Keep a classic original or improve it?

It's an age old debate amongst classic car enthusiasts. Do you keep your cherished classic car original or is it alright to sympathetically upgrade it - or even radically customise it?

For the Great Escape classic car hire fleet I've always been strongly on the side of originality, but an issue with our VW Golf GTI has made me challenge my position somewhat.

We have been gradually improving our Volkswagen Golf GTI since we bought it and I've finally decided to bite the bullet and replace the engine. This car is one of the last 1600cc fuel injected Golf GTIs before Volkswagen replaced this original engine with an 1800cc version. Ideally, sticking to my ethos of originality, I'd drop in a replacement 1.6 engine. The trouble is they're extremely hard to come by.

There are plenty of 1.8 litre Golf GTI Mk1 engines around, many in excellent condition, but the smaller capacity motor is much harder to come by. So I'm faced with a dilemma - hold fire and wait for a decent 1600cc engine to come along or plump for a 1800cc upgrade?

After giving it some thought we're going to go with the 1800 engine because I want the car to be mint, quickly, for customers and I guess the 1.8 litre engine was virtually concurrent with our 1982 1.6 car. So hopefully soon it will be back on the fleet as a fully fledged member of our growing 1980s classic car hire fleet.

Hire a Ford Capri Brooklands

It's just coincidence that after we've spent the last few days being amazed by the snow-plugging power of the Great Escape Classic Car Hire Ford Capri S, we've gone and added a second Ford Capri to our classic hire fleet. Our existing Ford Capri S 2 litre is now complemented by the ultimate Ford Capri - a 280 Brooklands. So now there are twice as many Ford Capris available to hire in the world - and they're both available from Great Escape.

Our new Ford Capri is one of the 1000 limited edition runout 280 models, known as Brooklands Capris because of the beautiful metallic green finish. The Ford Capri Brooklands was made over by Ford's Special Vehicle Engineering division (SVE) who tidied up the handling with suspension improvements, including adding a limited slip differential. The Brooklands Capri features the venerable 2.8 litre V6 Ford Cologne engine, which saw service in several high performance Ford cars of the 1980s.

The Ford Capri Brooklands has achieved true classic status over the last 25 years because it was the last of the great Ford Capri line and was the last classic old-school rear wheel drive Ford.

The latest addition to the Great Escape fleet is part of our growing line up of aspiring classic cars from the 1980s. The classic car hire fleet also includes VW Golf GTI, Porsche 928, Jaguar XJS, Alfa Romeo Alfasud and the Ford Capri S.

We have classic Ford Capri cars for hire from our Suffolk fleet, where our Ford Capri S is now based and our Cotswolds fleet, where our Ford Capri 280 Brooklands is based. Hire prices start at £145 for 24 hours and including insurance, unlimited mileage and breakdown cover.

For more information on the Great Escape Classic Ford Capri cars for hire, visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/ or call 01527 893733.

Capri is snow-perb

The snow hit quick and hard yesterday, rendering my everyday 1994 Jaguar XJR redundant - big tyres, loads of power and driver aids meant it surrendered in the snow. So it was back to the Great Escape Classic Car Hire unit in Inkberrow to choose a better car to escape back home in.

It had to be the Ford Capri. 1970s and 1980s Fords were rally car champions and a good dose of this snow and mud plugging capability passed into the genes of the company's everyday car range. The Great Escape Ford Capri is a Mark 3 2 litre S so it is lighter than a V6 but with plenty of power. This, plus rear drive and fairly narrow tyres, meant it made quick work of the hills and valleys that typify Worcestershire. In three trips around the local area it proved a hugely adept and very safe companion, quietly passing stranded modern cars in a whirr of wheelspin and power lock slides. The beauty of the Capri is that it is safe and predictable - slides are easy to correct and the car constantly tells you what the wheels are doing.

So there you have it - forget 4x4s and traction control, buy a Ford Capri. Or better still, give Great Escape a call on 01527 893733 and hire a Ford Capri. Prices start at £145 for 24 hours. And as added bonuses it has a great heater and good stereo.

Classic VW Golf GTI Mk1 now available to hire

The VW Golf GTI has come of age and been recognised as a true classic by the UK’s largest specialist classic car hire company. Great Escape Classic Car Hire has added a 1982 Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk1 1.6 in iconic Mars Red to its fleet. The car is available for self drive hire by the day, weekend or week.

The VW Golf GTI invented the idea of a fast, highly entertaining family hatchback. Interest in these cars has never faltered but has been increasing over the last few years, fuelled by nostalgia for the 1980s and the car’s suitability for tuning and styling tweaks.

The Great Escape VW Golf GTI is the first Mark 1 GTI available for self drive classic car rental in the UK and possibly the world. It is a totally standard 1982 car fitted with the free-revving 1600cc fuel injected engine developing 110bhp. The car is fitted with a sunroof, rear seatbelts and a five speed manual gearbox. Great Escape has been developing its fleet of 1980s classics with the addition of a Porsche 928 and Ford Capri during 2009.

Great Escape, which operates from three bases in Worcestershire, Dorset and Suffolk, has classic cars from the 1950s to 1990s. The VW Golf GTI is based in Worcestershire. It is an icon of the 80s and appeals as much to those who grew up with it as it does to younger people who love its old school styling. It’s the perfect car for scooting around the Cotswolds and Welsh Border roads on Great Escape's doorstep.

Great Escape has a fleet of self drive and chauffeur hire classic cars including coupes, convertibles and saloons from Bentley, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Jensen, Rolls Royce and Morris as well as Porsche. For more details visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/, call 01527 893733 or email info@greatescapecars.co.uk.