This is the second year that Delapré have held a Classics on the Lawn event and very well attended it was too. A wide selection of over 150 cars with no less than 17 Fiat 500s lined up in a commanding row at the top of the show on what was to turn out to be a lovely sunny day. The Abbey only opened to the public last year. The site was originally a small Cluniac Nunnery 900 years ago but the Nuns found themselves in the spotlight when the body of Queen Eleanor was laid in the Abbey’s church … Continue reading DELAPRÉ ABBEY – CLASSICS ON THE LAWN SUNDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER 2019

I have enjoyed a great few months being out and about in Scotland with my wee car.  This year my boyfriend Derek has finished his ‘freshen up’ of his 1971 Fiat 500 Giardiniera so he was able to join me at some events with his own car. Our first outing together was over the Easter bank holiday weekend where we decided to have a run around Stirlingshire and the Trossachs. It was lovely weather and we covered a lot of miles in the cars just driving about and turning a lot of heads when we passed through the towns and villages. … Continue reading Out and about in Scotland

Well! What can I say to thank everyone for such a wonderful tour? A few breakdowns yes, mainly in Dino, so thank you Craig and Laura for fixing him for me and making sure I got on the ferry home!  A special thanks to Carole at Incentive and Conference for helping me to organise the hotels and some of the trips. Without you my stress levels would have been a lot higher.  You did such a great job for us and made our trip the success it was.  Thank you to Lisa Bardsley for organising everyone at the Jersey Festival … Continue reading With special thanks!

29 cars, including 4 moderns, from far and wide converged on Blakeney on Friday afternoon, most with trouble free journeys but there were a couple of tales of derring-do. Gill and Graham Watkin lost a wheel assembly – never to be seen again – on the M11 in the early hours and arrived with their car on top of the remains of their trailer on top of the recovery truck! The trailer now resides in a Norfolk scrapyard. Tom and Lis made it to Kings Lynn after breaking down three times but were eventually recovered back to Derby getting in … Continue reading NORFOLK NOMAD TOUR – 3RD TO 6TH MAY

Editor’s note: Following my request in the previous magazine I was pleased to hear from member Andre Abadie who owns an electric 500, here is his article. I had been in the market for a classic Fiat 500 for several years but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger as I was concerned about the upkeep and reliability. Additionally, my job is focused on environmental and climate issues and it was challenging for me to justify buying a car with a petrol engine, despite how frugal it may be. I had instead thought about a new electric car but, as … Continue reading Electric Fiat 500

For those of you who are Club Members, please note you can only book tickets to the Bicester Scramble ‘Drive It Day’ event online, and this needs to be done by 21st April. It promises to be a great event, with plenty to see and other classic and vintage car enthusiasts to meet. For more information, please go to the Events Page on our website here. Please note, there will be no tickets available on the day. Information from the organisers follows: “The former RAF Technical Site springs to life with a unique mix of vehicles brought by enthusiasts from … Continue reading Drive it day: Bicester Scramble 28th April 2019

The Club was invited to return for a second consecutive year by the event organiser, the Fiat 500 Club had a stand in Car Club Corner at this prestigious indoor show held at London’s ExCel arena. This year the layout was improved, and it was busier than ever with over 20,000 visitors across the weekend. Four days came and went quickly at the show. From Thursday night’s Preview Evening featuring an array of special presentations from classic car celebrities and movie stars, through to final Grand Avenue parades and live panel discussions. Grand Avenue this year featured Bentley, Citroen, Mini and … Continue reading London Classic Car Show ExCel 14-17th February 2019

The Fiat 500 Club has won the ‘Outstanding Car Club Run, Rally or Tour’ category in the National Car Club Awards 2019 for the ‘Poppy Returns Home Tour 2018’. The National Car Club Awards celebrate, recognise and honour the achievements of the nation’s car clubs, the enthusiastic people who run them and the remarkable cars they preserve and cherish. Presented in association with Tourism Ireland, supported by Classic Car Weekly and endorsed by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs. The club was chosen from the shortlist of 7 and presented with the trophy at the awards dinner held at … Continue reading National Car Club Awards

I’ve owned my 1970 Fiat 500L ‘Rizzle’ for 3 years and after never having the experience of a piggy-back ride home I was beginning to think that she was a very unique vehicle indeed. Despite occasional problems with poor running and brake master cylinder failure (causing the brakes to bind), I’d never broken down completely. I installed an electronic ignition eight months ago (with much amusement from some other members of the club, with quotes such as, ‘let’s see how long it lasts’ and ‘I would stick to points and condenser if I were you’). I was joining the club … Continue reading My New Year Break(down)

Some great news, the Club won the Outstanding Car Club Run, Rally or Tour award this evening at the NEC. This was for the ‘Poppy Returns Home Tour’ that was featured in the magazine a few issues ago. More to follow later, but we’re immensely pleased! Continue reading Club wins National Car Club Award

A bright and sunny January 1st saw seven Fiat 500’s attend the Stony Stratford New Year’s Day classic car show, with one possible new member joining us with a very smart white 500L. It was a very popular show with the whole town filled to the brim with an amazing array of classic cars. It turned into a very cold day so after spending time looking around all the cars we managed to find a very welcoming and cosy pub that served delicious bacon butties for lunch. It was the first time that some of us had ventured out on … Continue reading Stony Stratford Car Show

When at college many years ago I was forced to visit the library to research some educational philosophy (yawn). I never considered myself an academic and after about five minutes I became distracted and went over to the Technology section where I spotted a book on Italian Car Marques. So, I quickly settled down to thumbing through the pages. If I had given my official studies this level of attention it would have benefited my formal education considerably. It was in that book that I first saw a photo of half a dozen Fiat 500s, all with lowered suspension, fat … Continue reading A 50 Year Wait

Planning to round off our 500 touring season, we headed off down to Petersfield with Chairman Rod and First Lady Sally and after an overnight stop rendezvoused with Vince and Joy, Paul and Christine, Roger and Janet and Jack in his immaculate D. Jack had a new engine fitted just before he came and on the journey down it had developed a misfire and done its best to jettison most of its oil. So the six of us set off for the Portsmouth ferry with Jack coaxing his car along the M3 and determined to get on to the island. … Continue reading THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIC CAR SHOW – ISLE OF WIGHT 14TH TO 19TH SEPTEMBER 2018

If I had a Euro every time I heard “stuck at the lights” it would have paid for my holiday tour.  Other memorable comments are “good, good”, “toppie, toppie” “don’t go without me” and “ice-cream” I am not experienced in overseas holidays, let alone driving overseas, let alone driving in an unpredictable 1972 Fiat so believe me when I say I was out of my comfort zone more times than I can count.  However, I was not alone when we all had to make a sudden turn off to the left.  What on a Motorway? A left turn? Surely Paul … Continue reading “Stuck at the Lights”

Some of you may remember an article in the August 2015 magazine titled “Hungarian Adventure “. In it Rod and I drove to Sopron in Hungary to buy a Steyr Puch 500 which our nephew had seen for sale on the internet. The car was in a pretty poor condition but we had driven over 1000 miles to see it and so we purchased it. The car had belonged to the Grandmother of Krisztina and Daniel who were selling it and although the car had always been in their life it had not been road worthy so they had never been in it, only their father and … Continue reading “Poppy returns home” Tour

Friday I waved my work colleagues goodbye and drove off into the sun with roof open, but soon stopped on A47 as the clouds gathered and temperature dropped, jumper on, roof closed. I took Steve’s advice and jumped off the A14 at J51, a decision well taken as I was soon treated to some delightful villages. I came across a petrol station so took advantage, and on hearing the distinct toot from a fellow 500 I had a coincidental meet up with Richard and Lianna with their cute VW Caravan. I arrived at my destination, the Dolphin Inn in Thorpeness, … Continue reading Suffolk Spectacular

Taking place over 3 and half days from 15th to 18th February at Excel in London, this was a very large and prestigious event with 30,000 visitors across the weekend. With over 700 cars being exhibited some with a value in excess of £500,000; it was primarily a showcase for rare and highly desirable vehicles polished and prepped to within an inch of their lives. It included a long concourse in the centre of the floor space where every two hours a selection of historic vehicles and performance sports cars were driven along it leaving a trail of high octane … Continue reading London Classic Car Show Report

After a fabulous 2017 in our 1970 Fiat 500L ‘Rizzle’ (including glorious Goodwood and the luscious Lake District), we decided to end the year in style. We seized the Boxing Day and after the usual checks headed out into the chilly sunshine. We found ourselves re-visiting one of 2017’s outings – Foxton Locks, Leicestershire. It’s only 20 miles from our house and is a beautiful place for a meander along the canal. It was packed with people trying to walk off the Christmas Day blow out and as usual, Rizzle stole the show. With admiring glances and smiley faces aplenty … Continue reading Rizzle’s Boxing Day Blast

After purchasing my shiny red 1973 500L in October I decided it would be wise to join the Fiat 500 Club UK to make the most of owning my precious gem of a car. Much to my surprise within a week of joining Gino Mansi phoned me to enquire if I would be interested in attending with the Regent Street Motor Show with my car. After researching the event on the internet, I realised this was a big deal. The whole of Regent Street, one of the most prestigious shopping streets in London, would be closed to traffic on Saturday … Continue reading Regent Street Motor Show