The incredibly popular mid-week classic car gathering is probably the largest of its type in Europe. A 'sell-out’ event with 1200 cars and thousands of enthusiasts mingling, it’s in a league of its own! Now run by the Harpenden Village Rotary Club, with all profits going to a variety of charities, Classics on The Common is a kaleidoscope of colour, a mesmerising variety of cars, commercials, motorcycles, scooters, customs, rods, military vehicles, in fact, it has them all!

With fine and sunny weather from late afternoon onwards, this year seemed to attract one of the largest crowds the event has ever witnessed. People attending for the very first time are always taken back by the sheer spectacle, atmosphere, and friendly ambience, but for regulars, it’s all part and parcel of the nation’s favourite evening car show. Indeed, if everything the show encompasses could be bottled, it would sell like hot cakes during the darkest days of winter.

Members of the Ferrari Owners’ Club are always huge supporters of the show, with cars arriving en masse, this year 16 represented by the Hertfordshire Area, plus many more of Enzo’s finest dotted around the Common. One of the finest ingredients of Classics on The Common, is the wonderful eclectic mixture of vehicles, from an American Marmon cab-over truck, to a Ferrari F40, and an Isetta ‘bubble car’! This year’s highlights included a 1929 Hispano-Suiza H6C, once the daily driver of doyen Formula 1 motoring writer Gerard 'Jabby' Crombac, who with the assistance of John Bolster, designed its bodywork in the 1950s. Then there was the ex-Sarah Miles 1967 Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2, that had recently been restored after many years of inactivity.

Motoring writer Ray Potter brought along his 1959 Bristol powered AC Aceca, a reasonably rare sight nowadays. His car sports optional disc brakes and has been upgraded with rack and pinion steering. Ollie Friend arrived in his stunningly restored Messerschmitt KR200, a multi-award winning car, and fresh from a top concours win at the MOC Rally held in Cumbria in mid July. One of the most curious exhibits was the 1932 Pattisson Super Beta MK2 groundsmans/greenkeepers vehicle, manufactured by Pattisson in Stanmore, Middx. Other strange delights included a superbly patinated two-stroke powered Trojan tourer, an Amphicar attracted much interest, and representing period specials was a Tornado Tempest. All in all, another splendid event at Harpenden!