For devotees of everything weird, wacky and incredibly miniscule about motoring, the National Microcar Rally mustered a fabulous variety of cars, ranging from a single seater Peel P50 and Brutsch Mopetta, to a BMW 600 and an early Trabant. With a heady aroma of blue smoke wafting over the rally field at times, and the familiar ‘tink’ ‘tink’ ‘tink’ two-stroke exhaust tone, enthusiasts enjoyed a great day out, and were taken back to the late 1950s and early 1960s when ‘bubble’ cars reigned supreme!

Messerschmitts, Heinkel/Trojans, Isettas, Berkeley’s and Bonds were the predominent marques and the event produced fine line-ups of the various models. Milton and Barbara Stiff were displaying their 1964 Bond MKG, it was the first MKG built by Sharps Commercials at Preston as a ‘soft top’ Tourer in an effort to halt falling sales figures with strong competition from the Mini. The Steggel family’s 1956 Bond Minicar MKE Tourer was one of the first prototypes used by Bond to further develop the MKE, MKF and MKG models.

Charles Owen had completed the most impeccable restoration of his Trojan and was a most deserving winner of the Best Heinkel/Trojan Award. Rare cars on display included Roger Westcott’s 1964 Fiat Neckar Weinsberg, that was built at the former NSU factory at Heilbronn, Germany and sporting Fiat 500 running gear. Roger picked up Best Metal Car Award.

Jean Hammond from the Register of Unusual Microcars brought along her 1954 Allard Clipper from the Hammond Collection, while Meadows Frisky aficionado John Meadows was displaying his Frisky Sport. Brian Giles drove his Berkeley 328 Sport over from Somerset. The car has undergone a variety of modifications and has been fitted with the engine and gearbox from a Citroen 2CV for ultimate reliability, and has already clocked up over 2,000 miles this year.