The Kop Hill Climb is now established as a major motoring attraction for the Chiltern region and goes from strength to strength since the revival event three years ago. While nowadays there’s no timed competition involved, cars ascending Kop Hill do so merely for fun, and to re-enact the memory of hill climbing that took place at this famous venue between 1910 – 1925. Kop Hill witnessed such motorsport legends, such as Freddie Dixon, Count Zborowski, Henry Segrave, Archie Frazer-Nash, Raymond Mays and Malcolm Campbell. Indeed, Lionel Martin drove the now oldest surviving Aston Martin A3 prototype up the hill in 1924, and this very car has been a regular at Kop Hill for the last three years.

It’s the sheer variety of cars entered that make the event so fascinating, with entrants this year ranging from Henry Brooks’ 1903 Humber Humberette to Eric Brooks’ 1972 Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato, not to mention a wide variety of pre and post war motorcycles dating back to Tony Batting’s 1913 Rudge Multi. Mike Furse had brought along his 1956 Buckler MK5 powered by an 1172cc Ford engine with twin SU carburettors and an alloy ‘Silvertop’ cylinder head. Over the last 20 years this car has been used for hillclimbs, trials, and auto tests. Jack Taylor’s 1953 Lotus MK V1 sports a special body designed by Ian Kenyon and built by Williams & Pritchard of Hornsey, north London. A rare locally built car was the 1922 Cubitt, produced at the Cubitt Engineering Company Ltd factory on the Bicester Road, Aylesbury, Bucks, one of only six remaining examples, and powered by a 3.0 litre engine, though the top speed was only50mph. A number of Bugattis featured in this year’s line up, including John Huntley’s 1925 Type 30 that was first registered in 1935 in the UK and owned by Borwicks of Windermere, builders of speed boats.

Following the motorcycles, the first car up the hill in this year’s event was John Dennis’s (of Dennis Commercials fame) 1907 Berliet/Curtiss, powered by an 8.2 litre Curtiss aero engine, coupled to a four-speed Berliet gearbox, and sitting atop a Berliet chassis. The build of this Edwardian racer was completed around four years ago, and finished to concours standard, it always attracts huge interest.

The centrepiece display in the entrants section of the Paddock has to be the Dick Skipworth Collection of racing cars, complete with the iconic Ecurrie Ecosse racing car transporter, With Jaguar XK120, C and D Types, Cooper Monaco, Tojeiro Jaguar and Tojeiro Buick, driven in period by Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Ron Flockhart, Masten Gregory, Ninian Sanderson, and others, nostalgia doesn’t get much better than this! Most of the cars were driven up the hill just prior to the lunchtime break, the sight and sounds of which was not to be missed! Other entertainment included the Society Jazz Band and Haurel & Lardy, with their look-alike tribute act to Laurel & Hardy, with Jem Frazer (Ollie) and Graeme Hardy (Stan) who have been together for over 10 years, driving around in a 1920 Ford Model T, much to the delight of the crowd! Another excellent event at Kop Hill, keeping the memory alive with many superb cars ascending the hill and on display in the paddock.