David Brown would have been delighted, as the cars built by Aston Martin under his leadership made their mark on the 35th British Car Meeting in Mollis on August 24, 2014. Together with later and a few earlier models, over 110 Aston Martin sports cars (and a wedge-shaped Lagonda saloon) are likely to have found their way to Glarus.
There were DB2. DB2 Mk III, DB4, DB5, DB6, DBS, V8 and many other variants of the three basic themes that had been developed under the aegis of David Brown at Aston Martin and exported worldwide. They were the super sports cars of their time and typically English, despite Italian design influences and the modern Superleggera construction of the 1960s.
The host club AMOC had done a great job and put together a diverse selection of rare Aston models, supplemented by modern models up to the current product range. Even a Cygnet (aka Toyota IQ) had smuggled itself in among the English.
"Very British"
After showers in the early morning, the weather turned out to be merciful, actually un-British. This led to a large crowd of Anglophile drivers. And queues on the approach that could only be managed with British patience.

At peak times, it took some BCM visitors thirty minutes or more before they were allowed to drive under the "Welcome" sign at walking pace. And they also had to queue again for the sausage.
The rush was a direct result of the large number of participants, as a new visitor record was probably set with over 1400 vehicles, mainly because many stayed longer than in other years thanks to the friendly weather.
Incredible variety
Among these many British vehicles - we are generously overlooking the fact that a Pagoda also found its way among the English - there were, of course, both well-known and unknown classics.
Jaguar E-Type, Austin-Healey, MG A, B and C, TC, TD and TF, Triumph Spitfire and TR2 to TR7 are well known, but when was the last time you saw a TVR Griffith 200, a Ginetta G4, a Gilbern Invader, a Vauxhall Victor, a Rover P2 or a Bristol 401? And the yellow Lotus Esprit S 2.2 also belongs to a genus that was only built 90 times.
Rare sports cars from Marcos, Jensen and Morgan were competing for the limelight and invited discussions among the enthusiastic onlookers.
The special Italian Englishman
In the second row, for example, there was a Sunbeam Venezia, built in 1964 in Milan by Touring Superleggera with an elegant aluminum body. Chassis from the Humber Sceptre and Hillman Super Minx served as the basis. The engine had four cylinders and a displacement of 1.8 liters, which was enough for a top speed of 170 km/h with around 80 hp. The Venezia, like many of its special-bodied counterparts, was expensive, more expensive, for example, than the Sunbeam Tiger with a V8 engine. It was correspondingly difficult to sell, so that between 1963 and 1966 just 130 to a maximum of 200 (depending on the source) of these vehicles were built in various configurations.
The Belsize from 1925, an RM 6 Tourer model as produced between 1901 and 1925, comes from a completely different era. Only three of these cars are said to still be on the road worldwide, one of which found its way to Mollis on its narrow wheels.
Many stories, many conversations
Almost every car in attendance revealed its very own story, stimulated petrolhead conversations and brought owners together. In fact, it is precisely these gatherings of old acquaintances and new like-minded people that make the British Car Meeting so appealing.
The success of the event proves that the organizers are right to mix rarities with mass-produced vehicles and not to limit the number of years and models. Whether this openness can be maintained in the future depends not least on the traffic concept, which could still be tweaked a little ... and, of course, the weather. Because in truly British weather, the number of visitors is automatically drastically reduced. But of course we don't want that to happen next year, when the Swiss Marcos Club will be the guest of honor.

































































































































































