The Pathe News archives are a gold mine for car bores like us and hark back to a time when gravelly-voiced toffs would bring tales of derring-do from the Continent and Colonies to expectant cinema goers just before the feature flick was put on. In the Golden Age of British motorsport and car manufacturing the International rallies (the forerunner to the WRC) were big news and characters like Paddy Hopkirk, Pat Moss and Erik Carlsson were household names. This was a time when rallying success could really help sell saloons, probably because the Works cars on the big screen weren’t that different to ones for sale in the showrooms; do excited young schoolboys drool over Hyundai i20 today, because it ‘did good’ in the mud last season? Sadly, I think not.

This short film features Mk1 Mini Coopers being prepared for the 1965 RAC International Rally, narrated in a glorious public school twang of received pronunciation. Crack open the HobNobs, grab a mug of steaming Twinings Breakfast and take 6 minutes of ‘me time’ to escape back to the lost age of rallying with The Rally Men.

 

About The Author

Darryl Sleath

Darryl can usually be found up to his elbows in some unloved piece of BL detritus when he isn’t snapping and scribbling for various print magazines or producing the occasional book on tally-ho adventurers, PE or road tripping. As an occasional presenter on XCAR’s YouTube channel, his other hobbies include vintage Scalextrics, ‘60s Bang & Olufsen and dabbling in grassroots motorsport.

2 Responses

  1. Ian Mullens

    I agree. Just don’t get the point of WRC nowadays. Only three or four makes competing in cars lightyears away performance-wise from anything that the ordinary bloke can buy! There is no Fiesta RS, the hottest Polo is only 110bhp and the i20 isn’t exactly a posterboy is it! DS have the looks but no real rally-inspired oomph. Stupid.

    Reply

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