FIGHTER PRIZE

Picture this: you’re at the final day of Motorclassica in Melbourne, which has over the years established itself as the premium national concours event. Your car is entered. Not because you have any great hopes of winning, but because the people who restored your 1959 Aston Martin are pretty proud of their work and understandably want to show it off.

The harsh reality is they have never before entered a car in the show, which is notorious for its extremely tough judging. People have been known to plan two years or more in advance to prepare a car. The story goes that one desperate entrant pulled their fresh restoration apart after missing the main prize one year, and re-did the build.

This is where Anna and Simon Purcell found themselves last year – enjoying having their car finished, but having no great expectations. Simon takes up the story: “Alan (head honcho at restoration house Creative Custom Cars) drove it up to the show – we didn’t expect anything. There