To say that it’s a blessing that Retropower is located just a stone’s throw up the A5 from Silverstone would be a massive understatement. Being so close to the home of British motorsport also places us at the heart of the country’s thriving ‘cottage industry’ of specialist automotive firms, a huge proportion of which are based in the corridor between the circuit and Bicester, particularly around the Heritage Centre.
Classic Performance Engineering (CP Engineering) is a perfect example. Located within almost literal spitting distance of Silverstone Circuit, its proximity is fitting, as much of its work — the restoration and track preparation of classic Jaguar, Bentley and Lotus race cars — is demonstrated and proven on the venue’s iconic straights and legendary corners.
It’s a company with a towering reputation, one forged across almost 30 years of relentless dedication and exceptional craftsmanship. During that time, founder Martin Greaves and his team have worked on some of the most historically significant race cars in the country.
Given this pedigree, it felt only natural that, with the Retropower Club now up and running, we’d make a visit to CP Engineering, and that’s exactly what we did.
Better still, the good people at CPE combined our visit with a wine tasting, giving a handful of Retropower staff and attending Club members the unique opportunity to admire an extraordinary collection of priceless race cars from motorsport’s glory days while sampling high-end Silverstone View wines. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday, we’re sure you’ll agree.
While members enjoyed both the wines and the dizzying array of pre- and post-war race machinery, they were treated to an insightful talk from Richard Thornton, Wine Controller and a man whose knowledge of Silverstone View’s products is second to none.
Wine aside, the real highlight of the day was Martin himself—specifically, his generosity in taking the time to speak with every member of our group. Despite what is no doubt a demanding schedule, he gave his time freely, discussing both the finer details of his business and the remarkable cars he and the team at CP Engineering work on.
Away from the vino, the throngs of Club members were free to inspect the numerous cars within the CPE workshop. These included, among many others, a charmingly accurate Ferrari 250 GTO tribute, an Aston Martin DB2, a Mk2 Jaguar and even a Fiat 500.
Our favourite car of the day, however, was probably the Costin-Nathan GT — an absurdly left-field survivor and, as motorsport nerds will surely have already guessed, a product of the legendary Costin dynasty (the ‘Cos’ in ‘Cosworth’). Despite being powered by a tuned Hillman Imp engine, the Costin-Nathan GT was immensely fast on track, a legacy of its light weight and wind-cheating, aero-honed bodywork.
It was — and remains — a remarkable bit of kit: a glorious throwback to the glory days of British clubman motorsport, and a car we all appreciated being permitted to get up close and personal with.
We at Retropower were both charmed and humbled by the warmth and openness shown not only by Martin, but by the wider team too — especially his wife, Hazel, and business and marketing assistant Lydia — all of whom made everyone feel genuinely welcome.
In short, we were made to feel thoroughly at home and, on behalf of all Retropower Club members who attended, we’d like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone at CP Engineering for such a memorable day.
