Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend return to our screens this evening in a brand new series of Car S.O.S. on National Geographic with 10 new episodes of the popular and much loved car show.
Now in its 13th season, the Car S.O.S. team will once again be restoring the beloved classic and cherished cars of ten deserving owners along with what has become a regular feature of the show now, and that is the appearance of some familiar celebrity faces. This time featuring the likes of Mike Brewer, Johnny Vegas and Jeremy Clarkson, who appears in a very special reveal at his famous farm.
I am also told that a world-famous celebrity guest from the motoring world will also appear in one of the episodes.
After over a decade of restoring a long and enviable list of classic and iconic cars, as well as the odd van and fire engine, Car S.O.S. continues to grow in popularity with car enthusiasts all over the world since its launch back in 2013. It’s fair to say that the show’s success can largely be attributed to its two amiable presenters Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend.
Background to Car S.O.S.
For those unfamiliar with Car S.O.S., Tim and Fuzz have restored some fabulous classic cars over the last 12 series, from an E-Type Jaguar and 1984 Audi Quattro in Series 3 to a stunning 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230SL Pagoda and Aston Martin DB6 in Series 5, which has to be one of my favourite cars the team have restored. Then there was the iconic Volvo P1800 Roger Moore drove in The Saint, which had Tim tracking down Sir Roger to ask him to sign the back of the driver’s seat in a memorable episode. Then there was a heartfelt plea from James Nesbitt to restore an old 1959 MG MGA that had seen better days, with an elaborate set up for the reveal so they could return the car to its owner in a London Mews on a make-believe filmset.
More recently, Tim and Fuzz restored a unique and very rare MG Metro 6R4, which had once been driven by a Scottish rally champion, as well as a beautiful Jensen Interceptor. A rather tired 1992 Saab 900 Turbo was brought back to life in Series 9. Tim and Fuzz restored a sad and tired looking 22-year-old Ford Mondeo in Series 11, but not to its standard original factory finish, but rather turning it into owner Karl’s dream car: a replica of the 1994 World Touring Car Championship Mondeo, as driven by the likes of Nigel Mansell and Paul Radisich. The team also restored a rare fibre glass bodied 1987 Renault Alpine GTA which had more than its fair share of hidden rot and needed serious attention.
In the last series, Tim and Fuzz brought a tired looking Datsun 240K Skyline back to life, while in one episode there was concern that the BMW E30 Alpina the team set about restoring may not actually be genuine but simply made to look like an Alpina. However, following a trip to the Alpina factory in Germany, Tim was over the moon to discover that the car was in fact a genuine E30 Alpina.
Episode 1 – ‘Mazda MX-5 Mk2’
The new series opens with a much loved Mazda MX-5 in need of some serious restoration. The car’s owner Katie, who has named the car “Clarence”, bought the car with the money her sister left her because she knew she was dying so the two of them could go off and spend some time together, which they did for a very brief time before Katies’s sister got very sick. But then the car went off the road and they never got to the bottom of what the issues were as to why it would not run properly. Now it will cost too much to restore but Katie won’t let it go. It’s therefore been left to rot outside.
Looking over the car, Fuzz says: “Considering this car is only about 20 years old, I’ve got to say, it has the body of an 80 year old.” The body is totally rotten, the hood is rotten, covered in moss and rust.
Episode 2 – ‘Toyota Celica GT-Four Carlos Sainz Edition’
In episode 2, which airs on 27th March, Tim and Fuzz restore a very rare Toyota Celica GT-Four Carlos Sainz Edition, owned by Michael, who was diagnosed with two leaky heart valves. However, after about five years he got an infection from a metal replacement valve and his health seriously deteriorated. So, it was imperative that the car is restored to its former glory as soon as possible.
This particular car is one of 5,000 homologated vehicles originally produced by Toyota, of which probably only 124 are left in the UK and only a thousand left in the world. This of course meant that trying to get hold of replacement parts was just about impossible, presenting the team with a more challenging task, whereby they had to refurbish things like the suspension arms. legs and shock absorbers, whereas they would have normally just replaced them. So, the key was to keep the car as standard as possible and in the condition it would have been when it came out of the factory.
The reveal sees Tim and Fuzz team up with Mike Brewer to hand the car back to Michael at Mike’s Sheffield-based dealership.
Episode 3 – ‘VW Dune Buggy’
Episode 3 airs on 3rd April and features a rather unusual VW Dune Buggy. The Dune or Beach Buggy, as they were also known, was created back in the 1960s by surfer, inventor, artist and racecar driver Bruce Meyers, designed to tackle the California sand dunes. The car proved extremely popular with enthusiasts and had a revival over here in the UK in the 1970s with lots of companies creating their own take on the popular Beach Buggy with its rear mounted VW Beetle engine.
Future Episodes
The remaining seven episodes sees a wide variety of cars come into the Car S.O.S. workshop, such as a Ford Escort XR3i in episode 4, which airs on 10th April. It’s a rather special reveal in episode 5 when a restored Land Rover Discovery Series 1 is handed back to its owner on Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm in Chipping Norton.
In episode 6 on 24th April, Tim and Fuzz tackle a BMW E46 M3 along with an appearance from Johnny Vegas, while in episode 7 on 1st May, the Car S.O.S. team tackle a classic British icon in the guise of an old Wolseley Hornet Six. Then it’s a slightly more modern VW Polo G40 that gets the treatment on 8th May before the team get to grips with a Suzuki Jimny 1.3 in episode 9 on 15th May.
In the final episode of the series, Car S.O.S. tackles its first-ever Ferrari restoration in the form of the iconic Ferrari 308 GTS.
The new series also puts science to the test by exploring whether convertible cars are genuinely more fun and exciting to drive than hatchbacks. A team of scientists joins Tim and Fuzz to measure the brainwaves and heart rates of drivers to gauge their reactions. The surprising results might just change the way you view open-top driving.
To many of us who follow and love the show, Car S.O.S. is a timely reminder to enjoy every day, as life is not fair. Tim and Fuzz really enjoy being able to make a few people’s lives a little brighter by celebrating their life through their cherished car, with each episode weaving in personal stories that highlight the emotional connection between the owner and their much loved vehicle.
The new season of Car S.O.S begins on National Geographic this evening, Thursday 13th March at 8:00pm.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man Behind The Wheel, a member of The Guild of Motoring Writers, professional photographer and former saloon car racing driver.
Photographs courtesy of Car S.O.S. and National Geographic
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