Wheeler Dealer car takes pride of place

A car from the television show Wheeler Dealers has taken pride of place in a Southbourne showroom.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Dec 2017, 12:38 BST
Updated 8th Dec 2017, 12:40 BST
Martin Webb, right, and Ray Waller, left, of Comet Classics in Southbourne with the Team Ant racing car they bought at auction and Southbourne car enthusiast Darren Collins, who helped build it. Picture Ian Hargreaves (171671-1)Martin Webb, right, and Ray Waller, left, of Comet Classics in Southbourne with the Team Ant racing car they bought at auction and Southbourne car enthusiast Darren Collins, who helped build it. Picture Ian Hargreaves (171671-1)
Martin Webb, right, and Ray Waller, left, of Comet Classics in Southbourne with the Team Ant racing car they bought at auction and Southbourne car enthusiast Darren Collins, who helped build it. Picture Ian Hargreaves (171671-1)

Ray Waller and Martin Webb bought the Classic Rumble Team Ant car for Comet Classics, on Southbourne Industrial Estate.

The purchase at auction brought the vehicle home, in a sense, as Southbourne classic car enthusiast Darren Collins was part of Team Ant and made the bespoke exhaust.

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Wheeler Dealers, on the Discovery Channel, features car dealer Mike Brewer, who buys classic cars with money-making potential and takes them back to his workshop in Los Angeles for mechanic Ant Anstead to repair and restore, before selling for a profit.

Ant and his team built a 1950s-inspired Grand Prix racer for Harrison’s Fund, a charity fighting duchenne muscular dystrophy.

When Darren went up to the NEC Birmingham for the auction, he had no idea the Team Ant car could end up back in his home village.

Martin said: ‘Ant explained about the build of the car, which excited us.

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‘This being a one-off really interested us and the money was going to charity. After joking that we would buy it, we went to the auction and did end up doing so.’

The car is already booked for the London Classic Car Show in February.

Mike said it was a surprise to find out the exhaust was made 100 yards away.

‘The car was obviously meant to end up back in Southbourne.’