Bishop’s Stortford man’s Vauxhall Nova Cabriolet turns out to be rare model 40 years on

When Paul Carter’s wife persuaded him to buy a new Vauxhall, he couldn’t have guessed that 40 years later the car would be so rare that only six were still running.

Paul, 63, of Bishop’s Stortford, told how a trip to the former F C Green showroom in Hertford in 1985 led to him buying the soft-top Vauxhall Nova Cabriolet his wife of 40 years took a shine to – even though it wasn’t his first choice.

“It looked nice sitting in the showroom, all sparkly and shiny,” he said. “It was a bit out of the ordinary, and I’ve always been one for something a bit different.”

£6,000 later, the car was his, but, despite her initial excitement, his wife would quickly change her mind about the ‘special model’.

“Four years later she said ‘I’m fed up with driving it’,” said Paul. “The main complaints were that there was no power steering and the wind blew her hair around.”

Despite being offered £1,000 for the car he couldn’t part with it. “I’ve always loved taking the roof off and driving it, even though it’s terrible to drive, and I still like it now,” he said.

After looking into its back story, Paul discovered that out of the 200 Nova saloons that were converted into soft-tops by Peter Hutchinson in the 1980s, his is one of only six thought to have survived.

It may be the first one made by Hutchinson, and might have been used for promotional purposes.

“I really don’t know if it is the brochure car, but I’ve never seen another one in that colour with the gold alloys and I’ve never heard of any others,” he said.

“All the ones I’ve seen have either got standard wheels with trims or have had alloys added. And I’ve never seen the gold coach lines on anyone else’s, which makes me suspect it could be.”

Come the ‘90s and with encouragement from his wife, Paul offered the Nova to the Vauxhall Heritage Collection in Luton.

“They turned it down because it wasn’t an official Vauxhall model,” he recalled. “More fool them.”

In the 2010s, the retro ride wasn’t in the best state, so Paul and a friend restored it and now you can see it at car shows all over the country.

Mrs Carter still isn’t a fan. “She won’t even get in it,” he joked. “She thinks it’s a ridiculous thing and won’t go anywhere near it. I remind her it was her choice to buy it all the time!”

Despite his wife’s dislike for the car, Paul is determined to hang on to it.

“I can’t ever see myself getting rid of it unless I run out of places to keep it. I bought it when it was new and I’ve had it so long that it seems a shame to get rid of it now,” said the retired grandfather of two under-threes.

“It’s like one of your trusty old socks, something I’ve had for so long. Maybe if someone offered me a load of money I might say yes, take it away, but then I’d worry about where it’s gone.”