A van driver crashed into a rare British sports car which is one of only 15 in the world after getting lost on a country road.
Classic car lover Ian Glass was taking his beloved 1951 Marauder on a country spin when he was hit by van driver Martin Ellis.
Confused van driver Ellis, 51, caused more than £30,000 of damage when he smashed into one of the world’s rarest cars.
Ellis thought he was on a one-way road when he struck the Marauder in a head-on collision after crossing the centre line.
Retired businessman Mr Glass was injured in the crash, but was more concerned by the damage caused to his beloved Marauder.
The cars were designed and built by former Rover engineers George Mackie and Peter Wilks who started their own company.
But the venture was stopped after a luxury tax on vehicles worth more than £1,000 was later brought in.
Ian paid £2,000 for the car in 1979 buying it from its original owner and has cherished it ever since. It is valued in excess of £60,000 but Ian says it is priceless to him.
The incredibly rare 1951 Marauder was badly damaged in the head-on coliision with Martin Ellis’s van
The 1951 Marauder is one of the rarest cars in the world as only 15 were ever built
Classic car enthusiast Martin Glass (pictured) has kept his Marauder running for 45 years
Ian, 75, suffered pain to his hip and leg and was worried his prized car which he has carefully looked after for 45 years may have been wrecked for good in the crash at Pentre Halkyn, North Wales.
But 10 months after the crash Ian’s hand built car is almost fixed by specialists following a £30,000 repair job and he is confident it will ready to drive again soon.
Ellis admitted driving without due care and attention saying he was unfamiliar with the road lay out.
Ellis, of Bolton, was handed a £210 fine, and five points his licence at Mold Magistrates Court.
Speaking after the sentence, retired transport company boss Ian said: ‘I came around the corner and all I saw was a flash of black and then he hit me.
‘He must have seen me come around the corner at the last second and turned because it struck the car just off centre.’
Ian says he was fortunate the Marauder was such a robust car, saying ‘if I had been on my motorbike I would not be here today.’
‘I have driven that car all over Europe for 45 years without ever having any issues until now,’ he added.
Ian Glass has driven his rare sports car across Europe for 45 years (pictured in San Marino)
The sports car has now undergone repairs and Ian hopes it will be back on the road soon
The painstaking repair was carried out by Classic Motor Cars at Bridgnorth
But he said Ellis had been ‘unlucky’ to be prosecuted at all as police took 90 minutes to arrive at the scene in Pentre Halkyn, North Wales.
‘If they had been 10 minutes later they wouldn’t have had anything to investigate. Despite two 999 calls informing them of a head on crash between two bends it took them an hour and a half to arrive.
‘The guy had given me his insurance details and he had already gone but my car was in a dangerous position in the road.’
Despite the precarious position and road layout, Ian arranged for his car to be loaded on a trailer and was about to leave the scene when officers finally arrived.
‘I was in some pain and it delayed me getting to A&E. I was really angry,’ he said.
Ian, of Denbighshire, North Wales, knows the whereabouts of all but three of the Marauders ever made.
He said: ‘Three are missing, one is in America, one is in Vienna and 10 are in this country.’
The painstaking repair was carried out by Classic Motor Cars at Bridgnorth which included fixing the wing which had been ‘very badly damaged’.
Ian is confident the car will be ready for a scheduled trip to Switzerland this summer to recreate the routes used by its manufacturers when testing the prototype on Alpine hill climbs.
