Chris Broom has been into cars since he was a child, because his neighbour owned a Lotus 7 which broke down regularly and he was always watching him fixing it.

Chris, who lives in Ventnor, has had a number of classic cars in the past.

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At the moment, he owns a 1954 Austin Somerset Coupe, a 1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible and a 1998 Aston Martin DB7.

He did also own a 1929 Rosengart for some time (main image above), but has now sold it.

His Austin Somerset Coupe is particularly rare, as there are only ten left in the UK.

He said: “I was born in Somerset, though I’m now living on the Island. Being the chairman of Isle of Wight Austins, I had to own an Austin and have owned many.

“The Austin Somerset Coupe has a huge history. I bought it part-restored and since I’ve had it, I have had it resprayed and done more restoration work.

“The conversion to a convertible was a done by a company called Car Bodies. This relationship grew into the Car Bodies who made London Taxis.”

Isle of Wight County Press: Winning best car at Arreton...pic is my husband

Chris's husband, Brian, with the Austin Somerset Coupe after it won best car at a show at Arreton.

Of Chris’s many cars, his favourites included the Rosengart because it was cute and rare, but he has also had a Citroen Big 6; a French Citroen Traction Avant which was in The Return of the Pink Panther and previously belonged to the film’s director, an Austin Metropolitan, a Bentley Flying spur, Rolls-Royces — the list goes on!

He has taken part in numerous car shows and has driven his classic cars across Europe, with trips as far a Norde Fjord in Norway and Vienna in Austria in the 1962 Bentley Flying Spur.

He had a pleasant surprise last autumn when he saw one of the early Austins he had owned coming down the road towards him.

He said: “I hadn’t seen it for about 30 years and it was a different colour, but I recognised the number-plate.

“It turned out the owner was taking part in a classic car show at The Royal in Ventnor!”

Chris said Isle of Wight Austins is a great club and although it hasn’t held events since the start of the Covid crisis, the club normally has events and meets every Sunday and raises money for Island charities such as Mountbatten and the Hampshire and IW Air Ambulance.

He has been chairman of Isle of Wight Austins for almost two years and said it is the biggest Austin owners club in the UK.

As the Covid crisis has gone on, the club has embraced technology and has started meeting on Zoom, where club members can share all their latest news.

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