10 of the best heckblendes at the April Scramble

10 of the best Major Waffle

PetrolBlog has been to its first Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble. To celebrate, here are some of the best heckblendes from the April event.

I've been to my first Sunday Scramble. You can believe the hype, because it's very good. A proper setting for one of the most eclectic gatherings you'll find this side of Marsh Gibbon. Or Middleton Stoney, if you're arriving from the east. 

It's an event where Lamborghinis rub shoulders with Land Rovers, Ferraris share grass with Fords, and Porsches mingle with Protons. Yes, there really was a Proton Savvy at the April Scramble. A 2011 example with an aftermarket Limited Edition badge on the back, no less. 

The Sunday Scramble also plays host to the country's largest concentration of Drew Pritchard lookalikes, along with a sense that, no matter how special or exotic you think your car is, you're just a few steps away from being outdone. As Ben Hooper put it in a WhatsApp message: “I never thought I'd consider a Delta Integrale to be run of the mill.” 

In common with the West Sussex Festival of Fast Things, you'll find as much interest in the car park as you will in the main event. Yep, even a Proton Savvy. 

But enough about that, because PetrolBlog is back with some more ‘10 of the best’ nonsense, in this case a celebration of the majesty of the heckblende. 

As a quick reminder, ‘heckblende’ is German for ‘rear panel’, specifically the reflective panels that fill gap between the two rear lights. They were popular in the 1980s and often came with the make or model of the car in question. I'm not sure if Drew Pritchard would agree, but the heckblende is unquestionably cool. Here, PetrolBlog tips its Pritchard cloth cap to the heckblende, with 10 of the best rear panels spotted at the April Scramble. By ’eck, they look good.

Four-wheel steering heckblende

Honda Prelude heckblende

Transaxle heckblende

Alfa Romeo 75 V6 heckblende

Faded heckblende

Mercedes 300 CE heckblende

Swedish heckblende with tow bar

Saab 900 SE heckblende

One L of a heckblende

Vauxhall Cavalier L heckblende

Too posh for PetrolBlog heckblende

Porsche 911 Carrera 4 heckblende

Turbocharged heckblende

Volvo 480 Turbo heckblende

Italian heckblende

Alfa Romeo 33 heckblende

Bavarian heckblende

BMW 323i heckblende

American heckblende with UK foglight

Mercury Grand Marquis heckblende 

Apologies the website is a little clunky at the moment. I can't do much about the rubbish content, but everything will be wrapped in nicer packaging once the new site is live. 

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