Fans 'in awe' of restored classic car during first trip out

Malcolm and Jonathan Stern went 15 miles in the car from Hertfordshire to Buckinghamshire

A 94-year-old man who restored his father's classic car after spotting it on an auction website has taken it out for its "maiden voyage".

Malcolm Stern, from Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, spent three years restoring the 1930s Sunbeam Talbot Darracq to its former glory.

He and his son Jonathan took the bright yellow car on a 15-mile (24km) drive on the roads around his home.

His son said enthusiasts were "in awe" of his father during the one-hour trip.

Jonathan Stern said: "I was very thankful to be a part of it with him and he's an amazing, amazing guy."

Mr Stern said his son will inherit the car, passing it on to a third generation of the family.

Jonathan Stern said: "Dad's been working on this for such a long time and he's just such a stubborn and obstinate guy so there was no way that this was ever not going to happen - and he just made it happen.

"To see it come full circle from it being a wreck to something that we could reliably drive... is testament to the incredible amount of work my dad has put in."

Mr Stern remembers sitting on the running board on the car and having his photograph taken as a child alongside his sister

Mr Stern told how he was researching the car in order to create a 3D model of it, as he remembered his father driving it during his childhood.

He said he was surprised to chance upon the very car his father owned on an auction website, and promptly bought it for £6,000 in 2020.

Mr Stern spent three years restoring it - and plans to spend another six months concentrating on the interior.

During the drive, the family was greeted by enthusiasts from the Sunbeam Talbot Darracq club, who wanted to catch a glance of the "rare" 1930s car.

"They were in awe of it, they were in awe of my Dad... everybody was just pouring over it and taking photos and poking and prodding at the engine," Jonathan Stern said.

"It was a great relief to pull into the car park.

"I drove the first half way there, my father and I swapped places and he drove the last six or seven miles, which was fantastic for him, and when we got there we breathed a sigh of relief."

• Listen: How Malcolm was reunited with his dad's car

The classic car was manufactured in 1930 and bought by Malcolm Stern's father, Alec in 1935.

Malcolm Stern said "probably 90%" of the car was original, but some of that 90% had to be "seriously renovated".

He said the car will eventually be shipped to his son's home in the United States.

Malcolm Stern has made a variety of models with his 3D printer, but the model of his father's classic Talbot Darracq is the most special