WELCOME
Camberley Marine and Sports Cars Ltd is a well-established company dealing worldwide in prestige, classic, vintage, sports and race cars.
The Managing Director is Grahame Bull who was driving by the age of eight around his father's builders yard in an old Austin 7. Although his father would have liked him to join the family building business, it was too late after he had taught him to drive at such an early age as this only fuelled his enthusiasm for cars, motorcycles and boats.
Having been raised in a family business environment Grahame understood that delivering a good service was of the upmost importance but was also keen on the practical and mechanical side, working and renovating cars and motorcycles. In 1975 he combined the two and launched the company with the sale of his first car, a 1967 MG BGT.
At that time he dealt mainly in British sports cars and speed boats from a shop and small showroom in Blackwater, near Camberley. As the company grew, the specialist and performance motor car side expanded and is now the major part of the business.
The founding premises back in 1975.
FROM THEN TO NOW
Although interested in all performance marques, Grahame has a particular passion for Jaguars which began when his father purchased a Jaguar Mark 1 saloon in 1962. It was this car that led to his enthusiasm for Jaguar and he was soon familiar with all models, especially the E Type which had not long been on the market. As a young boy he decided that one day he would be an E Type owner, and purchased his first at the age of 20, a Jaguar E Type series 1. He kept this car for a few years then replaced it with an E Type 3.8 roadster, previously belonging to the famous Dave Clark Five. This car is still in his collection today.
His love affair with the E Type has inspired his car collection, fulfilled racing ambitions and led to the buying and selling of around 500 various E Type models. Being a true enthusiast the majority of his private collection of cars are Jaguars, the earliest being his Jaguar SS100.
Starting out with his first two E Types back in the 70s.
When Grahame first started out in 1975 all the sports and performance cars he was dealing in were current everyday vehicles. As the years have passed not only have the cars evolved into classics but he has also evolved as a classic car specialist himself, having had years of experience with these models.
In 1980 Camberley Marine and Sports Cars Ltd moved premises to a larger motor retail outlet, The Plough Garage near Farnham in Surrey, and continued to specialise in sports cars, performance cars, and the up-and-coming hot hatchbacks. Ten years later the company moved to its current premises in Fleet, Hampshire where the family run business is still expanding.
Selling cars in the snow with his father in the 80s.
Camberley Marine and Sports Cars Ltd at their well-established premises in Fleet.
RACING
Grahame started racing in a Fiat 124 Stock Rod around various Spedworth oval circuits throughout the UK in 1977.
Grahame and his Fiat 124 back in the days of big hair and packed out local stadiums.
After getting married to his wife, Lesley, in 1979 business and family commitments had to come first but the passion of motor racing always played a large part in Grahame's life and he was determined to return to the track. In 1996 a good friend of his was racing a superstox and asked Grahame if he would like to enter the car in the all-comers heat. He jumped at the chance, lined up at the back and came through to win. His son Alan, only 12 at the time, couldn't wait to show his mother the trophy. Lesley took one look and knew that was it, the racing was back.
Grahame decided to move away from ovals and on to circuit racing. In 1997 he purchased a Ford Mustang GT350 Shelby, not an ideal car to start with but it had come along in a deal and he was ready to go. In May he entered the first round of the HSCC Historic Road Sport Championship at Brands Hatch which ended with a DNF; clearly this circuit racing was going to be quite a mountain to climb. With mixed results throughout the season, some good and encouraging, some not-so-good and a bit depressing, Grahame gained his first podium finish in the championship final at Silverstone.
Grahame racing his Ford Mustang GT350 at Castle Combe in 1998.
He continued to campaign the Mustang for the '98 season with results getting better with experience. During that season there was a one-off Jaguar race at Donnington Park for all XKs to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first XK120. The only car Grahame had eligible was a XK150 S Roadster in total road-going stock-standard condition. A few safety items were added for scrutineering purposes and it was ready to race. Most of the field was made up of competition XKs but a few were in standard form. Out of 30 starters Grahame finished 14th overall and won the road-going class outright.
Grahame at Donnington Park for the Jaguar XK 50th Anniversary race.
Grahame had heard that the Donnington XK race had inspired the JEC and HSCC to start a Jaguar XK race series, so took a year out in '99 to look for a suitable XK. He purchased an XK150 FHC that had raced back in the late 60s and 70s. This car had been in storage since '76 and looked exactly as it did the last time it had raced. After an extreme amount of preparation the car was ready to compete again in 2000. He campaigned this car until 2009 with many class wins and outright wins and became Class C champion three times.
2003 Duncan Hamilton trophy winner.
Racing in the Jaguar XK series.
Jaguar World, April 2009 article about Grahame and his racing success with the XK150.
In 2007 Grahame started to prepare a 1963 Jaguar E Type 3.8 FHC to FIA standard ready to continue on from the XK racing. He raced the E Type in a few events to get it up to speed and race seriously. In 2011 it was entered for the Jaguar sponsored E Type championship and again, after many class wins, in 2013 he became the Class F champion and runner-up for the overall championship. In 2014 along with his longstanding racing driver friend, Dave Coyne, they won the championship class in the Guards trophy. It was also that year that Grahame won the Norman Dewis race outright at Castle Combe Autumn Classic.
Competing in the Norman Dewis race.
In 2018 in the Jaguar Classic Challenge organised by JLR and the HSCC that Grahame and his son, Alan, won the championship outright. Currently the highlight of motor racing for the Bull family so far.
Grahame and his son, Alan, teaming up to win the 2018 Jaguar Classic Challenge.
Grahame has been invited to race at Goodwood and various VSCC meetings with a 1950 Healey Silverstone from his collection.
Enjoying a great deal of success and setting the fastest race times ever achieved by a Healey Silverstone.
Grahame is now the proud owner of his next two historic Jaguar racing marques.
