29-04-2025
Colin Crabbe obituary: Colourful racing driver and classic car dealer
Colin Crabbe saw the potential in scouring the world for classic cars, however wrecked they might be, before any other enthusiast or entrepreneur. In the 1970s and 1980s he travelled extensively to South America and to Cuba, where he unearthed two D-Type Jaguars, 29 other cars and quantities of cigars, all of which were sold on at a profit. Such acquisitions continued until he was almost killed during a race.
Crabbe crashed his Talbot-Lago at Oulton Park in Cheshire in 1988 when an English Racing Automobiles driver lost control and collided with him. Paramedics took 45 minutes to remove him from the wreckage, not least because he was 6ft 6in. His rib cage and right hip were fractured and he suffered the loss of the
