A car enthusiast is offering a £100 reward for the return of the missing hub cap from his rare classic car.

Ian Glass was visiting Llandrindod Wells as he was hosting a classic car event at the Metropole Hotel on Temple Street when the hub cap fell off the Marauder.

Ian, who is from Llandyrnog in Denbighshire, said that he saw the hub cap roll at speed towards one of the hedges from his mirror while driving between Temple Avenue East and the monument on Temple Street on Sunday, July 18.

He said: “I saw it come off and I heard it ping. It’s my own fault, I’d recently had the tyre changed.

“I saw it roll and disappear into one of the hedges, but I couldn’t find it when I was searching through the undergrowth. I don’t know, maybe it went behind the hedge and into the undergrowth behind.”

Ian ran out of time while hunting for the “unobtainable” hub cap as he was hosting his classical car event, and despite going back to check again he ran out of time a second time as he had to return to his home in north Wales.

One of only 15 in existence, Ian’s Marauder was the fifth model to be produced between 1950 and 1952.

They stopped production after the release of a rival Jaguar sports car which was considered more attractive and easier to drive.

The unique hub cap, which he said is about a foot across, has a small metal plate saying “Marauder” in capital letters across it which sits in the centre of the hub cap.

The car - the produce of former Rover engineers in the 1950s - has been everywhere from Monte Carlo to Germany and Rome.

Ian, who turns 72 on Tuesday, said that it had even been on Top Gear years ago before the show ‘started to become more comical’.

“I found the car in Bingley, Yorkshire in 1974. I went looking for it and fortunately, two of the three features were still alive and they had a list of the dealers who had them,”

He said: “I checked around with the list and went to two firms in Leeds - one no longer existed and the other was in Austin Springs and they remembered the car and that it belonged to the ex-chairman.

“I went to see him and asked if he remembered the car and he said ‘oh year dear boy, still got it’. I told him that if he ever thought of selling it, to let me know.”

Ian, who is the second owner of the car, finally purchased the Marauder in 1979 and has since had it for 47 years - since he was around the age of 30.

He said it is “not a museum piece” and that, in recent years, he drove it to Rome in 27 hours.

He said: “It would have been in 24 hours but we were messed around by the Eurotunnel. Next year, in February, I’ll be entering it into the Monte Carlo Classic Car Rally - 25 years after it was last there.”

While it would be possible to get a plastic replica of the hub cap printed, Ian said he would prefer to have the original back on the car.

Ian said: “Somebody told me they had gone down there with a metal detector but I haven’t heard anything so I assume they didn’t have much luck.

“I would be absolutely delighted if it was found.”

If you find the Marauder hub cap, you can ring Ian to return it and claim the £100 reward by calling 01824 790280.