Indholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2025 i Classics World

Buying a 25-year old turbocharged, fourwheel-drive performance car on a dark winter evening by the light of an iPhone isn't probably the best route to trouble-free motoring but it turns out that when the vendor is flying to Australia two days later, negotiations are satisfyingly swift and do tend to turn in your favour. And that explains why we unexpectedly had to make garage space for a sub-£1000 Audi TT this month, which in the cold light of day the following morning looked… well, surprisingly decent actually. Yes, the tree it had been parked under every day for the past couple of years had turned the Amulet Red bonnet to a dusky pink and the wheels – the sought-after Sport items no less – could do with a refurb, but…

Renault is supporting enthusiasts, owners and collectors of its historic models with a range of innovative new services comparable to the Ferrari Classiche and Porsche Classic programmes, which it plans to extend outside of France. The Originals Renault, as it's called, operates from a new website – theoriginalsservices.renault.com. It will help collectors find spare parts through a network of Renault after-sales sites, selected for their expertise in classic vehicles, as well as through several of the brand's long-standing partners. The brand says it will certificate 25 sites in 2025, which will cover 80 per cent of France and enable enabling all collectors to find an expert less than 100 km from their home. Eight sites are already open to collectors, and the next step will be to extend the network…

Infamous Eastern European car manufacturer, Yugo is set to make a comeback in the next two years. Known for producing variations on the Fiat 128 that were built in former Yugoslavia before export to Western Europe and America amongst other territories, the company produced its simple but affordable cars until 2008. Now famous German engineer and economist, Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Bjeli´c has acquired the rights to the Yugo trademark and shared his plans for an all-new model from the company with American website, The Autopian. Initial concept sketches have been released, with a scale model set to be unveiled later this year, and the 2027 Belgrade Expo earmarked for the full-scale, running prototype. Bearing a strong resemblance to the new Renault 5 EV and Hyundai's Ioniq5, Serbian designer Darko Marceta's…

The article on the Roadster automatic MGB in the April edition was most interesting. The automatic versions of this classic sports car are in my opinion very underrated. They are head and shoulders above the clunky manual version. I placed an order for a factory-built MGB BT in Bronze Yellow that was delivered to me in April 1972. I owned it for three years, and when I went to order another one, I found the auto version had just been discontinued. I rang round the main MGB suppliers and found one in Surrey I think it was. I tried to buy it, but they wouldn't sell it as it had been put on the road for one of their salesmen. I then purchased a new MGB GT manual. After 5000…

If you visit our YouTube channel, Classics World TV, you'll find a film on a summer road trip to the South West, where colleague Joe Miller from our weekly paper Classic Car Buyer gets a considerable amount of praise in the comments for still owning his first car. We don't want to knock young Joe's enthusiasm for his bright yellow Fiat, but it's fair to say that Classics World reader Ian Pinkney has him well and truly beaten: the BSA you see here is Ian's first car and he's owned it since 1965. In comparison, the Reliant Scimitar is a relatively recent addition to the fleet but makes a superb contrast. The 1933 BSA of course was an old car even when it first entered Ian's life, but is a…

As winter checks out and the first day of spring approaches, now is a great time to take the plunge on a new classic to enjoy over the coming warmer months. With so much choice on the market it's hard to know where to start, so we've gathered together a list of some of our favourite summer fun choices for just about every budget, from £5000 and under up to £50,000. You'll notice that while we've included a lot of open-topped cars to make the most of summer weather, we've also chosen a few more practical fixed-roof options. Top-down motoring isn't for everyone and we reckon all classics are best enjoyed on dry, salt free roads – preferably on a nice sunny day. If you already own a classic, you're…

If space is at a premium, then the smallest MG is the solution: few classics apart from the A30 or Mini are compact enough to slip into a standard single garage and leave room for bikes, mowers and freezers. There's a big choice of models with production running from 1961 to 1979, during which time the Midget went through four different generations and three different engines as well as three distinctly different body styles. The Midget itself was derived from the back-to-basics Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite but it went on to outlive the original by many decades. The story began at the 1952 Motor Show where Leonard Lord and Donald Healey famously shook hands on the deal to produce the Healey 100 as a joint-venture between the Healey Motor Company and…

In theory the 924's time as the entry-level Porsche is now well and truly behind as shabbier Boxsters multiply in number. Prices for Stuttgart's first front-engined car are all over the place, meaning there's something for every budget. Projects of unknown quality are around for just £1500, whereas the rare Turbo commands £7000–10,000 or even more. Somewhere in between are the regular 2.0-litre 924 at £3000–5000 and the more desirable 944-engined 924S at £6000–9000 for usable examples. For many years the Porsche purists looked down on the 924, simply because it was originally intended as an Audi product, but despite this it was in fact designed and developed on VW/Audi's behalf by Porsche. Unsurprisingly in view of their common heritage, the two brands had retained close links since the early…

The passage of time has been kind to the once-derided TR7 and it's also the best-driving of all the TRs, the four-cylinder engine giving it handling balance the nose-heavy six-cylinder cars can't match and its modern monocoque construction doing away with the separate chassis. Meanwhile the car's underpinnings are quite literally from a different era, with its MacPherson strut front end and four-linked rear axle. The TR7 should have been part of a wider range including a four-seater coupe and convertible, but both were killed off amid the chaos of the BL era, as was the proposed TR7 Sprint, with less than 60 of these 16-valve cars being assembled before the model was dropped. All of this meant that the TR7 range which made it into production comprised the regular…

MGA The TR3 owes its existence to the MGA which encouraged Triumph to address the TR2's weaknesses. Envisaged as a replacement for the prewar T-Series MGs, the MGA was as modern as they had been old-fashioned and its style is pure ‘50s glamour. Using the newly developed B-Series engine and with a chassis allowing a lower, sleeker body and driving position, the MGA was as elegant as the Triumph was functional. Launched with the 1500 engine and 68bhp, the MGA would be first be upgraded to 72bhp, then to a 1600 engine offering 80bhp and a 100mph pace, and finally to 1622cc and 93bhp. All are easier to drive fast than the TR3 and a budget of £15,000–18,000 should bag a nice Roadster.…

MARCH Retro Classics Stuttgart Date: February 27-March 2 Location: Stuttgart, Germany Website: retro-classics.de Scramblers Season Starter Date: March 16 Location: Bicester Motion Website: bicestermotion.com Restoration Show Date: March 21-23 Location: NEC, Birmingham Website: necrestorationshow.com Volksworld Show Date: March 23 Location: South of England Showground, Ardingly Website: classicsworld.co.uk/volksworldshow Mini Day Date: March 23 Location: Brooklands Museum Website: brooklandsmuseum.com APRIL Techno-Classica Essen Date: April 9-13 Location: Essen, Germany Website: technoclassica.de Japfest Date: April 13 Location: Silverstone Circuit Website: fastcar.co.uk/japfest Goodwood Members’ Meeting Date: April 12-13 Location: Goodwood Circuit Website: goodwood.com/motorsport Wheels Day Date: April 18 Location: Newbury Showground, Thatcham Website: www.wheelsday.co.uk Easter Classic Gathering Date: April 19 Location: Brooklands Museum Website: brooklandsmuseum.com Easter Motor Show and Autojumble Date: April 20-21 Location: Weston Park, Shropshire Website: weston-park.com Great British Land Rover Show Date:…

On the UK market, the GTI 16v was about as exciting as it got but in the rest of Europe there were some rather more exciting derivatives. First of these was the 1989 Golf Rallye, which used the 160bhp G60 supercharged engine debuted in the Corrado and paired it with the Golf Syncro's four-wheel drive. Based on the three-door shell, chunky box arches covered the Corrado wheels and square headlamps were borrowed from the contemporary Jetta. The Golf Rallye was produced only in left-hand drive, although a handful have been imported to the UK. In 1990, the European GTI range was expanded with the addition of the GTI G60, using the same engine but with the regular front-wheel drive layout. The ultimate Mk2 in the eyes of many was the…

Just like its founder Colin Chapman, the Lotus company has proven itself to be something of a chameleon over the years, as proved by its products. First came the basic Seven cars, followed by the clever lightweight Elan and then an inexorable move upmarket during the ‘70s, reckoned by most marque historians to be Chapman's way of funding his motorsport passion. A controversial figure he may have been, but Chapman's innovative approach to weight saving and engineering minimalism gave Lotus something of a unique place in the market. Ironically, the car which would be Lotus's most commercially successful product would be the perfect embodiment of the “for speed add lightness” philosophy, yet the Elise would come over a decade after his passing in 1982. With multiple owners since Lotus lost…

1993 Mercedes 190E • SWVA, January 30 £4300 (plus fees) With just two previous keepers and with extensive history that included its original book pack and invoice, this 1993 Mercedes 190E 2.0 boasted a tidy interior and deservedly sold for a hefty £4300 plus fees. We've never seen a 190E fitted with SLK wheels before but it's a combination that seems to work pretty well! 2001 Ford Mondeo ST24 • SWVA, January 30 £4500 (plus fees) Everyone in the Classics World team was rather taken by this 2001 Ford Mondeo ST24. One of just 142 remaining, it boasted the Rallye Sport Appearance Pack and very tidy bodywork which, along with its 66,000 miles, earned it an estimate-tripling hammer price. Perhaps values of fast Mondeos are set to follow those of…

In part two of this project series, we spotted that the inner mounting bush for the offside front lower suspension arm had deteriorated, potentially causing the wheel judder that was felt under hard braking. We could have simply replaced this bush but, in many cases, fixing one problem only highlights the next worn bush. Febi Bilstein stocks a comprehensive kit of replacement front suspension components (including steering parts) with new bushes, which includes drop links for the anti-roll bar, lower arms and track control arms. So, it seemed like a sensible idea to replace all of them, and time in the workshop at AES was booked to enable the use of a two-post ramp. Replacing the three aforementioned suspension components feels a bit like dismantling and reassembling a jigsaw puzzle.…

A couple of months ago, I found myself in the unusual position of having some time on my hands and little inspiration to venture out into the garage thanks to sub-zero temperatures. As a result, I finally made a start on an indoor project that has been at the back of my mind for some time – compiling a complete list of each and every car I have owned. There is no particular reason for doing this other than my own amusement, although I may collate everything together, add a few pictures and have it printed up as a book some day. The idea of compiling a list of this kind seemed simple enough initially, but I was surprised at how many questions it raised. Partly this is because having…

The founder and curator of Moretonhampstead Motor Museum has taken the sad decision to close the doors after a new custodian could not be found for the popular Devon classic car attraction. Consequently, the museum's collection of over 150 vehicles – thought to be worth over a million pounds – is set to be sold, with the vast majority to be auctioned by Charterhouse in May. Frank Loft originally set up the attraction – located in the small Dartmoor town of Moretonhampstead – as a retirement project. With an expanding collection of classics housed in barns, Mr Loft purchased the town's old bus depot – a 1930s building with a wonderful art deco frontage. Following extensive reshipment to the building, the museum first opened in June 2013 with 60 exhibits.…

In a significant milestone for its restoration project, engineers at the Beaulieu National Motor Museum have completed the rebuild of the rear engine on the 1927 Sunbeam 1000HP land-speed record car. The Sunbeam had only driven 300 yards before being crated for its 1927 Land Speed Record attempt in Daytona. Now, engineers have painstakingly restored its colossal 22.5-litre Matabele V12 aero engine, reassembling meticulously bagged and labelled parts without any manuals or documentation. The only non-original parts are the piston rings, which had to be replaced due to residual Castrol R oil damaging them. National Motor Museum Senior Engineer Ian Stanfield said: “It's one of the exciting parts of the project to put the engine back together. When you look at the materials used, the machining and design was phenomenal.”…

The 82nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting, taking place on April 12-13 at the historic West Sussex circuit, will commemorate the 40th anniversary of Ayrton Senna's first Formula One victory with a special on-track demonstration. Bruno Senna, Ayrton's nephew, will drive the iconic Lotus 97T, supported by Classic Team Lotus, to honour the Brazilian legend's remarkable achievement at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix. In wet conditions, Ayrton showed his talent by taking a decisive victory from pole position. Taking place on both days, the demonstration will see the John Player Special-liveried Lotus return to Goodwood having previously appeared at the Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb on several occasions. It was last at the Goodwood Motor Circuit to commemorate 30 years since Senna's final championship win in 2021. It will also mark Bruno's…

My grandpa, Bernard Gibbin, was a huge car fanatic. He started his motoring life after being demobbed in 1946, buying a 10-year-old Austin Seven Ruby from a garage in Woodlands, Doncaster. Having worked as a clerk for the South Yorkshire Bus Company in Pontefract before the Second World War, his allegiance switched when the company branched out and set up a Ford dealership and he acquired a 1937 Ford Eight Deluxe in 1947 (FEL 279). The Eight was replaced by a 1950 Ford Prefect in 1952 (PNW 385), before he graduated to his first brand new car – an Anglia 100E in Dover White (XWT 855) in March 1958. This was a disappointment, as the three-speed gearbox was troublesome as a vacuum formed in the casing which starved it of…

It must be a rule of motoring journalism that no feature covering summer fun is complete without at least a mention of the iconic Mazda. It's true that the maverick Japanese brand did manage to take up where the traditional British roadsters left off – and to great effect. The thing is, the earliest MX-5s arrived here in 1989, meaning that they are now much older today than the final MGs were at the time. As the years have passed, the popularity of the first-generation ‘NA’ among the modifiers has combined with the Mazda's enthusiasm for rotting out its sills to ensure that standard, solid survivors are now sought-after. In turn this means that values of the first-generation cars have been quietly climbing for a while and the current favourite…

Once the E-type had wowed the world in 1961, the ‘XK’ badge was quickly forgotten – and indeed the E-type's successor would be the XJ-S, which since it was a sporting model of the XJ made logical sense. As the decades wore on and the XJ-S aged to the point where even the extensive re-engineering couldn't stave off its inevitable replacement. Remarkably, all the rumours and scoop stories in the press saw the journalists fixating on the idea of an ‘F-Type’, essentially a coupe version of the XJ40 saloon clothed in a slightly Knight Rider interpretation of the E-type styling, complete with turbocharged engines and four-wheel drive. Dubbed ‘XJ41’ it had its roots in the early ‘80s, a time when the XJ-S really did look like its future was limited,…

No, it may not be a convertible but the Bentley stills gets our vote as a summer classic for a couple of reasons: firstly, these cars are of the age now that you simply wouldn't want to subject a nice example to winter roads and secondly, their thirst does rule them out as everyday, year-round transport. Which is a shame in many ways, since a well-used Turbo R is, according to all expert opinion, a reliable Turbo R. Like so many largely analogue cars of the era, the Silver Spirit/ Mulsanne really doesn't take to sitting around unused, with problems ranging from electrics to hydraulics as connections corrode and seals dry out. On the other hand, that can be to your advantage: bypass the ambitiously priced low-mileage cars and find…

Often overlooked by purist Volkswagen enthusiasts, the open-air Golf represents one of the few affordable four-seater classic convertibles around and also makes a clever way into the famous Mk1 Golf GTI. Like its predecessor the Beetle Cabriolet, the Golf Cabriolet was constructed on behalf of Volkswagen by coachbuilder Karmann, which would later go on to become a part of the VW Group. Karmann in fact created the entire bodyshell, from pressings to the completed body-in-white assembly and much re-engineering was done to compensate for the lack of a structural roof. The open Golf received enlarged sill members, and crossmembers were added transversely under the dash and the rear seat. Front inner wings were reinforced, while the windscreen frame and scuttle pressings were new. The rear end structure was entirely revised…

The Minor saloon remains the practical, easy-to-own classic it has been since it kick-started the classic car movement way back when. There's simply nothing you can't buy for them, they're easy to work on, easy to garage and in Minor 1000 form have the pace to keep up with modern traffic. The history of the Minor has been well documented but in brief, the car was conceived in the 1940s as a replacement for the ageing prewar Morris Eight. The brief was seen as an opportunity for Issigonis to condense all his innovative design ideas into a single vehicle and it was this which created the Minor's basic design: the body style said to be influenced by Packard, the torsion-bar suspension, the wheel-at-each-corner layout and generous interior space. The design…

The Volkswagen (pop fact: it was never officially called Beetle) may not have been the first affordable car aimed at the masses – the Austin Seven for example beat it by several decades – but it was perhaps the first to be a full-size vehicle capable of accommodating a family and transporting it over long distances. The car's origins in the murk of pre-war German politics have been chronicled extensively but one important factor worth mentioning is that government backing meant the car could be a clean-sheet design with none of the historical baggage or cost imperatives of an existing car maker. Sure, Prof. Porsche took inspiration from many sources – notably Tatra – for his design, but the finished product was more a collection of ideas. Chief among these…

Trying to identify the second-generation SL to a friend not well versed in classic cars recently, a colleague simply referred to it as “you know, the Dallas one…” – which of course placed it immediately, and also illustrates the symbol of success which the car quickly became. Ironically, most of the early design proposals used a targa-style body, or at the very least a hefty rollover structure due to fears over US legislation potentially banning open cars. Towards the end of the 1960s fears were fading and Mercedes gambled on the open car, although last-minute jitters caused the launch to be delayed while the coupe version of the car – the SLC – was developed. In typical Mercedes fashion this wasn't simply a case of welding a roof on to…

PART THREE When you know you've got a 24-hour roadtrip in an old car looming, you take any unusual noise or feeling from driving it seriously. The W124 had proven utterly reliable in our ownership – after from the small coolant-related mishap, reported on last month – but I noticed a whining emanating from around the fuel filler that was gradually getting louder. This, combined with the car sometimes struggling to hold a steady idle, lead me to thinking the primary fuel pump could be on its way out – an online search revealed a whining primary pump on a W124 isn't unusual, and they can often keep going for years without fault. However, knowing we were going to be subjecting this car to 24 hours of hard driving, I…

You'll sometimes hear it said that the first front-wheel drive Volkswagen was the Golf. Is that true? Technically, no… but still sort of correct. If we're being pedantic then the first front-wheel drive car to be marketed with the Volkswagen badge on its nose was in fact the K70, originally developed as an NSU until Volkswagen acquired the struggling company (brought down by Ro80 warranty claims) mainly for its Neckarsulm production site. Following the acquisition the K70 also seemed like an ideal way to test the water with a new model which finally broke away with the Beetle-derived, rear-engined air-cooled cars – which was something Volkswagen really needed to do. By the late ‘60s, the air-cooled engine was becoming increasingly outmoded, as was the rear-engined layout and despite developing models…

The arrival of spring is an important time for classic car enthusiasts. As evenings get lighter and gritters retreat to their depots, it's typically the earliest opportunity for many to get out for a drive in their pride and joy. The UK's varied calendar of classic car events gets underway around this time too, filling weekends from now until autumn with all manner of shows, tours and meets. Whether you want to make the first local pub meet of the year or win prizes in a concours competition at a national event, we've created the ultimate guide to getting your classic ready – both mechanically and visually. ESSENTIAL MECHANICAL CHECKS Storing a classic car for the winter is common; road salt and bad weather generally don't mix well with old…

Following the launch of its all-new 200, Rover wanted to launch a performance version to put the model on the map – but keen to ensure MG stayed relevant to sports cars, BMW was reluctant to allow Rover to use the famous octagon badge on the new car. A hunt through the history books revealed a link between Rover and racing manufacturer BRM – not least, the Rover BRM turbine car of the 1960s which raced at Le Mans. The BRM nameplate was therefore chosen as the basis for a limited edition based on the VVC-engined 200vi. Usage of the BRM name was granted on the understanding that Rover would take the concept of performance saloons seriously. The 200's ride height was lowered by 20mm, the springs and dampers tweaked,…

As much as this is a history of the birth and evolution of the last Bentley to be designed during the 20th century, it's also (inevitably) a look at the very public battle between Volkswagen and BMW for ownership of the Bentley and Rolls-Royce names. The car was launched in the middle of the takeover tussle between the two German giants. And when BMW snatched the rights to Rolls-Royce from under VW's nose – and at a fraction of the price that VW had paid for Bentley – it would have quite radical repercussions for the new Arnage. However, we're getting ahead of ourselves, for the origins of the Arnage date back to the days when Vickers was in charge of both marques. The British aviation, defence, marine and engineering…

Kelsey Media, publisher of Classics World, has begun an exciting new era following the acquisition of the Mortons Media Group Limited and group of companies. The purchase is anticipated to complete by March 25, and includes the publishing and events divisions, with Mortons printing and distribution operations being retained by the former owners as Mortons Print and Mailing Limited. Based in Horncastle Lincolnshire, Mortons Media is a leading specialist publishing company with strength in a number of magazine and book publishing sectors, including motorcycles, modelling, rail and gardening and also benefits from a profitable and dynamic events division. The acquisition enhances Kelsey's product portfolio, expanding its market presence, and creating significant new opportunities. Kelsey Media has already invested significantly in growth over the last five years and now publishes over…

A total of 17 races – featuring 12 grids of historic racing cars – are set to take place at Donington Circuit from Friday, 2 May to Sunday, 4 May as part of the annual Donington Historic Festival, a highlight of the historic racing calendar. From pre-war sports cars to 1990s Super Touring cars, the racing will span multiple eras and disciplines across each day. Friday will see qualifying take place for multiple grids, including the FJHRA Silverline Championship, the fan-favourite Mad Jack for Pre-War Sports Cars, U2TC, GT3 Legends, Superformance Ferrari Club Classic, HMRN Pre ‘63 GT and Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall races. Racing will kick off at 14:20 with the first of two FJHRA Silverline races featuring a grid of historic Formula Junior cars. Saturday's action includes…

SEALEY ROADSTART JUMP STARTER PACK £89.94 list price, £77.94 until March 31 — sealey.co.uk Reviewed by Joe Miller If you own any old cars, particularly a fleet of several, coming out to a flat battery won't be an unfamiliar scenario. Of course, you can use jump cables, but that relies on another working car and preferably, another person to run it. You could trickle charge the battery, but if you need the car now, that's no help – jump packs are nothing new, but until recently they've been massive suitcase-sized boxes that take up half the boot in a classic Mini. Not so the Sealey RoadStart jump pack, which measure in at just 14cm x 8.5cm x 2.7cm and weighs just 360g, about the size and weight of two smartphones,…

As a regular reader for the past twelve months, what I particularly enjoy about Classics World are the interesting facts one can pick up. For example, on page 97 of the April magazine we learned that the Peugeot 604 shared its doors with the older, and considerably smaller 504 model. Who'd have thought that? Fascinating! However, one shouldn't believe everything one reads in this esteemed publication: on page 83 of the same issue, under ‘Cortina Mk4 & Mk5 timeline’ we're told that in 1977 the Cortina offered Ghia trim on a Ford product for the first time. Yet by my recollection, the Cortina was late to that party; Granada, Capri and Escort all having got there beforehand. Indeed, in the case of the Granada, by two years! Whilst I've always…

Matt Finch, current custodian of this Old English White Jaguar 240, is unusual for a Mk2 owner: he admits he has no great affection for the wider Jaguar marque and his car is the one and only example he's ever likely to own… assuming you don't include a childhood Dinky toy replica. Despite that, Matt's ‘Mk2’ has been present throughout his whole lifetime. Jaguar production records reveal that TAB 80F was manufactured on 26th January 1968 and immediately dispatched to the distributor – PJ Evans in Birmingham – before finding its way to the Kidderminster-based dealership of Stanley Goodwin and Son. Meanwhile, Matt's father, Ron, had decided to reward his hard work in the family's fish and chip shop by treating himself to a prestige car – and after brief…

We think of Rover in its heyday as being a company that blended traditional British luxury with fantastic quality and impressively forward-thinking engineering, with little details that helped to radically progress the car overall. The P4, P5, and P6 usually come to mind, but that ethos actually extended pre-war; In the early 1930s, two brothers by the names of Maurice and Spencer Wilks had joined Rover, and when they did, no one could have imagined the impact that the siblings would have on one of Britain's greatest car makers. They wanted to launch an all-new model to stand out from the crowd, bring the company more upmarket, and to progress the cause of what was still quite a new idea – the private motor car. Launched in 1933, the P1…

The Midget was produced in the era when badge engineering was running wild at BMC and the term ‘Spridget’ used to be a common way of referring to the Sprite and Midget. How close were they in reality? Well, pretty identical really. The extra £30 the MG version cost over the Austin-Healey bought you a different grille, improved interior trim, more dials and more external brightwork. Mind you, whatever the badge on the nose, all the early cars were pretty basic: windows were sliding Perspex, a heater was a option and external door handles were conspicuously absent. Bonnet and boot badges plus the logo on the hubcaps were of course different. The differences between the two gradually disappeared, with the Midget losing its chrome waistline and bonnet strips in 1969…

What can be written about the MGB that hasn't already been said? Alongside the Minor, it's been the UK's favourite classic car since the phrase was invented, but its long production life means it can be a big task to become well informed on the model range. As launched in May 1962, the MGB was a world away from the MGA, using a modern monocoque bodyshell and a newly enlarged 1.8-litre version of the B-Series engine. It may have lacked the older car's delicate style but was altogether more modern and a whole lot more civilised too: wind-up windows, more legroom, exterior door handles and locks and a hood rather better sealed against the elements all marked it out as being a car for the ‘60s. Those unfamiliar with B's…

The Aston Martin DB7 sits alongside controversial classics like the MGC and Triumph Stag as a car which divides opinion like few others. By the moneyed DB4/5/6 brigade, it's often looked down upon as a Ford/ Jaguar hybrid lacking the genes required of a ‘real’ Aston Martin, yet those of us well versed in the brand's history will be well aware that without it, the marque simply wouldn't be with us today. For perspective, one need only consider the comment of Aston Martin's erstwhile owner, the extravagantly pinstriped Victor Gauntlett who when asked by a financial journalist how he proposed to make a small fortune out of Aston Martin simply quipped “start with a large one!” At that time Aston Martin could number its annual sales in the hundreds and…

The second ‘R107’ generation may have caught the imagination of the classic car world but the third generation, the ‘R129’ model saw the SL reach its technical peak. Offering unparalleled levels of safety and performance it was a massive leap from the R107 which by the time the R129 was launched in 1989, was beginning to show its age. The new car was anything but dated and in appearance could be only German and only a Mercedes. At launch, the R129 was touted as being the safest open car in the world thanks to some clever engineering including the automatic roll bar which shot up automatically, deploying in 0.3 seconds if the car's sensors determined a rollover was imminent and an integrated seat assembly, containing the seatbelt anchorage. The body…

The TR story began with the 20TS concept using the Standard Eight chassis, the Vanguard engine and Mayflower suspension, which was attractive but flawed. Its iffy handling resulted in a thorough redesign to create what went to market as the TR2. The major change for production was the creation of a new chassis, together with an independent coil spring and wishbone front suspension. A live rear axle was suspended by coils and lever arm dampers and the ladder frame chassis featured an X-brace shape connecting the two main longitudinal rails, which run under the rear axle to allow a low-slung stance. The engine was borrowed from the Standard Vanguard saloon and was derived from the unit Standard had developed for the Ferguson tractor, a robust four-cylinder, wet-liner 1991cc OHV unit…

Like the Bentley Turbo R, everyone's favourite ‘60s Jaguar may not be a convertible, but it's still a summer car for two sensible reasons: firstly, the combination of winter roads, a live axle and the power of the 3.8 XK motor aren't much fun, and secondly because the cost of bodywork restoration on early monocoque cars like this can be significant. In most other respects though, the Mk2 makes an ideal classic on account of its compact size, straightforward running gear and very modern performance. Launched in 1959, the Mk2 was an evolution of the Mk1, addressing its weaknesses and modernising the design. A wider track sorted the nervous high-speed handling, while the growing knowledge of unitary bodyshell construction allowed a greater glass area courtesy of slimmer pillars. £10,000-40,000 The…

PART 10 1 The Marina was looking a little dusty after Alan had been working on the Fiat 500 nearby, but was none the worse for wear. Those wheels could really do with being refurbished, but they hide behind wheel trims so that can wait. 2 Having replaced the steering rack and so wound the trackrod ends off the old rack to fit to the new one, the tracking had to be checked. Alan's professional gear has you looking through a periscope at a similar gauge on the other side… Considering that I drove this Marina home from Manchester to near Peterborough with a reasonable degree of confidence and pleasure after buying it at the end of September 2023 and then took it the next day straight to the workshop,…

Audi stunned press and buyers alike with the launch of the Quattro at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show. It was the first production car to combine a turbocharged front-mounted engine with four-wheel drive. A prototype Audi Quattro testing its permanent fourwheel-drive system on the Turracher Höhe in Austria. The system uses a manually locking rear and centre differentials to make light work of low-traction surfaces. Identifiable by its squat proportions and added bonnet vents, the Sport Quattro arrived to homologate Audi's latest Group B entry in 1984. The road-going car had a slightly smaller engine than the standard car to meet qualification criteria but produced much more power, with 300bhp on tap versus the original car's 197bhp. The Quattro's five-cylinder underwent a number of revisions during the car's 11-year production…

The 911 might have formed the backbone of Porsche's success, but the company was never afraid to broaden its appeal with new models: its SUVs are proof of that. The first-generation Boxster launched in 1996 proved a huge hit, so a second generation (codenamed 987) was a no-brainer, and it would spawn the Cayman we're focusing on here. It arrived in 2005 in higherperformance ‘S’ form, the 295bhp 3.4 flat-six driving the rear wheels via six-speed manual or optional five-speed Tiptronic transmissions. July 2006 saw the addition of the entry-level version, its 245bhp 2.7 flat-six more than enough to see it hit 160mph with 0-60mph in around 6.0 seconds. Following a pair of limited edition models – the Design Edition 1 and S Sport of 2007 and 2008 respectively –…

Lexus IS200 (1999-2005) As with so many Japanese cars of the early 2000s, the Lexus IS200 has seen its values rise in recent years as enthusiasts have come round to its charms. The car arrived in 1999 as a challenger to the dominant E46 3 Series, offering a similar blend of executive car comfort and sporty character. Sold as the Toyota Altezza in Japan from 1998 with a wider engine and trim range, the Lexus version in the UK was initially only offered with a 2.0-litre straight-six petrol engine and plush trims: S, SE and Sport. In 2001 Lexus squeezed the 3.0-litre 2JZ-GE straight-six under the bonnet to create the IS300 and also added the SportCross estate to the range to take on the 3 Series Touring. A manual gearbox…