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Lincoln Continental: Edsel Ford’s American dream car
Put in charge of the newly-acquired Lincoln Motor Company, Edsel Ford famously said: ”Father made the most popular car in the world. I want to make the best car in the world.” When the Lincoln...
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Reliant Robin: the quintessentially British ‘plastic pig’
The three-wheeled car was a very British phenomenon, a result of motoring laws that allowed anyone with a category A motorcycle licence to drive one. Tamworth-based Reliant took full advantage, with...
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Ford Corsair: the “smash hit” that never was
Ford didn’t get much wrong in the 1960s. The Anglia 105E and Cortina were both runaway successes, while the Zephyr and Zodiac range catered admirably for the executive class. But the Corsair, built to...
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Chevrolet Bel Air: glory years of ‘the hot one’
It’s as American as apple pie, rock ‘n’ roll and baseball, an epochal symbol of the nation’s postwar middle class prosperity. The Chevrolet Bel Air of ‘55 to ‘57 – and its siblings in the Tri-Five...
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Toyota 2000GT: Japan’s first supercar
It’s widely regarded as Japan’s first supercar, a gorgeous coupe with echoes of the earlier Jaguar E-Type and a foretaste of the later Datsun Z-cars. The Toyota 2000GT was a halo car that made the...
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Renault Clio Williams: the best hot hatch of the 90s?
The Renault Clio Williams was arguably the defining hot hatch of the 1990s, usurping the champion Peugeot 205 GTi from its lofty perch. While it bathed in the reflected glory of the then-dominant...
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NSU Ro80: a flawed masterpiece
The rotary-engined NSU Ro80 was regarded by some as Europe’s best production saloon of the late 1960s. Voted Car of the Year for 1968 for its overall refinement as well as that smooth-as-silk Wankel...
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Renault Fuego: French fight coupe market with fire
The Renault Fuego was the epitome of French avant-garde ‘80s design, a genuine four-seater coupe with oodles of charm and, in turbo form, plenty of oomph. Between 1980 and 1982 it was Europe’s...
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Fiat X1/9: the baby supercar years ahead of its time
Back in the early 1970s, there was nothing on the market quite like the Fiat X1/9. A mid-engined sports car of tiny proportions, the little Fiat had a futuristic wedge design, a perky high-revving...
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MGA: the most beautiful MG of all?
When it launched in 1955, the MGA represented a significant break with tradition for the men from Abingdon-on-Thames. At long last, MG had produced a contemporary design a world away from the outdated...
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Triumph Dolomite: British Leyland’s BMW-beater
The launch of the Triumph Dolomite was held up by strikes at British Leyland (BL), but when it did finally appear – months behind schedule in 1972 – it was to great acclaim. A year later, the...
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Porsche 924: the vitally important “pauper’s Porsche”
When the Porsche 924 first appeared in the south of France in November 1975, it was greeted with much gnashing of teeth by fans of the marque. Not only was its water-cooled engine positioned at the...
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Volkswagen Scirocco: Wolfsburg’s sharp-suited coupe
In the early 1970s, Volkswagen’s line-up wasn’t just long in the tooth – it was positively geriatric. With the venerable Beetle finally losing its sales appeal, and the Karmann Ghia coupe showing its...
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Peugeot 306 GTi-6 and Rallye: hot hatch royalty
If there’s one car-maker which knew how to hit the hot-hatch sweet spot in the 80s and 90s, it was Peugeot. There was the raucous brilliance of the 205 GTi 1.9-litre, its awkward-looking but awesome...
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Porsche 968 history and road tests
The Porsche 968 was the final evolution of the marque’s front-engined sports cars that started back in 1976 with the 924. It wasn’t a commercial success, with only 12,776 of the 3-litre cars made...
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