News
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of Pininfarina’s wind tunnel in Grugliasco, near Turin, Italy. Judging by how many other coachbuilders have come and gone over the years, half a century is already a considerable time for an automotive design house to survive, but the (ongoing) Pininfarina story goes back a long way before 1972.Read now
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Concorso D'Eleganza
Seeing pictures of Aston Martin’s superbly restored Bulldog taking the Coppa d’Oro at this past weekend’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este prompted a bout of nostalgia as I recalled a trip to Lake Como made a decade ago.Read now -
Bowmaker Racing Team
Britain’s early appetite for Formula 1 success has been superbly documented in recent Porter Press publications, Vanwall – The Story of Britain’s First Formula 1 Champions, and BRM – Racing for Britain. Of course, there were other British outfits from the era whose star shone at least as brightly, Cooper, Team Lotus etc.Read now -
Packaging F1’s magic
Read nowWatching a Formula 1 race these days is an immersive experience. With the full weekend’s sessions exhaustively covered by more than 50 cameras, a squad of expert commentators and guest panellists and team radio for all to hear, it truly...
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Disc Jockeying at Le Mans
Read nowThere can be no doubt that Jaguar’s use of disc brakes at Le Mans in 1953 provided the cars from Coventry with a tangible performance advantage. The winning 3.4-litre C-type finished a full five laps ahead of the 5.5-litre Cunningham...
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#InspiredByPorsche
Read nowRegular readers will no doubt be aware of Jaguar Land Rover’s less than cordial treatment of artists who choose to depict its vehicles in their work. ‘Cease and desist’ letters from the company’s legal department have been dished out like...
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The Art of Wagger
Read nowBorn in 1958, Klaus Wagger grew up in the Austrian Tyrol, surrounded by mountains, cows and an active motorsport scene which included F1 drivers Gerhard Berger and Karl Wendlinger. Famous though these two were, according to his parents it was...
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Classic cars in slices
Read nowAnyone afflicted with a passion for cars has more than likely spent a disproportionately high percentage of their lives staring at the lines, curves and surfaces of some beautiful machines. Spend enough time and you begin to know the shapes...
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A Mobile Tradition
Read nowAn invitation to visit BMW Group Classic to drive a 507 arrived in my inbox back in 2010 – that’s not something you turn down. The following was my report on that experience. BMW Group Classic, formerly known as Mobile...
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Driving the DeLorean
Read nowby Wayne Batty It is said that John Zachary DeLorean wanted people’s eyes to light up when they walked through a DMC showroom. It’s been 40 years since car buyers first had that opportunity, and 36 since the DeLorean’s starring...
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One for the Archives, by Wayne Batty
Read nowOn a trip to Stuttgart back in 2012, I was afforded an opportunity to visit Porsche’s archive as well as its then ‘semi-secret’ new storage facility. Frank Jung holds the position now, but Dieter Landenberger headed up Porsche’s Historical Archives...
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Opel: Bicycles, Rockets and Racers
The March 2017 purchase of Opel and its twin-sister brand Vauxhall by PSA Group, followed by the 2021 merging of PSA with Fiat Chrysler Automotive has all but guaranteed the continued survival of the Opel and Vauxhall brands. That’s great news for anyone interested in automotive history, as there’s more than 320 years of that behind their storied and – from 1972 on – intertwined names.Read now