AMC debuted a trio of interesting ‘idea’ cars in 1966 and while none of them saw full-scale production, they inspired certain ideas on future models that went into production in the following years…
There was plenty of excitement when it was announced in March 1976 that Jaguar was to participate in the European Touring Car Championship. Not only was the powerful 5.3-litre XJ12 Coupe chosen to compete in the BMW-dominated series but it would be prepared and entered by Ralph Broad’s successful Broadspeed Engineering outfit.
The man, the myth, the Lagonda…… .and so much more. Peter Tomalin celebrates the life and works of a remarkable design talent — with special guest stars from Aston Martin, including DBS V8 and Bulldog.
As an ardent supporter of British industry, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II often visited car factories throughout her 70 year reign, including Jaguar’s Browns Lane plant in March 1956. Following Sir William Lyons’ knighthood earlier the same year, the visit was in recognition of the company’s success in the UK’s postwar drive for exports.
With much made both then and now of Jaguar’s 1988 and 1990 victories of the Le Mans 24 Hours, its utter domination of the 1987 World Sportscar Championship has been largely forgotten. Yet it was arguably a much bigger achievement than winning a single, albeit 24-hour, race.
Alfa Romeo may be an also-ran in contemporary F1, but in 1993, the 155 V6 Ti rewrote history by winning the DTM championship in its first year of entry. With BMW and Audi withdrawing at the end of 1992, Alfa seized the opportunity to maximise the new-for-1993 FIA Class 1 touring-car rules.
Even before the application of windscreen wipers on automobiles, the need for a means to clear precipitation and muck from the windows of streetcars saw some interesting developments come to the fore. In 1903, Irish-born inventor JH Apjohn gained a UK patent for a mechanism that moved two brushes top to bottom to clear the windshield. Across the pond, US inventor Mary Anderson had to leave the front window down or stop to clear the snow from the panes on a streetcar ride during inclement weather. She came up with the idea of a swinging arm fitted with a rubber blade slotted through the window frame.
CVT. It’s probably one of the most divisive acronyms in motoring today. For some, the CVT – or continuously variable transmission – is seen as a means of smoothing gearshifts and curbing fuel consumption. Others can only wince at the system’s tendency to turn their driving experience into a drone some affair punctuated with the sensation of gear slip and sluggish performance.
