Sport Cars

The history of the E26 BMW M1 is a tragic one. First, Lamborghini put the entire project in jeopardy, then the botched Group 4 homologation and the second oil crisis shocked everyone. But owning one of the only 453 mid-engine speedsters built as a result is all the more enjoyable, as Reiner Ahrend knows.

Fresh from restoration and wearing its seventh different primary colour, this Lotus Eleven S2 is the ideal Goodwood weapon, says James Elliott.

Alejandro de Tomaso rescued Maserati from the wreckage of the Fuel Crisis and based the new Ky alarm on a car of his own marque. Richard Heseltine says the surgery worked.

When Charlie Thresh bought his 911 T, it appeared to be in need of only light restoration. After the shell was shot-blasted, however, the car’s poor condition was fully revealed. Fast-forward four years and we are in the presence of a masterpiece of reconstructive metalwork...

As an instant modern classic, the limited-production Ferrari 550 Barchetta was always going to be special. But how does driving this open-top V12 Ferrari feel more than two decades later?

This Semi-Lightweight E-type has shrugged off 60 years of racing scraps and scrapes while retaining unbroken provenance – today we follow Protheroe, Vestey, Mansell and Unser into the driver’s seat.

Two things we like here at Spotted: rarity, and a splash of colour – and this month’s car has plenty of both. We found a glorious 2.8 RSR, number 12 of just 55 built in Sea blue (which is on the cusp of purple) over at Mechatronik.de. Job done, we thought, but then we scrolled down. Now, there aren’t many cars that can out-rare and out-colour a purple (with red decals) 2.8 RSR, but the 993 GT2 Evo Harlekin (Harlequin) is such a car. And then some.

Who needs a huge V12 when electric power can bring out the qualities that make a Rolls-Royce a Rolls-Royce?

The Audi Quattro was by no means the first four-wheel-drive road car, but prior to this they were exotic curiosities or (slightly) sanitised off-roaders. The UR-quattro was something different. Previously, the performance car was largely defined by an even number of cylinders, usually naturally aspirated and rear-driven. The Audi Quattro stripped all that away with a warbling five-pot and a turbocharged surge that brought white-knuckle wastegate-whistle adrenalin to a relatively mass-market executive coupé – one that looks like it’s been pounding the weights in the gym. The sheer brutality of designer Martin Smith’s vision is still staggering. Remember – the Quattro was launched when the condom-beaked MGB was still on sale.

Keys on the table – I grew up hating the Testarossa. It seemed to exemplify everything I detested about the Eighties. Four-wheeled cocaine for the personality deficient; a Ferrari for whom saying they owned a Ferrari was more important than driving one; (questionable) style over substance – the opposite to a tuned Cossie. However, much as you need to be of a certain age to appreciate certain things – oysters, whisky, Pink Floyd – your first proper experience of a Testarossa will blow away any preconceptions. It’s sheer theatre – yes, there’s no getting away from its hedgerowtroubling width, but it’s also low, very red and festooned with the era-defining accoutrements we simply don’t get now. Pop-up headlamps, side strakes, antennae-like mirrors? Pass me the pastel shirt and loafers.

The mystique of the barn find is strong. As this fully restored 911 E 2.4 Targa ably demonstrates, it’s also a rich source of Rindt Vehicle Design restoration projects, the kind many other specialists dare not get involved with...

Nothing funny about the Zagato-bodied Lancia Hyena, though few cars will make you grin more broadly. Glen Waddington takes the wheel.

Owned by a trio of fanatical petrolheads, this glorious Guards Red 1989 Porsche 944 S2 not only serves to bring joy to its owners when they get behind the wheel, but also helps increase awareness for a rare life-limiting condition...

We tell the background story on how Toyota both spoilt and then fixed the MR2.

To mark the 25th anniversary of a unique concept the eventual Vanquish production model was based on, we’re driving an example of the V12 supercar across one of the UK’s best driving roads.