Is this a sports car or just a Beetle in a tuxedo? It’s odd, but no other car in this group – not even the Golf GTI – has quite such a weight of expectation hanging over it quite like the Karmann-Ghia. Given that the Beetle on which it’s based was a Ferdinand Porsche design, and the 356 was created using much of the same thinking and raw materials. Even the Karmann-Ghia’s suspension layout with torsion bars front and rear is similar. Is this sporty coupé and roadster take on the Beetle a decent substitute for a real Porsche? If so, £6k for an average one never looked so cheap.
The homely setting of Ferry Porsche’s front room provides the backdrop for this informal gathering one evening in March 1974. This was a preliminary discussion on the possibility of cooperating with a car manufacturer in what was then the Soviet Union.
Despite ruling Le Mans throughout the Fifties with five overall victories plus three second, two third and four fourth places, Jaguar’s dominance of the famous 24 Hours race came to an end in the early Sixties with a disappointing ninth place. When motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, introduced a new GT class for endurance racing from 1962 onwards, many privateers chose the new E-Type. The homologated version initially showed great promise with two examples finishing a strong fourth and fifth at 24 Heures du Mans in 1962 with the outfits of Briggs Cunningham and Peter Sargent.
For some, one is never enough… even when you already own a stunning example of your favourite classic. When John Langford had the chance tos become the custodian of his second finned Magnette, he just couldn’t resist.
Lee Whiting was five years old when his parents bought him a Flying Lady mascot from a Rolls-Royce. He would polish it to perfection, but did he really believe he might drive a Rolls-Royce of his own one day? Good things come to those who wait!
Although there were wide-bodied convertible versions of the Carrera 3.2 and 964, Porsche didn’t produced a showroom model of a 993 Cabriolet with Turbo-look wheel arches. We meet a man who made one for himself...
This elegant Corniche has found a happy home for life, says its owner. Careful investment and attention has turned a good example into a car to be proud of…and it gets enjoyed, too.
Being obsessed with DTM and IMSA racing, it’s no surprise Nick Flom would wind up in something a bit fruity on the road, although his carbon-clad RS3 daily driver is actually more at home on the track…
