Visit the Audi website today and you’ll be faced with more options than a Woolies pic ‘n’ mix. There are 16 cars to choose from, and that’s before you discover the sub-models. You can’t just buy a new Audi A3, you must decide whether you want the A3 Sportback, A3 Sportback TFSI e, A3 saloon, S3 saloon, S3 Sportback, RS3 Sportback or RS3 saloon. And you thought the choice of flying saucers or strawberry pencils was taxing.
Disposable cars are, by their nature, disposable. Vehicles bought on a budget face a rapid decline into the abyss, often just one big bill away from a meeting with a burly chap with a car baler and a German Shepherd named crusher. It’s why the first-generation Chrysler Neon is a rare sight, even in its homeland, where it was sold as the Plymouth or Dodge Neon
Scroll back to 1978 and Pininfarina caused a furore with its Jaguar XJ Spider. No gush was too purple as the world’s motoring media begged British Leyland to adopt it as a production model. It didn’t, of course, but this one-off roadster remains a classic of its kind
Cecil ward’s amazing third place in 1951’s long and arduous Monte Carlo Rally driving a Mk V proved that Jaguar’s big saloons had what it took to compete at the highest level
The history of the 911 is one of almost Alfred Hitchcock-like complexity, leaving many in a welter of names such as S, Targa, E, L and Carrera. Our narrative commences at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show when Porsche displayed its vision of the future, and ends in 1989 when the 964 employed 85% new parts to create the next version of one of the world’s most recognisable sports cars.
Not to say there’s causation, but the world went a bit pear-shaped when the Toyota Tarago left us. The people mover of choice for tens of thousands of Aussies ended production in the final weeks of 2019, since replaced by the more luxo-bent Granvia. But this page of Wheels hasn’t paid homage to the trusty Tarago until now.
It seems improbable but Worthing once briefly threatened to unseat Turin and Milan as a key hub of international car design. That may sound a mite fanciful, but the appearance of the IAD Lancia Magia at the 1992 Turin motor show triggered palpable ripples because a British styling house had chosen to showcase its brave new world on hallowed turf. The cheek of it all. Here was a Lancia-badged – and supported – coupé that took all the best bits from the Dedra Integrale and added a much-needed dose of style into the mix.
As Pontiac’s star waned in the Nineties, a concept called the Sunfire offered a glimmer of hope. Sadly, as Richard Heseltine discovers, it was a false dawn…
Even though Bob Tullius’ Group 44 team won the 1978 Sports Car Club of America Trans-Am Series with a largely standard XJ-S, Jaguar North America withdrew its sponsorship, leaving the Virginia-based outfit to concentrate on its Triumph TR8 campaign instead.
Richard Heseltine looks at Chrysler’s sub-compact concept which turns into a people carrier, the Voyager III – a concept which most definitely took a voyage to obscurity…
Back in 2003, Volkswagen may have just debuted the latest 3.2-litre V6 hot hatch, but somebody at Wolfsburg decided that engine would work far better planted in the middle of a sleek roadster powering the rear wheels – enter the Volkswagen Concept R.
