Despite Ian Appleyard dominating the Alpine Rally throughout the early Fifties with his cream XK120, registration NUB120, since the Monte Carlo Rally’s rules at the time demanded cars over 1ó litres had to be four-seaters, it meant he had to ditch the sports car in favour of a MkVII instead. For his first Monte in 1952, Appleyard ordered a brand new example, registered PWN 7, but due to poor weather he, together with his co-driver wife, Pat (who was also the daughter of chairman of Sir William Lyons) finished a lowly 53rd. He would use the car again for that year’s Tulip Rally in April when he came home a strong second.
The Mustang II might be considered to be an anaemic pig-faced wretch of a car by some, but it’s amazing what a bit of aftermarket tweaking can achieve, especially if you’re aiming to inject some performance into it!
From blown diffusers to front-tyre-warming, toe-angle-adjusting steering columns, both born then banned in the past two decades, Formula One has been defined by relentless rule-bending engineering innovations since its inception. However, the most primal of them all doesn’t even hail from this century; it supersedes carbon fibre as F1’s go-to construction material in the 1980s.
Page through the CAR guide section at the back of the magazine and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a new model that does not incorporate some form of smartphone integration; be it simple Bluetooth connectivity, or touchscreen systems that accommodate Android Auto or Apple CarPlay functionality. And it was the latter that set the scene for the sort of phone-to- car interaction we enjoy in so many of our vehicles right now.
Ercole Spada’s strikingly styled Lancia Flavia SS Zagato coupe was all set to become a regular Lancia production model. It’s tragic that such a missed opportunity was also such a timeless design classic.
Showcasing Buick’s turbo technology in the early Eighties was this one-off model, the PPG Buick Skyhawk Turbo, that was built to pace the Budweiser Cleveland 500 in 1982…
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.
By and large, when it comes to the business of fitting innovative technologies into their cars, automobile manufacturers tend to reserve such features for their flagship models or limited-run offerings. The price tags and discerning clientele who can afford it justify the cost of such fancy features.
