Retro

Retro cars road test

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1960 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan

This 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan is a four-door, straight-six with little in the way of options – and that’s precisely why we like it so much

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1954 Mercury Monterey XM-800 Dream Car
  • The ‘XM’ stood for eXperimental Mercury and like many dream cars of its time, its fate was shrouded in mystery until a resourceful young man found it parked behind a barn, sunk in mud…
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1960 Studebaker Hawk

Brian Wrigley’s had plenty of classic Americans in his life, starting as a youngster in the Sixties; could this Studebaker be his finest Yank yet? We reckon so…

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1968 Dodge Charger Memory Machine

Dodge Dreams Bought to create happy memories< this 1968 Charger did its best to spoil that plan with three years of breakdowns and frustrations. Was it worth it? You bet!

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1940 Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 - Enzo Ferrari’s first ever car

The amazing story of Enzo Ferrari’s first ever car – why he couldn’t call it a Ferrari, how Ascari came to be his first customer and why the AAC 815 might just be the world’s most valuable car

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First car with onboard diagnostics 1968 Volkswagen Type 3

Forget supercar crash videos or the spectacle of a hideous aftermarket body kit bolted onto a modern classic, the one sight guaranteed to make the steeliest petrolhead recoil in horror has to be the yellow glow of a “check engine” light. Gut-churning it may be but the surface-level indicators of a complex diagnostic system are preferable to the potentially engine-crippling faults to which they’re pointing.

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Citroën ZX Volcane 1.9 Turbo D 1993 to 1997

If you couldn’t afford a Lamborghini Diablo or Ferrari Testarossa during the 1990’s, there was a much more cost-effective wedge of excitement on the market. Designed by Bertone, the Citroën ZX Volcane TD was a slice of gallic cool that appealed to a very different customer than the Ford Escort XR3i. More Saint-Tropez than South-end-on- Sea, if you will.

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1961 ADO 34 - Mini-based sports car

Not one but two attempts were made to spin a two-seater sports car off the original Mini’s platform, but flaws in their designs would see both stall at the prototype stage.

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1969 Steinwinter 250

499cc engine too big for you? One company would merrily swap a 250cc lump into your baby Fiat. But why?

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Celebrating five decades of the 1971 BMW 2002tii E10

Mention the ‘2002’ and – for many BMW enthusiasts – the word ‘Turbo’ springs instantly to mind. The larger than life 2002 with big wings and an even bigger power output is undoubtedly a standout icon in the model range, but, arguably, it is not the thinking man’s 2002

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1976 Bentley Corniche Series IA Brooklands FHC

We take a trip to Brooklands to meet the man whose rare Bentley Corniche is almost certainly the finest survivor of its kind – a machine restored to an exemplary standard but still used for long-distance adventures.

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1970 Triumph Stag 3.0 V8

Cool Runnings Did the Stag deserve its reputation? We revisit the British answer to the SL and find out. We revisit the only V8 Triumph and discover just how unfair history has been to BL’s answer to the Mercedes SL… Words: Aaron McKay. Photography: Gregory Owain.

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