Retro

Retro cars road test

Show filter
1960 Morgan Plus 4 Racer Fabled Lawrence Tune Morgan's ongoing tale

This fabled Lawrence Tune Morgan Plus 4 has been competing in top-flight events for six decades. Julian Balme unravels its incredible history.

723
1972 Mercedes-Benz 220D Automatic La Pick-Up W115

Mercedes-Benz’s W115 saloon was renowned around the world as a taxi. But in Argentina it became more useful as La Pick-up. Melanie May investigates.

823
1939 MG WA 2.6 Litre Drophead recreation

The ultimate pre-war MG wasn’t a sports car but an ultra-rare, long lost drophead coupe designed to entice Bentley customers. Peter Tomalin drives a stunning recreation.

890
1978 MGB GT

Gavin Edwards has his late father to thank for his love of MGs so he thanked him in the best way possible by building a B GT as a tribute.

531
1967 MG Magnette MkIV Farina

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.

798
1967 Vauxhall Cresta 3.3 Automatic PC

Many manufacturers included an ultra-basic model in their line-up to offer a low entry point. Often this was available more in theory than in fact, but as Andrew Roberts discovers, in the case of the Vauxhall Cresta PC, the most basic of models was still a fine motor car.

1720
1975 Jaguar XJ12 Automatic Series 2

Searching for a classic Jaguar survivor? Then on the evidence of this beautifully preserved XJ12, Norway looks like a good place to start.

720
1969 ISO Rivolta 300

If there's a cliché of the typical Italian, it's Renzo Rivolta. Spirited, impatient, full of ideas and enterprising. The businessman had become rich with refrigerators, got into the booming two-wheeler production after the end of the war and started the car company Iso Autoveicoli SpA in the early 1950s with the Isetta from his company in Bresso. With BMW taking over the license, the Italian smooch ball became a successful Bavarian model, but Rivolta wanted more.

745
1972 Mazda RX-2 RE Coupé

Mazda is relaunching its rotary technology so we took a fresh look at what the only manufacturer who had sales success with this technology achieved in the past.

1252
Vivian Campbell’s Porsche 356 Speedster and Coupe

Soon after its introduction in late 1954, the 356 Speedster attracted many admirers from the world of entertainment. Fast-forward to the present day, and this open-top Porsche continues to captivate stars of the stage, as we discovered when visiting Def Leppard guitarist, Vivian Campbell, at his home in a snow-covered New England…

1042
1951 Pegaso Z-102B Prototype

Wifredo Ricart thought that if Ferrari’s horses could prance, his should be able to fly. Then the brilliant engineer surprised the world with this creation, the earliest-surviving example of Spain’s only super sports car. Recently restored, we drive it...

779
1958 Bentley S-Series Saloon

Rolls-Royce owner and enthusiast John Waine has prized the best of British luxury since his youth. Today he’ll drive the model of his teenage dreams, the 1958 Bentley S-Series.

587
1954 Jaguar XK120 DHC 3.4

This 1954 Jaguar XK120 DHC 3.4 was originally owned by French singer Gilbert Bécaud. Repatriated back to the UK in the late Eighties, it’s since been restored twice.

601
Preserved, not restored 1960 Ford Thunderbird

John Thorpe spent years searching for a second-generation Ford Thunderbird without success. But once he’d clapped eyes on this stunning unrestored 1960 example in Adriatic Green, he knew impulsively it was the right car for him…

1034
Drives TODAY use cookie