The Audi Quattro was by no means the first four-wheel-drive road car, but prior to this they were exotic curiosities or (slightly) sanitised off-roaders. The UR-quattro was something different. Previously, the performance car was largely defined by an even number of cylinders, usually naturally aspirated and rear-driven. The Audi Quattro stripped all that away with a warbling five-pot and a turbocharged surge that brought white-knuckle wastegate-whistle adrenalin to a relatively mass-market executive coupé – one that looks like it’s been pounding the weights in the gym. The sheer brutality of designer Martin Smith’s vision is still staggering. Remember – the Quattro was launched when the condom-beaked MGB was still on sale.
This is not an Eighties car, I can hear the naysayers proclaim – and yes, the elegant E24 first edged its (shark)nose into public consciousness halfway through the Seventies. However, it’s here because it was the halo car for BMW’s Eighties ascent into the upper echelons of desirability. We have to strip back years of 2 Series Active Tourers and ratty 320Ds to uncover the BMW of old. The badge was a status symbol – king of the keyfobs at yuppie dinner parties. All the prestige of a Jaguar or high-spec Rover without the whiff of old-school England, and much sportier than a Mercedes-Benz. The BMW was engineered of the right stuff – its sharp, crisp lines a foil to British notions of luxury and prestige still predicated on more chrome, wood and leather than an MP’s secret cellar. BMWs were properly expensive too – sift through the price list of the era and the difference between a E24 635CSi Highline like the one seen here and the top-of-the-tree M635CSi E24 could swallow a semi-detached home in the Midlands. So E30 3 Series aside, Eighties BMWs were always a fairly rare sight; nowadays every third car seems to wear an ever-more gopping kidney grille.
The Eighties has never been more popular – take a look Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill, which topped charts in eight countries 37 years after its release. Netflix’s Stranger Things TV series has thrust the Eighties aesthetic straight into the mainstream, with a younger audience warming to the fashions, music – and, of course, the cars.
Keys on the table – I grew up hating the Testarossa. It seemed to exemplify everything I detested about the Eighties. Four-wheeled cocaine for the personality deficient; a Ferrari for whom saying they owned a Ferrari was more important than driving one; (questionable) style over substance – the opposite to a tuned Cossie. However, much as you need to be of a certain age to appreciate certain things – oysters, whisky, Pink Floyd – your first proper experience of a Testarossa will blow away any preconceptions. It’s sheer theatre – yes, there’s no getting away from its hedgerowtroubling width, but it’s also low, very red and festooned with the era-defining accoutrements we simply don’t get now. Pop-up headlamps, side strakes, antennae-like mirrors? Pass me the pastel shirt and loafers.
Frazer Nash-BMW may be a mouthful but the 319/55 proves small can be beautiful. We drive the 55bhp 1937 sports car that introduced a German juggernaut to the British market, setting off an improbable chain reaction.
The Ford GT40 earned its place in motoring history via Le Mans success, but not all were destined for competition. Today we see how this rare road car copes with the realities of street life in 2023.
Reinventing classic American vehicles for the modern world is big business in the bespoke American automotive market today. We get up close and personal with a stunning example of one such crafty creation: the Vigilante 1966 Jeep Gladiator…
A genuine ex-BTCC race car that was then campaigned in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia with a Cosworth YB and — now in New Zealand — still racing today? There’s a lot to unpack here…
Ford Heritage: Colonel Sanders may have a secret blend of herbs and spices, but when it comes to originality, even he would struggle to beat Jason West’s achingly authentic and super-rare 1300 Sport.
When it comes to forging your own path you can never go wrong with a supercharger, especially a huge air-stuffing monster that sticks right out the bonnet of your Mk2 Cortina...
The Escort Ghia was always pitched as a posh and aspirational spec. And in his quest to build a South London-style Mk2 in Malta, Ruben Schembri didn’t want to lose any of that baked-in fanciness…
‘The Car You Always Promised Yourself’ read the infamous advertising slogan for the Mk1 Capri. As a teenager, Rav Dhuna added a 3-litre GXL to his bucket list, and to say he’s come good on his promise could be the understatement of the year.
