Articles

Why underrated Espada and 365 GTC/4 offer all the glorious V12 thrills of their exotic brethren for a fraction of the price. Lamborghini’s Espada and Ferrari’s 365 GTC/4 have long existed in the shadow of more exalted siblings. Richard Heseltine says it’s time they received greater recognition.

Sometimes it’s the simplest moments in life that can shape a person’s future, leading them down a path fed by experiences from an early age. Being born into a performance automotive family, it was only a matter of time before Pete Dayotas Jr. of North Grafton, Massachusetts, came face-to-face with fate. When your earliest memories revolve around climbing into a hopped-up T-bucket packing a dual-quad-fed small-block Chevy, it’s easy to see the switch being flicked on in a youngster’s mind. The combined scent of fuel and oil mixed with chrome and metalflake of his uncle Paul Dayotas’ hot rod was all it took to lure him in. At the same time his dad, Pete Sr., set the pace with regular visits to New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire, to feel the thunder along with traveling to local events like the World of Wheels and Boston Area Roadster shows. Following the sounds of a sizzling fuse being lit he wasted no time heading to a grand finale with building the wicked ’65 Chevy El Camino laid out across these pages.

“Years ago, I bought a ’37 Ford Coupe, and that was going to be my last car project,” Norman Brown from Islamorada, Florida, states. “It was a Henry Ford all-steel body that was nicely chopped. I put a TCI chassis under it and, of course, a Chevy big-block for a ‘little’ motivation. Like I said, it was going to be my last build, but unfortunately it was wrecked in an accident!”

Some might say 1970 was a monumental year for rock music, and much of it not good. Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix both died at the age of 27, and the Beatles called it quits due to musical differences between Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Both continued on a musical path to highly successfully solo careers. Joplin and Hendrix–not so much. With the two most famous Beatles going their separate ways, their fans followed suit; some took the Lennon train, while others aligned with McCartney.

They sit right at the top of the hot-hatch food chain, so can the fresh Audi RS3 8YA put the bite on the ballistic AMG A45 W177?

What sort of electric future works for Australian drivers? 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+ V297 is the catalyst for a reckoning of where we are right now.

Cupra’s intriguing trio of sporty Euro models has only just touched down on Australian soil but I’m already familiar and very fond of two thirds of it. A year ago, I got my hands on the range topping Leon 300 (dubbed VZx locally) and it proved to be one of the most involving and exhilarating hot hatches for blasting around the English countryside, enjoying the autumn sun.

Yes, the ‘thrift-shop Urus’ jokes started coming thick and fast as soon as the 2023 Haval H6GT Ultra rolled into the car park, but almost as soon as they started, the office japers went a bit quiet.

If, instead of Porsche’s impressive facility in Stuttgart, the 992 911 family was actually grown on vines and finished in oak barrels, the Carrera would be a fresh young riesling and the Carrera S would be a bold durif, while the Turbo siblings would sit on the top shelf in grappa bottles.

The ‘goat’ brought real muscle that defined an era

Mercedes-Benz is in a state of transition, moving from old-world internal combustion to battery-electric vehicles. We join key engineers testing forthcoming electric vehicles, including the new EQS SUV, and discover this switch to battery power has provided fresh motivation for staff, who are fully embracing the company’s new direction.

Martin Cliffe developed the engine for the Lotus Turbo Esprit, yet he’d never owned one until recently. Today we both drive it, then compare notes on how it shapes up retrospectively.

Automotive explorer Chris Dady has raced, restored and toured his way through 70 cars. Will a day driving a 1956 AC Aceca sway his next classic purchase?

Back in the UK after more than half a century undercover, this Lagonda V12 Rapide once belonged to a top British spy. But as we discover, it may have inspired fictional escapades too.

Well over two years in development, the RennTech S76R is the most powerful naturally aspirated 140-series S-Class in existence. Mercedes-Benz Enthusiast spoke exclusively to its creators...