Blog posts
Rapid, luxurious and economical, BMW’s F06 640d M Sport Gran Coupé is also great value. Words: Guy Baker Photography: Various Sleek, elegant and purposeful, BMW’s F06 Gran Coupé looks expensive, but you can now buy a decent 640d M Sport from as little as £13,000. More balanced than the 6 Series Coupé, and much more fun than a 5 Series, the 640d is both fast and frugal. It also sounds great (for an oil burner) and handles sweetly for such a large car.
Had BMW set out to create a superior mainstream hatchback from scratch, it would surely not have made such a poor fist of it as the Compact. A serious attempt at efficient packaging would have dictated a transverse engine and front-wheel drive. Back to basics, no less. Or forward to Rover. No, the Compact is the product of commercial opportunism, not mould-breaking design. In making a pig’s ear from a silk purse, BMW is guilty of regression, not advance.
After nine years and 20,000 miles of relatively trouble-free motoring, I parted with my much-loved 1979 Citroën GS. My goal was an affordable entry into the Italian classic car market; the Lancia Beta range fitted the bill. There's nothing like a restricted budget to focus your attentions, equivalent Alfas were comparatively expensive. I've a soft spot for an Alfasud, but if anything, they're even thinner on the ground. The Beta coupé turned into the sole contender.
Events bringing Ferry Porsche and his four sons together became rarer as the years passed. Yet for his 80th birthday in September 1989, most of the family and a few close friends descended on Zell am See, the traditional Porsche home south of Salzburg. In the foreground, beside the Panamericana that the company had presented to Ferry for the occasion are Hans-Peter, Gerd, Butzi and Wolfgang. It’s said that Ferry disliked the “beach buggy” Panamericana intensely.
Alisdair Cusick explains how the X51 Powerkit extracted more from the 911’s nat-asp flat six For some owners, standard is never enough – even on a 911. With this in mind, Porsche offered a performance increase package for the 911 called the X51 Powerkit. Since the 993, the X51 was a factory-approved package to give a 911 engine a little bit extra. The X51 floated around on options lists for both the 993 and 996, but you may not have known this, so uncommonly was the option specified.
The world has changed in the past month or so. The war in Ukraine has sent shocks around the world, both emotionally and financially. Aside from the horrors inflicted on Ukrainian people, the world is learning to cope with new supply chains for all manner of goods, including Porsche. Earlier last month production temporarily halted due to Ukrainian wiring harness supply being affected. The fallout filters down to us all, as consumers, notably with record petrol prices in recent weeks.
A piece of Scotland’s rare motoring history could have vanished forever without the resourcefulness and commitment of a unique body of men. Words NIGEL BOOTHMAN Photos ANDY MCCANDLISH, DALBEATTIE MEN’S SHED ‘All we had was the drawings and a badge’ Epic Restoration Could intrepid Scotsmen in sheds resurrect the enigmatic Skeoch? Resurrecting a Scottish motoring myth with Billy Connolly - the Skeoch This is a restoration story like no other we’ve covered.
The overlooked Discovery is a bargain way into a classic Land Rover – for now. Words RICHARD DREDGE Photography JOHN COLLEY Seven steps to buying Land Rover Discovery 1Buying Guide The Land Rover Discovery is perfect if you’ve missed the Range Rover boat How to dodge drama when hunting down a Disco How to dodge drama when hunting down a Disco Values of classic Range Rovers are soaring as the world wakes up to the pure appeal of the world’s first recognisable SUV.
The Citroën 2CV was a car that defied convention, but which was brilliant at providing minimalist motoring in a full-size package. Rob Hawkins outlines its history, and explains what you need to know if you are thinking of buying one. Your guide to buying this beautiful ugly ducklingRob Hawkins looks at the pitfalls and the pleasures of buying a Citroën 2CV.
One of the things that has set Tesla apart from other manufacturers, and created a notoriously devoted fanbase of owners, is the ‘Easter eggs’ found within its cars. So what are they? Sadly Elon Musk doesn’t send you a chocolate egg each year – although that would be nice – but no, it’s the term given to unexpected bonus items hidden within the software.
This mystery of this unique 1950 Ferrari’s origin was unravelled by a detailed restoration – something never foreseen when the car arrived supposedly ready to run. Words NIGEL BOOTHMAN Photos JONATHAN FLEETWOOD ‘What would we find under the paint?’Restoring a mystery Ferrari: the 1950 195S I bought it on the basis that it would be a nice, drivable thing,’ says owner Keith Neilson.
Predicting smart buys in the current market is getting tricky. Rising inflation, soaring energy prices, military conflict and reduced consumer spending are all exerting pressure on values. Higher interest rates may also divert cash that might otherwise have been spent on old cars into savings, and the next couple of years may see values of many classics soften further. So, with a deep breath and fingers crossed I’ve chosen five cars that look like they could be Smart Buys for 2022.
Dropping a six cylinder engine into the suburban Triumph Herald was a genius idea. But in practice the first 1962 to 1967 incarnations of the Triumph Vitesse weren’t all that quick, producing only 70bhp, a top speed of 90mph and sixty in a glacial 17.5 seconds. On the road though they do feel a bit brisker thanks to tipping the scales at a featherweight 920kg – or 17.cwt in old money.
In its day the fresh-air Ford XR3i MkIV was the best front-wheel-drive, mass-produced four-seater cabriolet in the world. Ford of Europe’s first convertible in 20 years arrived in 1983, when just 45 were registered in the UK, but by the late Eighties, production was running at 20,000 units a year. Although you could have it with fuel injection, the sportier XR3i version wouldn’t be available until the MkIV facelift of 1986.
Wrong car, wrong time, sums up the troubled history of the glorious Citroën SM. France’s staunch nationalism desired a grande routière to follow the defunct Facel-Vega marque, yet Citroën would have made more profits concentrating on a range of smaller, family cars as an antidote to the rising costs of petrol. The carefree world where you drove from Paris to Saint Tropez before lunch was changing fast.