Sam Dawson

Sam Dawson · Articles

Show filter
1939 Lagonda V12 Rapide

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.

1966
Bagged Stage 3 370bhp Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk5 gets the full works

Dig beneath the clean lines of Jack Fanning’s Mk5 GTI and you’ll find a show-and-go car more thoroughly put together than you might first expect…

1807
1983 WSCC 40 years on, drivers and engineers remember the dominant Porsche 956

In 1983, Porsche 956s performed the unprecedented feat of winning every single round of the World Sports Car Championship. Forty years on, drivers and engineers recall the dawn of a Group C titan.

378
Right-hand drive 3.2 swapped American-spec Volkswagen Golf Mk2 V6

Some people search high and low for their next project cars, while others, like Daniel Herrera, manage to find them far closer to home.

251
1988 Jaguar XJR-9LM

The Silken Touch Thirty-five years after this very XJR-9 scored Jaguar’s first Le Mans win since the D-type days, we relive the memories – then drive it on track.

378
Porsche 911 Carrera RS 964 vs. TVR Griffith 500

Can the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 964 and TVR Griffith 500 truly be compared? They may seem poles apart, but this pair has more in common than you might think. Can the underdog from Blackpool hold the Stuttgart icon to account?

246
1951 Ferrari 212 Inter Cabriolet by Vignale

This Vignale-bodied 212 Inter was owned by one of the first privateers to campaign Ferraris in motor sport. It’s in the UK after a 50-year absence – a chance for us to drive back to the early days of the marque.

197
1990 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary

The Lamborghini Countach has lost none of its power to amaze. Today, 50 years on from its release, a drive in the last of the line draws all the threads of this landmark supercar together.

113
2023 Land Rover Range Rover D350 HSE Automatic L460

No, our art director hasn’t got lazy and slotted in pictures of last year’s Range Rover by mistake, here we present to you the 2023 model year car freshly out of the design studio.

2142
2004 Volkswagen Lupo GTI

By the turn of the new Millennium, the Golf GTI had bloated into a very different beast indeed. After the Corrado was killed off in 1995, everfaster yet lardier Golfs took its place. Some sported five- or even six-cylinder engines, but their weight, luxury and price left them a far cry from the 840kg 1.6-litre flyweight that dropped jaws back in 1975.

321
1700bhp RS3-swapped Volkswagen Golf R Mk7

Dripping with carbon fibre and re-engineered for almost four times its factory horsepower, Tom Parker’s RS3-swapped Golf R is a luxurious daily driver with hypercar-baiting potential.

1905
1985 Alfa Romeo Arna 1.3SL

Alfa Romeo’s Arna is considered to be the worst car ever to wear the badge, but does it deserve its bad reputation? We drive a restored survivor to find out.

295
2012 Bertone Aston Martin Rapide Jet 2+2

The Aston Martin Rapide Jet 2+2 could have given Bertone a new lease of life. Instead, it was the last car the great Italian design house ever created. Ten years on, we drive it.

241
On the hunt for criminals in Bodie & Doyle’s 1980 Ford Capri 3.0S

These Ford Capri 3.0Ss were the cars driven by Bodie and Doyle in a bunch of 1980-filmed episodes of cult TV show The Professionals. We drive both – cardboard boxes beware.

202
1985 Subaru XT

When Fuji Heavy Industries showcased all its automotive technology in the Subaru XT, it unknowingly created the Japanese ‘evo’ car as we know it. We drive the UK’s only remaining roadworthy manual example.

228
Drives TODAY use cookie