A complete circle with Ferrari?
As a successor to the very popular Ferrari 355, the Type F131 was launched in 1999 as the Ferrari 360. Utilising a brand new aluminium chassis and adopting a space frame approach to the construction, this Ferrari moved away from the traditional pop-up headlamp units and wedge shapes. Modena 8,800 hardtop models were produced during […]
A 603bhp Merc estate – now we’re talking!
I’m a huge fan of estate cars (station wagons if you’re reading in the USA). I love the idea of a machine that handles like a car but has all the space to carry everything I need to go from point A to point B, with a few side trips in between to add more […]
A Scorpion-powered 500 …
I have to admit a soft spot for the Fiat 500. Of all the retro modern cars announced around the same time (eg VW Beetle, Fiat 500, etc), this is the only one that is a modern design but reflects the image and character of the original. If I lived in a city I could […]
Ford’s Sicilian
Car designs today, by and large, are all very similar. While I currently drive an XF from 2014 that I think looks fantastic, in reality it isn’t all that different from other 5 door large hatchbacks from Kia (Stinger), Ford (Mondeo), BMW (4 series GranCoupe), and so on. If I gave you a series of […]
Spiritual successor to the legendary 205 GTi?
The 205 GTi is held in high regard in petrolhead circles … with good reason. I’ve seen polls where the 205GTi is voted as the best car of the decade (CAR magazine, 1990). It also won many world rally championship rounds, and was a common sight on roads when I was growing up. The […]
A trip to the Caymans, anyone?
When Porsche first introduced the Cayman, they sold it with engines that slotted perfectly in the middle of the power outputs produced by the Boxster and the grand-daddy of all, the 911. A real shame, as the chassis balance and overall dynamics of the Cayman suggested that, given the right powerplant, it could really be […]
Taking a Continental Tour
Although this car seems way too big and bulky, Bentley’s take on the grand tourer segment is a really impressive car. I drove the four door version (Flying Spur) of one of these a few years ago – on motorways these cars just soak up the miles effortlessly, but show it a back road and […]
Is this the future of motoring?
As if car badging and spec labels weren’t confusing enough, Tesla had to take a standard term and re-use it for something else. Their P70D model is not, as you would expect from the D, a diesel powered motor, but in this case the D stands for Dual Motor. Why didn’t you call it a […]
C-Type, D-Type, E-Type … Does the F-Type hold up?
Jaguar’s alphabet seems to have started at ‘C’. They gave us some amazing automobiles with the C-Type, D-Type and E-Type. How does the F-Type hold up to such a strong tradition of intoxicating machinery? Well, from what I see in this car park, the F-Type holds up pretty well commercially. There are 3 different […]