I’ll admit to a passion for fast Audis from the get-go – I’ve had an S3, a TT 225, an S8 and lately an S5 in my fleet and I loved all of them. The car that kick started my passion for the fast motors from Ingolstadt was the Audi RS2, developed in conjunction with […]
Strangely enough, the TR series of sports cars from Triumph came about as a result of an engine deal that Sir John Black did with Harry Ferguson, who built tractors in his day job. Both men needed a new engine so a deal was struck to share development on an engine that could double as […]
One of my all time favourite car designs, the Alpine A110 was on sale from 1962 to 1977 after a launch at the 1962 Paris motor show. Initially sold with an underpowered engine lifted straight from the R8, this 1.0 litre powerplant was upgraded continuously throughout the lifetime of the car, ultimately culminating in […]
Finally recognising that they had a reputation for making outdated albeit fast road cars, 1971 allowed customers to enjoy the new Bora (internally known as the Tipo 117) which was a large step forward for Maserati. Bought out by Citroen some three years earlier, this was the first car to be completely designed from scratch […]
In 1976, FIAT decided that the time had come to replace the 124 Abarth Group 4 Rally car with a more competitive offering, so the new 131 was designated as the basis for progression. As per other manufacturers, FIAT subscribed to the Win-on-Sunday Sell-on-Monday thinking and picked the 131 as a car that could be […]
As with every other manufacturer in the 1970s, Renault had arrived at the conclusion that victories in motorsport raised brand awareness and translated into higher sales. But what they couldn’t sell to the public were F1 cars, which was where the motorsport success was being achieved. To address this issue, in 1978 they announced the […]
Mark I Initially known as the Rover 3 litre, 1958 saw Rover launch the hugely popular P5 as a replacement to the P4 model. Over the years, many improvements were added to this car with the culmination being the P5B model in 1967, but the humble Mark I made do with a 3.0 litre inline […]
Created in 1964, the Berlina Corsa replaced the racing version of the 1000 Berlina that had been launched in 1962. While the racing version was successful, the 1962 Berlina only produced 68bhp from the following setup: 982cc, overhead valve in-line 4-cylinder with single Weber downdraft carburetor 5-speed close-ratio gearbox (advanced in the 1960s) 4-wheel disc […]
Following on from the C2 variant of the Vette, the C3 Corvette Stingray (all one word this time) was launched in 1967 and carried on until 1982. This really long production run also encompassed new sales records in 1979 when over 53,000 models were purchased by an enthusiastic public. The chassis for the C3 was […]
Every so often I think I’d like to have a classic car sitting in the petrolhead fleet. Why? Well, for a few reasons: They are a nicer design They are less complicated so I can actually do some of the maintenance myself They are cheaper to run Cars in Ireland over 40 years old are […]