In response to the huge success of the Mini, Ford responded not with a small car but with a larger family offering which they could sell in large numbers. The result was the Cortina; a distinctively styled, mass-market compact car aimed at buyers of the Morris Oxford and Vauxhall Victor. It launched on 20th September 1962 and sold extremely well. I..
The Maserati Bi-Turbo came in a number of different format's however the Ghibli II was by far in a way the more desirable, better built with improved styling and better designed interior comfort. The return of the Maserati Ghibli in 1992 was trumpeted by its maker as a hugely important milestone with this example representing the top-of-the-range f..
John Cooper was well known for his involvement, with his father Charles, in developing the post-war rear engine single seater 500cc race cars that ran amok and beat the larger front engine cars of the period. John is also later renowned for his development of the iconic Mini with the Mini Coopers cleaning up in high profile race and rally events in..
The Mk. I Ford Escort was introduced in Ireland and the UK at the end of 1967 and made its show debut at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1968. It replaced the successful, long running Ford Anglia. The front suspension and steering gear were differently configured and the brakes were fitted with dual hydraulic circuits; also the wheels fitted on ..
Jaguar cars today are designed in Jaguar Land Rover's engineering centres at the Whitley plant in Coventry and Gaydon in Warwickshire, whilst manufacturing takes place in Jaguar's Castle Bromwich assembly plant in Birmingham. The Jaguar XK series was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show on 5th March 1996; the first generation of the series being the..
The iconic Land Rover Series I, II, and III are commonly referred to as ‘Series’ Land Rovers to distinguish them from later models. These easily recognisable vehicles were produced by the world famous midland manufacturer from 1948 until 1985. Land Rover state that 70% of the vehicles are still in use today. A superb achievement for any motor manuf..
The Porsche 996 is the internal designation for the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between 1998 and 2005. On its debut, the 996 featured the most significant changes to the Carrera model since its 1963 introduction, namely the water-cooled engine replacing the previously air-cooled unit. Progressively stringent noise regulations, environme..
Given the success of its long-running Seven, still manufactured by Caterham and much copied by others, perhaps the most surprising thing is not that Lotus had another stab at building a stripped-down, back-to-basics sportscar, but that it took them so long. First shown as a concept car at the 1998 British International Motor Show, the 340R uses the..
In 1975, the Jaguar E-Type finally gave way to an all new and more efficient Jaguar, the Jaguar XJS. This new luxury grand tourer, although never quite having the same sporting image as the E-Type, was actually more aerodynamic with the final example leaving the production line on 4th April 1996. At that stage, 115,413 units had been manufactured d..
The 1987 Lotus Esprit benefitted from a far reaching restyle by Peter Stevens. Out went many of the sharp lines, to be replaced by a more organic aero look. It worked, too - the Esprit certainly looked like a contemporary product when launched, and still looks timeless today. Originally, the name Kiwi was proposed for the Esprit but, in keeping wit..