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Development of the Porsche 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’

New engines with water-cooled heads joined forces with a breakthrough in rules interpretation to help Porsche create a never-forgotten race car. We are, of course, talking about the 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’, one of the most spectacular 911 derivatives to date…

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40 Years Ago Today Did Toyota scupper Panther’s plans for a British sports car revolution?

Amid the hot hatch revolution, Panther planned a groundbreaking sports car. Little did it or its low-volume British rivals know, Toyota had the same idea.

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Jaguars return to independence in the 1980s

Jaguars return to independence in the 1980s, and how it made the company much more desirable to Ford. With 2024 marking 40 years since Jaguar managed to prise itself away from the might of BL, we examine the background to that short-lived period of independence.

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We tell the story of the Jaguar E-type Series 3

Jaguar scored a hit with its first home-grown engine, the XK of 1948. But when it came to its second go, it aimed high. And the Jaguar E-type Series 3 was the first beneficiary of the new V12 unit.

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Porsche’s domination of Group C in the 1980s seems almost to have been forgotten

Strangely, Porsche’s domination of Group C in the 1980s seems almost to have been forgotten, unlike the 917’s crushing victories in 1970/71 that are regularly celebrated. Perhaps Group C never captured the popular imagination in the same way as Le Mans does.

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1966 Porsche 906-134

With only sixty-five units built, the 906 was Porsche’s last street-legal factory race car. We go Dutch to track the provenance of chassis 134…

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Honda Type R - how it started

Starting as a motorcycle manufacturer in 1948, Honda expanded its business operations to include automobiles in 1963. Prior to that, founder Soichiro Honda (1906–1991) had his people construct the Suzuka Circuit in 1962, believing that a car could not be improved upon unless it was being raced. The first foray into this four-wheel avenue was the T360 truck, followed by the S500 sportscar in October 1963. Predictably, motorsport became embedded in Honda’s vision for his company, which included the automaker’s first participation in Formula 1 from 1964–1968, with only two victories coming in 1965 and 1967.

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1977 AMC AM Van 4×4 Concept Vehicle

Richard Heseltine takes a look at AMC’s last hurrah of a concept, the groovy-looking AM van…

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60th Anniversary 1964 Pontiac GTO

Evans takes a look back at the legendary Pontiac GTO, which is celebrating its 60th Anniversary in 2024…

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1994 Dodge Aviat

Chrysler briefly re-energised the concept car phenomenon in the Nineties, something that launched nameplates as familiar as the P/T Cruiser, the Plymouth Prowler and the Neon. And it was this latter model that was used as the basis for a concept that never made production: the Aviat…

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1972 Honda Civic

A small foot in the door. Civic was pivotal in helping Honda crack the big time in the USA.

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Toyota Hilux

At its local introduction in 1969, the purchase price of the then-new Toyota Hilux was R1 525. Designed and developed by Toyota’s subsidiary Hino Motors in Tokyo, the arrival of the first-generation Hilux with its 57 kW, 1.5-litre, inline four-cylinder engine onto the South African market – was a stark contrast to the Ford F150 alternative of the time.

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Californian hopeful and car dealer Dick Barbour; beside him, of course, is actor Paul Newman

One of the interesting features of Le Mans is that it is one of the few opportunities private teams had to race against works teams. Today, the vast expense and sophistication of racing at this level mean that such teams are professional, but it was not always so. In the 1970s, Group 5 and 6 sports car racing was dominated by turbocharged 911s, the 934 and 935. These off-the-shelf, relatively uncomplicated racing cars offered well-heeled amateurs with $150,000 to spare the chance to compete at the top level – and where better than at Le Mans?

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Aston Martin drivers - St John ‘Jock’ Horsfall

St John ‘Jock’ Horsfall was responsible for one of Aston Martin’s most important post-war victories yet he’s arguably best known for his work for the.

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Jaguar XJ13 makes its public debut, Silverstone, July 1973

By 1973 Jaguar’s motorsport glories were long behind it. It had been 16 years since one of its cars had last won the 24 Hours of Le Mans while even its final entry in the race it had once ruled was way back in 1964. And with parent company British Leyland lacking the resources to go racing, there seemed little chance of Jaguar returning to the track. Yet despite all of this, the company still had a presence at the 1973 British Grand Prix, albeit with a dated never-before-seen prototype.

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