Retro

Retro cars road test

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Low-mileage 1974 Jaguar XJ6 4.2 Series 2 SWB

There’s more to preserving a low-mileage classic than mothballing it for several decades, as we discover when we drive this 1974 XJ6 Series 2 with less than 29k on the clock

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1967 Iso Grifo GL 300 Coupe Series 1

Grief to Grifo — ISO Grifo impossible restoration. When a bidder paid almost £130,000 for the world’s rustiest Iso Grifo at auction, experts thought he must be mad. We catch up with the reclusive buyer following a seemingly impossible restoration

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1969 Volvo 1800S

We sample the Swedish-built version of Volvo’s svelte Amazon-based coupe

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1959-1961 Triumph Italia 2000

The prolific Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti was a mainstay of Triumph design for well over a decade. These special TR3As signal his starting point.

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1929 Lancia Lambda Tipo 223

It was one of the most technologically advanced cars of its era, and this one has an extraordinary back-story to tell: John Simister fulfils a long-held ambition and drives a Lancia Lambda.

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1969 MG Midget Mk3 - a family heirloom in the making

Having promised to care for his mother’s beloved MG, Darren Woods found a restoration case on his hands

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1936 MG VA

The last known surviving pre-production MG VA is itself a rarity amongst the rare but Ian Burton is determined to experience and share its history

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1937 Alvis Speed 25 Lancefield

For art’s sake? In contrast to the cheerful, functional Alvis models of the Twenties, coachbuilders conjured striking grand routiers on Thirties Alvis chassis. None is sleeker than this unique Speed 25.

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1971 Fiat Dino 2400 Coupé

Reader Peter Warren once owned a Fiat 130 Coupé, but fancied trying a Dino – so Classic Cars made it happen

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The fourth Porsche 550 Spyder customer build

Porsche’s first purpose-built race car was the 550 Spyder, introduced in 1953 and instrumental in establishing the marque as a winner on the endurance racing scene. We get up close and personal with chassis 550-0020

2003
Road trip to Bonneville in a Porsche 356 Outlaw

A road trip to Bonneville in a 356 Outlaw — does it get much better? Well, yes, as we discovered when encountering two brothers at the end of their pilgrimage to the historic salt flats of Utah

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1967 Porsche 911 Targa soft-window by Manor Park Classics

Offering a fresh, no-nonsense approach to real-world auctions, Manor Park Classics is fast establishing itself as one of the UK’s leading classic car sales and enthusiast hubs, with special focus on air-cooled Porsches and first-time buyers


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1965 Mercedes-Benz 300SE LWB W112

The W111 and W112 Mercedes-Benz S-class helped shape the ’60s and established the firm’s legacy as a global luxury brand

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1974 Mazda RX-4 Sedan Automatic Wankel-type

Mazda RX-4 Super Smooth. Having built a reputation for technologically brilliant and inspirational design the Mazda management team, which always dared to be different, decided to take its new engine into the mainstream market and take on the fuel crisis of the early ’70s at the same time. It almost worked

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