The amazing story of Enzo Ferrari’s first ever car – why he couldn’t call it a Ferrari, how Ascari came to be his first customer and why the AAC 815 might just be the world’s most valuable car
Forget supercar crash videos or the spectacle of a hideous aftermarket body kit bolted onto a modern classic, the one sight guaranteed to make the steeliest petrolhead recoil in horror has to be the yellow glow of a “check engine” light. Gut-churning it may be but the surface-level indicators of a complex diagnostic system are preferable to the potentially engine-crippling faults to which they’re pointing.
If you couldn’t afford a Lamborghini Diablo or Ferrari Testarossa during the 1990’s, there was a much more cost-effective wedge of excitement on the market. Designed by Bertone, the Citroën ZX Volcane TD was a slice of gallic cool that appealed to a very different customer than the Ford Escort XR3i. More Saint-Tropez than South-end-on- Sea, if you will.
Not one but two attempts were made to spin a two-seater sports car off the original Mini’s platform, but flaws in their designs would see both stall at the prototype stage.
Mention the ‘2002’ and – for many BMW enthusiasts – the word ‘Turbo’ springs instantly to mind. The larger than life 2002 with big wings and an even bigger power output is undoubtedly a standout icon in the model range, but, arguably, it is not the thinking man’s 2002
We take a trip to Brooklands to meet the man whose rare Bentley Corniche is almost certainly the finest survivor of its kind – a machine restored to an exemplary standard but still used for long-distance adventures.
Cool Runnings Did the Stag deserve its reputation? We revisit the British answer to the SL and find out. We revisit the only V8 Triumph and discover just how unfair history has been to BL’s answer to the Mercedes SL… Words: Aaron McKay. Photography: Gregory Owain.
