Our final contender is both significant and poignant. Not only is it our only Japanese offering in this test, but it’s also the model that reflects a change in buying habits that might well spell the death knell of the sports saloon altogether. The third and current generation of the Lexus IS300 will be its final iteration, because around 80 per cent of new drivers prefer the elevated driving position of the company’s SUVs.
Porsches have always lent themselves to brash colourways, demonstrated by this Mint Green 996 and Orange 987 Cayman S Sport. And, as if their striking livery wasn’t enough, both cars have been enhanced by Suffolk-based marque specialist, Charlie Wildridge...
These two chairmen’s carriages offered what their manufacturers felt was the perfect blend of comfort and technology but achieved their aims in different ways – one favoured evolution, while the other was unashamedly revolutionary. Both are excellent value modern classics today, but one’s just that little bit more captivating
No other car here – not even the MX-5 – sums up the Nineties roadster revival quite like this unmissable Dakar Yellow BMW Z3. The Z3 seemingly picked up where the odd, conceptual disappearing-doored Z1 (1986-1991) left off, but there was much more to it than that.
