The Bolwell Nagari is a car that few people outside Australia have heard of, much less seen or driven. Bolwell were, and still are, Australia’s sports GT car, designed and made by a group of brothers who built their first car whilst ditching school as teenagers. This is a GT car that reflects the Australian…
The MGB V8 has earned a reputation for being almost a blue-collar version of the Shelby Cobra, both cars share features including a stylish British body, an American-derived V8 engine mounted up front, rear wheel drive, and a power-to-weight ratio that was world-beating by 1960s standards. Of course, the MGB V8 wasn’t developed by Carroll…
The History of the DeLorean DMC-12 Had it not been for the movie “Back to the Future” the DeLorean DMC-12 would almost certainly have become a car that was largely forgotten except by a small group of hard-core enthusiasts. It was a sports car that initially had great potential, all wrapped up in a beautiful Giorgetto…
Coming hard on the heels of the head-turning De Tomaso Mangusta, the De Tomaso Pantera was a successful combination of Italian aesthetics and breeding with a nice big and easy to maintain Ford V8 engine, and a proven German ZF transaxle. The Pantera broke the convention that said if you have an exotic mid-engine Italian GT you’re…
International Harvester Scout – An Introduction The design brief that led to the creation of the International Harvester Scout sounded simple enough; “Create something to replace the horse”. That was the instruction given by International Harvester’s Manager of Engineering, Mr. Reese, to Chief Designer Ted Ornas back in the post-war ’50s. International Harvester were looking…
The Sunbeam Alpine Introduction The Sunbeam Alpine name was first used on a car that pre-dates the car most of us think of when the name Sunbeam Alpine is mentioned. The first Sunbeam Alpine Marks I and III (1953-1955) were two seater roadsters based on the Sunbeam-Talbot 90 saloon and which were created specifically for…
Introduction The MGB Roadster is the quintessential British sports car that never attempted to be the quickest thing on four wheels, rather it focussed on being enjoyable to drive, to tinker with, and to own. The humble MG is a good example of what made the British car industry a dominant force in the world of sports…
Introduction Of all the British sports cars ever made the Austin-Healey 3000 series are amongst the most iconic and most desirable, despite the fact that they were by no means the most expensive nor even the most sophisticated. Originally created to provide an affordable sports car so that enthusiasts of modest means could participate in…
Introduction James May describes the Triumph TR6 as “The blokiest bloke’s car ever built”. Translated into non-British English that means it’s a car that appeals to the sort of men (and women for that matter) who like to roll up their sleeves, open up their toolbox, and work on their own engines. Preferably with a…
The Norton Commando is a motorcycle that even today, 46 years after it was first introduced, lives on as one of the most iconic British motorcycles of the 20th century. The story of the conception of the Commando has all the hallmarks of a feel-good Hollywood film – a small team of engineers with a…
Introduction The Harley-Davidson Sportster is an American motorcycle that was introduced in 1957 as a competitor for the high-performance bikes being produced by the British that were selling in the United States in huge numbers. The Sportster was one of the first Harley-Davidsons to be fitted with rear-suspension (it’s parent bike, the Model K series…
Introduction The Ducati Monster is a motorcycle that was designed by Miguel Galluzzi as his personal interpretation of what Marlon Brando would ride if the film “The Wild One” was filmed in the modern day. He can’t possibly have known when he drew the initial outlines how staggeringly successful his design would go on…
