The Porsche 959 is remembered a technological tour de force that forever changed the direction of supercar engineering, but in a wonderful twist of fate this pristine supercar was modified for rally, and sent off to compete in the world’s toughest race – the Paris-Dakar. The Porsche 959 The project to design and build the…
The BMW 2002 proved to be a major milestone for the company as it worked to build itself up again after the Second World War. To catch a glimpse of the process BMW had been through during the 1940’s and 1950’s we need to remember that two vehicles that had played a major role in the company’s fight for survival were the little Italian designed Issetta bubble car, and the Volkswagen like BMW 700. Small, inexpensive cars that BMW was able to produce and sell in sufficient numbers to keep the company afloat.
Peter Maier At the age of 20, Maier was one of the youngest designers ever hired by General Motors Corporation. After seeing Maier’s work at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, renowned automotive designer and VP of GM, Bill Mitchell, offered Maier a position for their 3-month Summer Program. Halfway through the program Maier was offered…
The Goodwood Revival is one of the most important vintage motoring events in the world, it takes place each year usually in early September at the historic Goodwood Circuit in southern England near the coastal town of Chichester. The Goodwood Circuit The Goodwood Circuit started life as the RAF Westhampnett airfield, built during WWII. The…
The Ford P68, otherwise known as the F3L for “Ford 3 Litre”, is a sports prototype racing car that should probably be just as famous as the Ford GT40 that preceded it. It was essentially a closed-wheel, two-seat Formula 1 car powered by the then-new and unproven Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 Formula 1 engine. The project to…
In the world of coachbuilders there are few names that evoke more passion than Zagato, the list of iconic road and race cars built by the Italian carrozzeria is extensive but it rarely includes the car you see here – the unusual Zagato Zele. The Zagato Zele The Zagato Zele was a significant departure from the norm…
Introduction: The Defender That Wasn’t The development process that would lead to the Land Rover Defender began four years before the new model that would later be named the Defender made its debut. The 1979 forerunner of the Defender was the Series III Land Rover Stage One V8. The Stage One V8 was a Series…
The Meyers Manx was the original fiberglass beach buggy, designed by Bruce Meyers in the early 1960s. This film tells the story of both Bruce Manx and his Meyers Manx, it’s a fascinating watch and it includes some great footage of Bruce as well as the early (and very successful) racing efforts in the Manx. The…
The 1965 Pontiac GTO Chief Camino is a one-off vehicle that should almost certainly have been built and offered for sale by Pontiac in the mid-1960s. It never was, but this is probably due to the fact that there’s no indication Pontiac even considered building it. The car you see here wasn’t built by them,…
There are few vehicles better suited to expedition camper conversion than the original Mercedes-Benz Unimog 404, and this mountain rescue / fire truck is an ideal candidate thanks to its double cab front and tray-back rear. Unimog 404 History The Unimog was conceived in almost exactly the same way as the original Land Rover Series…
When the Land Rover was first created it was only expected to be a stop-gap vehicle that would be in production for three years or so until war ravaged austerity Britain was “back on her feet” and Rover could go back to making nice luxury cars for doctors and other such professional people.
All surviving examples of the Lancia Stratos are special, but the Björn Waldegård Lancia Stratos stands in a league of its own. This documentary by Patina features David Hanman telling the story of his discovery of the original Björn Waldegård Lancia Stratos in Italy a number of years ago. He describes the difficulties of having…
