Renault Caravelle: The Convertible Renamed So It Wouldn’t Insult 49 States A pretty car, light on its feet, styled by an Italian, with Brigitte Bardot as its face. The Renault Floride had everything it needed to become an icon of French dolce vita. And in a way, it did. But behind that elegant droptop sits … Read more
Renault Fuego Turbo: The Coupe That Invented the Key Fob in Your Pocket You do it every day without thinking. Pull the fob from your pocket, thumb a button, and from across the parking lot your car goes “thunk” and flashes its lights. That whole ritual, that little jolt of satisfaction, traces back to one … Read more
Renault 8 Gordini: The Blue Sedan That Beat Ferraris in Their Own Backyard Picture a four-door family sedan. The kind of car a dad drove to the office. Now paint it French Blue, run two white stripes over the roof and hood, bolt four round headlamps to the nose, and hang a one-liter engine out … Read more
Fiat X1/9: the industrial mid-engine Bertone was hiding in a corner In 1971, Gianni Agnelli is making an informal visit to the Bertone factory in Grugliasco, on the outskirts of Turin. Nuccio Bertone walks him through the production halls, shows him models, talks him through current projects. And in a corner, between development cars and … Read more
Rover 220 Coupé Turbo: the car its own gearbox held back Here’s one of those stories only properly understood by someone who’s been under a car with grease up to the elbows. In the early nineties, Rover built the fastest, most powerful car in its entire history. A gorgeous coupé with 197bhp, capable on paper … Read more
Opel Calibra: the world’s most aerodynamic car was the slowest one in the showroom Here’s one of the loveliest ironies the car industry ever produced. In June 1989, Opel launched a car that broke a world record and held it for ten years. The Calibra was the most aerodynamic production car on the planet, with … Read more
Ford Probe: the car built to kill the Mustang, saved by the Mustang’s own fans Here’s one of the greatest “what if?” stories the car industry ever produced. And it’s a tale with a doubly happy ending: it saved the Mustang and, quite by accident, condemned a perfectly good car to spend its whole life … Read more
Ferrari 512 BB: The Boxer That Never Was There is a Ferrari where almost nothing written on the car turns out to be true. The engine is not a boxer, despite half a century of the factory saying it is. The two letters in the name do not mean what Ferrari says they mean, according … Read more
VW Scirocco: the handsome brother who went first to take the bullets for the Golf This year everyone celebrated the Volkswagen Golf’s fiftieth birthday. Fair enough: it’s one of the most important cars ever built, the one that saved Volkswagen, the one that invented a whole class. But there’s something almost nobody mentions while the … Read more
Opel Monza: the day Opel dared to stare down Mercedes There’s a particular kind of car the British call a gentleman’s express. Big, fast, comfortable, six cylinders up front, room for four and their luggage, the sort of thing that eats a continent before lunch without ever raising its voice. For decades that territory belonged … Read more
Opel Manta: sketched in six weeks, still standing fifteen years later Ask any British enthusiast about affordable seventies coupés and the conversation starts and ends with the Ford Capri. The car you always promised yourself. Fair enough. But cross the Channel and there was another one playing the exact same game, built by people who … Read more
Ford Capri: the Cortina in a tuxedo that humbled BMW and Alfa Romeo For a car that spent two decades being mocked as a hairdresser’s motor, the Ford Capri has a remarkable secret hiding under its skin. Underneath that long-bonneted, fastback glamour sat a humble Ford Cortina. The most ordinary of family saloons. And with … Read more
