On 29th August 1974, Louise Piëch, daughter of Ferdinand Porsche and the mother of Ferdinand Piëch, got a very special 70th birthday present, a Porsche 911 in silver metallic. What made this car special, not indistinguishable from a normal 911 at first sight, was the badge ‘Carrera’ at the rear. The body was standard and only the rear wing gave a h..
The fifth generation of the legendary SL series of two door convertible sports cars was known as the R230. It featured a fully retractable hardtop that was marketed as the Vario roof, a first for the SL class although it had been available on the smaller SLK model since 1997. The flagship models were built by AMG in the form of the SL55 and SL65, b..
The Porsche 911 is a luxury two-door sports coupé with a distinctive design, rear engine and independent rear suspension; an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. It has undergone continuous development although the basic concept has remained little changed. Throughout its lifetime, the 911 has been modified by private teams and by the fa..
The first-generation Boxster (the 986) was introduced in late 1996 and was powered by a 2.5 litre flat, six-cylinder engine. Harm Lagaay's design, inspired by the 356 Speedster and 550 Spyder, stimulated a commercial turnaround for Porsche. Many believe the introduction of the Boxster helped save Porsche from acquisition. It was Porsche's first wat..
The Secma F16 is a 1598cc rear engine micro sports car which offers exciting driving on the road or on a track. It was unveiled in 2008 at the Paris Motor Show and is powered by a 1.6 four-cylinder Renault engine that propels it to 60 mph in a mere 5.9 seconds. This little ‘pocket rocket’ is rear-wheel drive and features a five-speed manual transmi..
The Bentley Arnage was launched in 1998, a large luxury saloon car that replaced the previous Bentley Turbo saloon. Built in Crewe from 1998 to 2009, the Arnage and its Rolls-Royce sibling, the Silver Seraph, were introduced in the Spring of 1998 and were the first entirely new designs for the two marques since 1980 when the Silver Spirit and Mulsa..
When the Lotus Seven was launched in 1957, designed by the legendary Colin Chapman, it was far ahead of any other sports racing cars of the era. The car was so right first time, it is still in production today, as the Caterham. It is the second most copied car on the planet. Lotus produced the classic Seven through until 1970, the Series 3 benefitt..
The Eleven was designed by Colin Chapman and fitted with a sleek body designed by aerodynamicist Frank Costin. Its top version, dubbed Le Mans, was generally fitted with a 1100cc Coventry Climax FWA engine and occasionally with a 1500cc. Coventry Climax FWB engine mounted in the front of a tubular space frame and featured a De Dion rear axle and..
At start of the 1990s, after the introduction of their two-seat, grand-tourer R129 SL and the Mazda MX-5, Mercedes-Benz set out to create a new compact roadster, slotted below the SL. By late 1991, under Bruno Sacco, the first design sketches were drawn, and scale models being built in the first half of 1992. Massively successful in its first year,..
The fifth generation of the legendary SL series of two-door convertible sports cars was known as the R230. It featured a fully retractable hardtop that was marketed as the Vario Roof, a first for the SL class although it had been available on the smaller SLK model since 1997. The flagship models were built by AMG in the form of the SL55 and SL65, b..