At one point in time, Mercedes-Benz built, arguably, the finest luxury automobiles in the world. In its post-war recovery, they shifted focus towards more practical family saloons, followed by cars of a more sporting nature. By the early 1960s, however, Rudolf Uhlenhaut felt the time had come for Mercedes-Benz to re-establish itself as a builder of..
The Porsche 996 is the internal designation for the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between 1998 and 2005. On its debut, the 996 featured the most significant changes to the Carrera model since its 1963 introduction, namely the water-cooled engine replacing the previously air-cooled unit. Progressively stringent noise regulations, environme..
The iconic Land Rover Series I, II, and III are commonly referred to as ‘Series’ Land Rovers to distinguish them from later models. These easily recognisable vehicles were produced by the world famous midland manufacturer from 1948 until 1985. Land Rover state that 70% of the vehicles are still in use today. A superb achievement for any motor manuf..
Regarded by many as one of the world's most beautiful cars when released in 1994, the DB7 received many subtle but effective changes over its ten year life to complement the elegant body design. Originally designed by Ian Callum to be both beautiful and practical and encompass all the unmistakable DB styling cues, it was initially deemed a little u..
The Ferrari 348 was a mid-engined, rear wheel drive V8 powered two-seater replacing the 328 in 1989 and continuing until 1995. Badged 348 TB for the coupé (Berlinetta) and 348 TS (Spider) for the targa versions, it features a naturally aspirated 3.4 litre version of the quad-cam, four valve per cylinder engine which was originally found in the 288G..
The 1987 Lotus Esprit benefitted from a far reaching restyle by Peter Stevens. Out went many of the sharp lines, to be replaced by a more organic aero look. It worked, too - the Esprit certainly looked like a contemporary product when launched, and still looks timeless today. Originally, the name Kiwi was proposed for the Esprit but, in keeping wit..
In 1975, the Jaguar E-Type finally gave way to an all new and more efficient Jaguar, the Jaguar XJS. This new luxury grand tourer, although never quite having the same sporting image as the E-Type, was actually more aerodynamic with the final example leaving the production line on 4th April 1996. At that stage, 115,413 units had been manufactured d..
Premiered at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1965, the initial model lineup of the W108 consisted of the 250 S, 250 SE and 300 SE, as well as a sole W109, the 300 SEL. Engines for the new car were carried over from the previous generation, but enlarged and refined. The 250 S was the entry-level vehicle fitted with a 2496cc straight-six M108 engine, with..
Given the success of its long-running Seven, still manufactured by Caterham and much copied by others, perhaps the most surprising thing is not that Lotus had another stab at building a stripped-down, back-to-basics sportscar, but that it took them so long. First shown as a concept car at the 1998 British International Motor Show, the 340R uses the..
The Ferrari 360 is a two-seater sports car manufactured from 1999 to 2005. It succeeded the Ferrari F355 and is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive, V8 powered coupé. Ferrari partnered with Alcoa to produce an entirely new, all aluminium space-frame chassis that was 40% stiffer than the F355. Along with a lightweight frame, the new Pininfarina body sty..