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10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Peugeot 205 GTI 1.6 and 1.9
Few cars define the classic hot hatch quite like the Peugeot 205 GTI. Yet the badge covered two noticeably different cars: the…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Ford Escort RS Cosworth
The Escort RS Cosworth looked like a wild version of Ford’s family hatchback, but beneath the skin it was a very different…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Mk1 Ford Fiesta Fly by Crayford
The Mk1 Ford Fiesta Fly was the tiny convertible Ford never officially built: a clever British coachbuilt conversion created by Crayford at…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Mazda RX-7 FD
The FD-generation Mazda RX-7 is one of the definitive Japanese performance cars: low, light, rear-driven and powered by a twin-turbo rotary engine…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Saab 900 Turbo
The classic Saab 900 Turbo turned an unconventional Swedish hatchback into a performance-car icon. Its mix of turbocharged torque, aircraft-influenced design and…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16
The Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 gave the sober W201 “Baby Benz” genuine motorsport purpose. It was a fast road saloon, but its real…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Jaguar XJ220
The Jaguar XJ220 was the British supercar dream of the early 1990s: extraordinarily wide, startlingly fast and born from a project begun…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Volvo 850 T-5R
The Volvo 850 T-5R is one of the great 1990s performance-car surprises. It looked like a sensible Swedish saloon or estate, yet…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Toyota Supra A80
The A80 Supra is now a tuning and film icon, but its story is more interesting than the usual 2JZ shorthand. For…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Toyota Supra A80
The fourth-generation Toyota Supra is now so famous that the legend can obscure the real car. Launched in 1993, the A80 combined…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Subaru Impreza 22B STI
Few Japanese performance cars have acquired a reputation quite like the Subaru Impreza 22B STI. Built in 1998, its wide body, Sonic…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution
The Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution is one of the strangest factory homologation specials of the 1990s: a compact three-door off-roader developed so Mitsubishi…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the BMW 325i Sport (E30)
The E30 BMW 325i Sport was created for British enthusiasts who wanted more focus than a standard 325i without paying for the…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the BMW Z1
The BMW Z1 was less a conventional sports car than a rolling laboratory for BMW Technik. Its disappearing doors made the headlines,…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the BMW 850CSi (E31)
The BMW 850CSi looked like the ultimate version of the E31 8 Series, but its differences ran much deeper than badges and…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Audi TT Mk1 (8N)
The Mk1 Audi TT was one of the rare concept cars that reached showrooms with its essential shape intact. Beneath the Bauhaus-inspired…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Audi RS6 (C5)
The C5 Audi RS6 disguised supercar pace inside a restrained executive saloon and Avant. Developed with help from Cosworth Technology, it turned…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Audi RS4 (B7)
The B7 Audi RS4 abandoned the original RS4’s twin-turbo V6 for a naturally aspirated engine that revved beyond 8,000rpm. Add a manual…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Audi R8 Mk1 (Type 42)
The first Audi R8 transformed the brand from a maker of rapid saloons and estates into a credible mid-engined supercar manufacturer. Its…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Audi S8 (D2)
The original D2 Audi S8 was a luxury flagship engineered for speed but styled to disappear into traffic. Its aluminium structure, naturally…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the BMW M1
The BMW M1 was conceived as a racing weapon, became a road-going supercar through necessity and ultimately created one of Formula One…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Alfa Romeo SZ and RZ
The Alfa Romeo SZ looked like nothing else because it was intended to. Beneath its composite panels sat proven Alfa 75 transaxle…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Alfa Romeo GTV6
The Alfa Romeo GTV6 combined Giorgetto Giugiaro’s practical hatchback coupé with the Busso V6 and a rear-mounted gearbox. The result sounded exotic,…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA
The Alfa Romeo 147 GTA was deliberately excessive: a compact three-door hatch with a polished 3.2-litre Busso V6, 250bhp and front-wheel drive.…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
The Alfa Romeo 156 GTA turned an award-winning saloon into a 250bhp V6 flagship. It was offered as both the famous four-door…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Alfa Romeo Brera and Spider
The Alfa Romeo Brera and related 939 Spider were born from a spectacular Giugiaro concept but matured into solid, design-led grand tourers.…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Talbot-Matra Rancho
The Talbot-Matra Rancho looked ready to cross a desert, yet beneath the chunky bumpers and roof rails was the hardware of an…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Fiat Uno Turbo i.e.
The Fiat Uno Turbo i.e. squeezed fuel injection and turbocharging into one of Europe’s lightest superminis, creating a tiny car with a…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Vauxhall Cavalier GSi 2000 and 4×4
The Cavalier GSi 2000 turned Vauxhall’s company-car favourite into a discreet performance saloon with a celebrated 16-valve engine and serious competition credibility.…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Rover 220 Coupé Turbo Tomcat
The Rover 220 Coupé Turbo—known to enthusiasts as the Tomcat—combined elegant British styling, removable glass roof panels and almost 200 bhp. Rover…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the MG Maestro Turbo
The MG Maestro Turbo was an outrageous final development of Austin Rover’s family hatchback: very fast, aggressively styled and produced in tiny…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Honda Civic Type R EP3
The EP3 Civic Type R brought Honda’s high-revving Type R philosophy into the British mainstream—and most European examples were built in Swindon.…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Citroën Saxo VTR and VTS
The Saxo VTR and VTS became affordable performance icons by combining very low weight with proven PSA engines and an entertaining, adjustable…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Peugeot 306 GTI-6 and Rallye
The Peugeot 306 GTI-6 and Rallye combined a rev-hungry 16-valve engine, an unusual six-speed gearbox and one of the finest front-wheel-drive chassis…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk2
The second-generation Golf GTI was larger and more mature than the original, yet it preserved the everyday practicality and driver involvement that…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Ford Focus RS Mk1
The original Focus RS revived Ford’s most serious performance badge and turned the acclaimed Focus chassis into a raw, limited-production front-wheel-drive special.…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Ford Escort RS Cosworth
The Escort RS Cosworth looked like a wild version of Ford’s family hatchback, but beneath the skin it was a very different…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the MG Metro 6R4
The MG Metro 6R4 was Britain’s most extreme Group B rally car: a mid-engined, four-wheel-drive machine that shared little beyond its name…
Subaru Impreza P1: History, Specifications and Buying Guide
UNUSUAL CARS MODEL GUIDE The Subaru Impreza P1 is a UK-market two-door performance model developed by Prodrive from the Japanese WRX STI…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Peugeot 106 Rallye and GTI
The Peugeot 106 Rallye and GTI prove that memorable hot hatches do not need huge power. One stripped weight and celebrated revs;…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Lancia Delta HF Integrale
The Lancia Delta HF Integrale is one of the rare cars whose road-going evolution can be read directly through its competition history.…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Renault Clio Williams
The Renault Clio Williams was conceived as a rally homologation special, but it became one of the most admired front-wheel-drive hot hatchbacks…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Lotus Carlton
The Lotus Carlton remains one of the most audacious saloons ever sold in Britain. Lotus took Vauxhall’s respectable executive car, rebuilt its…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Ford Fiesta XR2 Mk1 and Mk2
The Ford Fiesta XR2 turned Britain’s everyday supermini into a pocket-sized performance car. Across two generations it combined simple engineering, low weight…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Vauxhall Nova GTE and GSi
The Vauxhall Nova GTE and GSi condensed the best parts of the late-1980s hot hatch into a tiny, lightweight package. Their performance…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth turned an aerodynamic family hatchback into one of the defining performance cars of the 1980s. Its enormous…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Ford Escort RS Turbo Series 1
The original Ford Escort RS Turbo arrived with one clear purpose: to turn Ford’s hugely popular front-wheel-drive hatchback into a serious homologation…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Renault 5 GT Turbo
The Renault 5 GT Turbo was one of the most explosive small hot hatchbacks of the 1980s. Light, carburettor-fed and proudly turbocharged,…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Ford Escort XR3i Mk3
The first Ford Escort XR3i was one of the defining hot hatchbacks of 1980s Britain—but its story is often muddled with the…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Volkswagen Golf Mk1
The original Volkswagen Golf did far more than replace the Beetle. It reset the formula for the everyday family car, spawned one…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the MG XPower SV-R
The MG XPower SV-R was one of the boldest cars ever to wear an MG badge: a carbon-bodied, Ford V8-powered supercar assembled…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Mk1 Vauxhall Astra GTE
The Mk1 Vauxhall Astra GTE arrived late, shouted loudly and disappeared almost as quickly. With crisp styling, an injected 1.8-litre engine and…
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