SHOWCASE ON WHEELS
As my first car was an immaculate 1930 Chevrolet, I love cars – the older the better.
Author: paul@classiccarafrica.co.za
FROM SUBSTITUTE TO SUPERSTAR
As the 1970s wound down, saloon car racing and rallying started changing its focus with a move away from numerous capacity-based classes towards more standard Group A cars. Mercedes-Benz had not competed on a large scale since the 1955 Le Mans tragedy and wanted back…
BY GEORGE
Ask the average 20-year-old student what they’d like for their first car and it’s safe to say the response will probably involve something out of the back pages of CAR magazine: an entry-level hatch or maybe a Golf GTi (if their old man is loaded).…
TOPLESS TECH JUNKIE
With a 60+ year continuous history, Mercedes-Benz’s range of SLs is rightfully part of our automotive lexicon, thanks to its reputation for built-to-a-standard rather than built-to-a-price quality and upmarket image. But while most models benefitted from quiet evolution, the 1989-launched R129 was an undoubted step…
AGAINST THE GRAIN
Ferrari, the vision of one man. Cars built to win races or top the pile in style and performance with road-going front engine V12 and V8 engines. All have carried the maker’s name and all have worn the prancing horse shield borrowed from the fighter…
FOUR TO THE FORE
Hear the word ‘Porsche’ and you’d more than likely picture a rear-engined beast like the ubiquitous 911. The German marque is, after all, synonymous with brute force in the rear which is cooled by the atmosphere. But in the ʼ70s, ʼ80s and ʼ90s along came…
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
Fantasy: me in a canary-yellow Mercedes-Benz SLK, circa 1997. The top is down and so is my hair, wrapped in an ever-so-chic scarf à la Susan Sarandon in the hit movie Thelma and Louise – a film that, incidentally, propelled the humble headscarf to stratospheric…
MIDLIFE CRISIS CONTROL
BMW turns 105 years old in February, but as with most motor manufacturers the journey wasn’t without the odd speed bump. For the Bavarian outfit the 1950s was a desperate time, but thankfully the launch of its Neue Klass (New Class) sedans in the 1960s…
NO CLOWNING ABOUT
Clown shoe, clog and hearse… not exactly the complimentary nicknames you’d expect to be associated with a leading cult car, but these are what BMW’s Z3 M Coupé is often referred to by those in the know. We get to grips with one of the…
AD NAUSEAM
Gone are the days of solid, sturdy cars that, more than anything else, were made to get you from A to B rather than to conform to some almost unattainable combination of looks, safety and comfort. Modern cars are glossy, generic and disposable – like…