It was just as well the car-starved market after the Second War was not choosy. AC Cars at Thames Ditton was making the same sort of car as in 1939. Its aluminium ohc engine had been shown at the London Motor Show following The First World War. The AC 2 Litre had half-elliptic springs and was largely hand-made using old machine tools. Yet it laid the foundation of a dynasty that led to the AC Shelby Cobra of the 1960s
Read MoreSaab 9000 North Cape. 1985 Fast Lane Archive 004
Spain or the Seychelles were OK, but as a press launch gambit you couldn’t beat “I’ve been fishing in the Arctic”. Or finishing dinner with Erik Carlsson (Above) one night in broad daylight. “Ah well, we’ll just have to keep drinking till it gets dark.” Which would have been September. To show how good the Saab 9000 was for long, fast, tough drives to the ends of the earth we went to North Cape, the latitude of Alaska and Siberia. Scheduled airline to Helsinki, private jet to Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle before setting off into Northern Norway and North Cape, 350 miles further towards the Pole as a frost-bitten crow might fly.
Read MoreAston Martin DB7. Archive 003
The XJ220 had been planned for a limited life, Jaguar with a half-share in Bloxham was now owned by Ford, so the pieces of the jigsaw fitted. Aston Martin (Oxford) was formed, with Ian Callum in charge of the DB7’s style and Jackie Stewart on the board to ensure its sporting pedigree. A consultant to Ford since his racing days, Stewart protested. 'I don't work for Aston Martin.' Walter Hayes' was in charge. His reply was succinct. 'You do now.'
Read MoreBMW M3 From the Archive
In Sunday Times Motoring 23 October 1988 I thought it would be good to show that a BMW M3 was nearer something you could buy. The one with which Frank Sytner finished seventh in the final round of the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship was a bit closer to “production”.
Read MoreUP-MARKET. Birmingham Motor Show: Scotland on Sunday 27 October 2002
Spyker? Classic Archive Blog 001.. Unless your Mastermind specialist subject is obscure Dutch cars between 1898 and 1925, you will not have heard of it. You might remember it as the cad’s car Kenneth More drove in Genevieve, the 1950s film comedy of the London to Brighton veteran car run. .
Read MoreDELOREAN DREAM
John Zachary Delorean’s 2005 obituaries dwelt on his chequered industrial career, his drugs bust and his glamorous private life. There were not many compliments for a man whose personal vanity knew no bounds. He also persuaded our government to part with £80million for a factory in Northern Ireland, and his role in the downfall and death of Lotus founder Colin Chapman remained shrouded in mystery.
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