History Porsche’s introduction of the second-generation water-cooled 911 with model 997 in 2004 marked a return to the familiar round headlights – not unsurprising given all the hate that the 996 received for its “fried egg” headlights. Underneath though the changes were small. The engine, while carrying a new code […]
History The Giulia (type 105) was introduced in 1962 as successor to the Giulietta. The initial engine offering was a 1.6l, with a 1.3l added in 1964. Technically, the four-door Giulia was ahead of its competitors. It featured twin-cam engines, disc brakes on all four wheels, a five-speed manual transmission […]
History The Mazda MX-5 (known as Miata in the United States) can be credited with starting the rebirth of the classic small two-seat roadster. By the time of its introduction in 1989, the British roadsters by brands such as MG and Triumph were no longer in production. The Mercedes-Benz R129 […]
History The success of the Neue Klasse saved BMW, but after the production stop of the now outdated BMW 700, BMW lacked an entry-level model. BMW hence developed a slightly smaller two-door version, which was introduced in 1966 as BMW 1600-2. The styling is very similar to the Neue Klasse, […]
I almost let the 60th anniversary of the Mini pass without writing an article about it. Crisis averted! History The Mini was presented in 1959 as Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor. It was designed by Alex Issigonis as compact, affordable car, something that could compete with other small cars […]
History The introduction of the 996-model Porsche 911 in 1997 was not universally seen as a good thing. Not only did 911 lovers have to live without an air-cooled engine, but also have to accept the “fried egg” headlights that Porsche carried over from the Boxster as a cost-cutting measure. […]
History At the 1955 Paris Motor Show, Citroen presented a revolutionary successor to the Traction Avant that had been in production for more than 20 years: the DS. Both the styling and the technology (hydropneumatic suspension, power steering, semi-automatic transmission) were a major step ahead – so much, indeed, that […]
History If you could name only one British roadster, chances are it would be the MG B. It was presented in 1962 as successor to the MG A. Power came from a 95 hp 1.8l four-cylinder engine. The coupé (actually hatchback) GT was added in 1965. From 1967 to 1969, […]
History The BMW 1 series was introduced in 2004 as new entry model. Although initially only available as four-door hatchback, it quickly replaced the unpopular E46 compact. A two-door hatchback and a coupé followed in 2007 (along with a facelift for the four-door hatch), the convertible in 2008. Coupé and […]
History The first Polo (type 86), a rebadged Audi 50, was produced from 1975 to 1981. No performance model was sold by the factory That didn’t keep people from tuning the car, I know a guy who had 165 hp in his Polo built for rallye use. The Polo II […]
History The first Golf GTI was introduced in 1976, with a 1.6l 110hp engine. Thus was born the hot hatch, a car that is both sensible and fun to drive. For the last production year, the engine displacement was raised to 1.8l. It was followed by the Golf II GTI […]
History In December 1982, Mercedes-Benz introduced the all-new 190 model, aiming at a share of the market that was previously not covered. It may be difficult to imagine in a time where the A-class is one of the examples of a huge and very varied range, but the “Baby-Benz” led […]
