Classic & Sports Car

Bringing together what could be among the finest examples of the 1980s junior supercars from Ferrari, Lotus and Lamborghini for our cover shoot at Somerset’s Cheddar Gorge was almost as difficult as it was for photographer Max Edleston to scale a couple of hundred feet of limestone cliff-face for this incredible shot. The views of England’s deepest natural gorge, carved out by glacial waters after the last ice age, were surely worth it. At the bottom we stocked up on its namesake cheese, matured in the canyon’s caves, but the real highlight was the drive through along the B3135 that followed (see p80).…

Compiling our best bits from the 12 months that have just passed is always a nostalgic process, but this year it was extra special (see p12). After having had our hobby restricted for such a long time, and with so many of our favourite events and gatherings taken away from us as we faced up to the challenges of the pandemic, it felt as if 2022 was a fabulous return to form. Via a combination of familiar favourites and some brilliant debutants, the classic calendar has been more packed than ever, so narrowing it down to just a few proved tricky. For me, it has also served to increase the anticipation for 2023, which – with fingers crossed that we manage to avoid any further major restrictions on our movements –…

ALASTAIR CLEMENTS CAR OF THE YEAR Rétromobile in Paris is always wonderful and 2022 was no exception, not least for Simon Kidston’s breathtaking display of McLaren F1s. But my heart was stolen by another rare supercar, Koen Heuts’ remarkable 1971 AMC AMX/3. Driving this 340bhp Bizzarrini wonder, the last of six cars built, would be a dream. BEST DRIVE My favourite only just sneaks into our timescale, and was a truly life-affirming experience. A thrilling cross-country blast in the Mk3 Mini Cooper ‘S’ (above left) after a wrong turn on the way back from our January ‘World Cup’ cover shoot reaffirmed why Alec Issigonis’ baby is so rightly revered. Brilliant. BEST EVENT I’m going to cheat here, because it was an event only a few invited guests were able to attend, but the…

It was in 1949, at an event on a small airstrip near Santa Barbara, California, USA, that drag racing began. That paved the way for this very successful Stateside-focused form of motorsport. The Race of Gentlemen (TROG), held each December, pays tribute to the pioneers of these competitions with a carefully curated selection of asphalt-burners built with historical accuracy in mind. Mel Stultz launched TROG on an East Coast beach in 2012, backed by Oilers, a car and motorcycle club founded in 1947. The idea was simple: recreating speed battles held on the sand, which took place before WW2 both in America and the UK. His efforts have inspired other enthusiasts to host their own beach events, including in Pendine, Wales (from 2013) and Normandy, France (2019). Yet TROG wasnʼt limited to…

Billed by the organiser as Europeʼs toughest endurance rally, the five-leg, 1300-mile 2022 edition of HERO-ERAʼs LeJog certainly challenged its 49 crews as it took them from Landʼs End to John OʼGroats from 3-6 December, via 33 regularities and 17 tests. A special feature of this event is that there is no winner: simply finishing is a major achievement, with bronze, silver and gold medals at stake instead. The opening leg ended near Abergavenny after six tests and seven regularities over 300 miles, with eight crews claiming gold status, six silver and five bronze. Throwing themselves in at the deep end on their maiden LeJog were 2022 HERO Challenge champions Alistair Leckie and Matt Outhwaite. They were in line for a silver medal after leg one, an impressive achievement given that 10 days…

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale was first shown at the Turin motor show in 1957, but production didnʼt start until 1959. At first, just 101 cars were made for homologation purposes, with the 1290cc Giulietta engine (later versions were 1570cc). The curvaceous bodywork was designed by Franco Scaglione, who was also responsible for the BAT series of concept cars. The Sprint Speciales were excellent road cars and did well in the up-to-1300cc class in competition, but only 1366 examples were made before production ended in 1965. No cars were built in right-hand drive, though it is thought that around 25 were sent to Ruddʼs of Worthing (better known as Ruddspeed) for conversion. Keen Giulietta Register member Dave Ward had long wanted a Speciale, then in 2010 he heard of an example…