Classic Cars April 2019

Welcome Cylinders align as we investigate if eight is the magic number, whether employed by a £5k GT or a £3.5m jewel When Porsche’s legendary motor sport and test engineer Peter Falk summed up the 928 he called it an excellent, comfortable and fast car for travelling. As he told Ross Alkureishi about extreme testing, the 928 prototypes were subjected to 600,000 development miles and had to deal with everything from 50 degrees C in Algeria to -40 in Finland. I doubt you would buy one of our V8 grand touring choices with the same rigours in mind, but you’d surely want it to soak up the demands of big-country, big-speed mileage without passing any of them on to you. So, Ross threw our six-car convoy at the Peak District’s…

When Porsche’s legendary motor sport and test engineer Peter Falk summed up the 928 he called it an excellent, comfortable and fast car for travelling. As he told Ross Alkureishi about extreme testing, the 928 prototypes were subjected to 600,000 development miles and had to deal with everything from 50 degrees C in Algeria to -40 in Finland. I doubt you would buy one of our V8 grand touring choices with the same rigours in mind, but you’d surely want it to soak up the demands of big-country, big-speed mileage without passing any of them on to you. So, Ross threw our six-car convoy at the Peak District’s best roads to see how well their grand touring claims would stick. From MGB GT V8 to Gordon Keeble GK1, he enjoyed…

The List Your dream drive made real ‘It’s so solid that you could jump on it’ Simon Stevenson prefers performance cars and modern classics, but he’s always wanted to try an early Range Rover. Will an immaculate 1973 Suffix C enchant him? Words EMMA WOODCOCK Photography CHARLIE MAGEE Four rows wide and countless columns deep, hard-edged silhouettes stretch off into the darkness. Each one shares the same two-box shape – slatted grille meets bluff bonnet meets tall, square glasshouse. Simple yet utterly iconic, they could only be classic Range Rovers. Deep within their number I find Classic Cars reader Simon Stevenson. ‘This is stunning,’ he smiles. ‘I know it’s a cliché but it really is like an Aladdin’s Cave.’ ‘It’s got a lazy sound to it, almost like it’s missing.…

Four rows wide and countless columns deep, hard-edged silhouettes stretch off into the darkness. Each one shares the same two-box shape – slatted grille meets bluff bonnet meets tall, square glasshouse. Simple yet utterly iconic, they could only be classic Range Rovers. Deep within their number I find Classic Cars reader Simon Stevenson. ‘This is stunning,’ he smiles. ‘I know it’s a cliché but it really is like an Aladdin’s Cave.’ ‘It’s got a lazy sound to it, almost like it’s missing. You can almost hear every detonation, it’s like a Harley-Davidson’ The collection in question is owned by Rob Marsden, a Range Rover restorer who runs the aptly named Classic Range Rover firm. A one-time record shop owner, ex-Ibiza DJ and possibly the only person with a full skate bowl in…

SIMON’S DREAM DRIVE LIST Lancia Stratos ‘This is a single-minded vision – a purpose-built rally car with a thoroughbred engine.’ Fiat Dino Coupé ‘The mafia boss in The Italian Job had one; it’s the real star of the film.’ Ford Cortina-Lotus ‘So much cooler than the MkI; an under-appreciated beauty.’ BMW M635CSI ‘To discover the difference between it and the regular 635 I used to own.’ Maserati Shamal ‘I love the brutalist styling, bespoke power units and exclusivity of it.’ Ford Capri 3000 ‘Matt. Black. Bonnet. I had a Corgi Roger Clark one as a kid – is the real one as much fun?’ Fiat 130 Coupe ‘A proper Seventies luxury car; so opulent and slightly seedy. Heaven knows who it was designed for!’ Mercedes 500E ‘To the uninitiated it’s…

Lancia Stratos ‘This is a single-minded vision – a purpose-built rally car with a thoroughbred engine.’ Fiat Dino Coupé ‘The mafia boss in The Italian Job had one; it’s the real star of the film.’ Ford Cortina-Lotus ‘So much cooler than the MkI; an under-appreciated beauty.’ BMW M635CSI ‘To discover the difference between it and the regular 635 I used to own.’ Maserati Shamal ‘I love the brutalist styling, bespoke power units and exclusivity of it.’ Ford Capri 3000 ‘Matt. Black. Bonnet. I had a Corgi Roger Clark one as a kid – is the real one as much fun?’ Fiat 130 Coupe ‘A proper Seventies luxury car; so opulent and slightly seedy. Heaven knows who it was designed for!’ Mercedes 500E ‘To the uninitiated it’s just another Merc saloon, but there’s that huge power unit for those in the know!’ Lancia Beta Montecarlo ‘An everyman exotic;…