Classic Cars December 2016

Welcome Phil sings the praises of the six-pack, muses over the merits of well-done replicas and backs up Willson on classic MoTs Straight, flat and vee – I’ve had cars powered by every permutation of six-cylinder engine, and loved every one. Apart from a string of four-cylinder cars in my formative motoring years and a brief two-year thrill ride with a 5.0-litre V8 TVR Griffith, I just keep coming back to them. It’s not that I target them, but time and again they offer a sweet spot between the economy of an inline four and the extravagance of V8. I’m not talking about a reluctant compromise, but a singular pleasure that promises smooth, satisfying delivery. Even the term, ‘six-cylinder’, has an onomatopoeic refinement to its rhythm. Each of the six…

Straight, flat and vee – I’ve had cars powered by every permutation of six-cylinder engine, and loved every one. Apart from a string of four-cylinder cars in my formative motoring years and a brief two-year thrill ride with a 5.0-litre V8 TVR Griffith, I just keep coming back to them. It’s not that I target them, but time and again they offer a sweet spot between the economy of an inline four and the extravagance of V8. I’m not talking about a reluctant compromise, but a singular pleasure that promises smooth, satisfying delivery. Even the term, ‘six-cylinder’, has an onomatopoeic refinement to its rhythm. Each of the six cars Russ Smith gathered for our cover feature makes the case in different ways, from the laconic thrum of the MGC to the…

The List When Lukasz Stankiewicz was growing up in Eighties Poland the Citroën DS23 was an exotic car glimpsed in magazine photographs. Three decades later we give him the chance to compare fantasy with reality Words SAM DAWSON Photography ALEX TAPLEY ‘It feels like when I drove for the first time… but the car is trying to help me’ Meeting Classic Cars reader Lukasz Stankiewicz in a car park on the outskirts of Market Harborough, I get the impression that he spent the previous night memorising facts about the Citroën DS, the dream car he’s about to drive with a little help from Classic Cars . ‘It’s amazing how much space they managed to fit into such a relatively compact car, isn’t it?’ he asks, pacing around the DS23 Pallas…

‘It feels like when I drove for the first time… but the car is trying to help me’ Meeting Classic Cars reader Lukasz Stankiewicz in a car park on the outskirts of Market Harborough, I get the impression that he spent the previous night memorising facts about the Citroën DS, the dream car he’s about to drive with a little help from Classic Cars . ‘It’s amazing how much space they managed to fit into such a relatively compact car, isn’t it?’ he asks, pacing around the DS23 Pallas that Alan Kemp has owned for more than 20 years. ‘It’s still fairly long but with a wheel right at each corner they managed to make it huge inside while avoiding any unwieldiness. And then, of course, there’s the hydropneumatic system,’ he…

THE IMPORTANT MODELS 1955 DS19 Innovative original, with hydropneumatics controlling adjustable-height suspension, brakes, automatic clutch and power steering. Simplified ID19 of 1956 has pedal-operated clutch, manual gearbox, conventional brakes. 1960 DS19 SAFARI Maximising the space made available by the DS’s flat floor, the Safari estate is an MPV ahead of its time, capable of seating eight, with its two rows of three-seater benches plus a pair of flip-down rear seats in the boot. 1961 DS19 DÉCAPOTABLE Built by Parisian coachbuilder Henri Chapron and with a price tag equal to two ID19s, the convertible DS goes into limited handbuilt production in Chapron’s Levallois works. Exclusive coupés and limousines also follow. 1965 DS21 PALLAS Along with a new 2.1-litre engine introduced across the DS range to address the criticisms of the original…

1955 DS19 Innovative original, with hydropneumatics controlling adjustable-height suspension, brakes, automatic clutch and power steering. Simplified ID19 of 1956 has pedal-operated clutch, manual gearbox, conventional brakes. 1960 DS19 SAFARI Maximising the space made available by the DS’s flat floor, the Safari estate is an MPV ahead of its time, capable of seating eight, with its two rows of three-seater benches plus a pair of flip-down rear seats in the boot. 1961 DS19 DÉCAPOTABLE Built by Parisian coachbuilder Henri Chapron and with a price tag equal to two ID19s, the convertible DS goes into limited handbuilt production in Chapron’s Levallois works. Exclusive coupés and limousines also follow. 1965 DS21 PALLAS Along with a new 2.1-litre engine introduced across the DS range to address the criticisms of the original underpowered 1.9, the Pallas adds an extra helping of luxury…