As old as it seems now, the Mercedes 190 was seen as a huge risk for the company because it had forged its reputation on building high end, high quality limos and sports cars. Mercedes engineers thought first turned to a smaller car in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, which severely restricted supply [...]

Combine the ground breaking leap in technology of the 190 and the build quality and timeless styling of the SEC coupes, and you would still not have the measure of the impact that Mercedes all new SL made at its launch in 1989. The styling was extremely simple, yet suitable touches (especially around the shovel [...]

Mercedes high standard of engineering have been admired since before the Second World War, but they reached something of a peak during the 1980s. Its top line S Class car of that era a feeling of imperturbability that can have come from the highest quality materials engineered into the highest quality overall whole. In 1981, [...]

Few other sixties convertibles have had enduring appeal of the SL Mercedes. Some how its styling seems timelessly elegant, undating. You don’t have to look at one of these cars very long to appreciate the excellence of the build quality. Swift and very comfortable, the SL was a sports car without the pain. This fact [...]

In the preparation for its fiftieth anniversary, Honda decided that the time had come to launch a line of stripped out high performance versions of ordinary road cars. In a similar vein to BMW’s M Series and Audi’s S types, Honda’s new range would be dubbed Type R. The result, in the form of the [...]

Ford’s corporate machine was locked into a no risk loop when kit developed the MK 4 Escort. The no risk approach hit the buffers when press reaction to the car was so bad that, according to the industry story, Ford bosses ordered the car to undergo a significant facelift within days of the first press [...]

When Ford came to replace the mid engined Sierra after a decade in production, product planners wanted to produce all new car that was packed with the latest safty features and advanced mechanical and electrical systems. The Sierra replacement was to be massive leap forward for the Blue Oval badge of Ford Motors. The only [...]

The Capri was famously summed by the Ford’s advertising line of, the car you always promised yourself. It rang true because two million buyers were clearly in agreement. Influenced by the success of Ford Mustang in the USA, the Capri offered European motorists some long bonneted glamour, with the promise of Ford reliability and running [...]

The Ferrari F 40 was built to mark Enzo Ferrari’s 40th year as a car manufacturer in 1988. However, it was also intended, from its injection, to represent the super car in its ultimate form. It was a great way to celebrate Enzo’s birthday, and an even greater way to celebrate the super car. Outwardly [...]

The Turbocharged Bentley four door models that emerged in the 1980s were the first moves towards giving the marque a separate identity from Rolls Royce, something it hadn’t enjoyed since the days of the R type Continental in the 1950s. The original Mulsanne Turbo of 1983 slightly misjudged the mood of the market, however, with [...]