STAGE FRIGHTS

Rallying has had its fair share of flops and, as this selection goes to show, sometimes even the greats have an off day

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT

From an age of optimistic consumption, the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Drophead Coupé and Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Coupe were the pinnacle of open-top luxury

PROLES' ROYCES

Emerging from the confused depths of BMC’s product-planning studios, the Wolseley Six and Austin 3 Litre offered more charm than success

WOLFSBURG'S MIRACLE BUG

Faced with the dismantling of its vast plants and apartments, this German industrial city was transformed by two men and one very special car

JASON LEN

A tireless restorer of British sports cars who also has a passion for motorcycles

ON A SOFTER NOTE

The 2200 Spider represented the ambitions of Abarth and patron Fiat to strike at the higher order of Italian motoring, but it was destined to remain a rarity

You've never had it so good

The optimistic class of ’62 kicked off a golden era for British sporting greats with the Triumph Spitfire, MGB and Lotus Elan

THE GREAT IMPRESSION

This Chrysler Imperial’s fine engineering and Bohman & Schwartz Deco style proved to be the perfect extravagance for Hollywood’s first black superstar

MY FARE LANDAULET

This fastidiously restored 1926 Citroën could be the last-surviving link to the working streets of Paris

EXTRA TIME

Our three sports car greats sped past their original lifespans, becoming classics in their own lifetimes and eventually inspiring a new generation

FITTED OUT FOR A KING

Ordered new by a Belgian monarch, this sole surviving Vignale-bodied Aston Martin DB2/4 is back on form after decades in the doldrums

CREWE CUT

If you were going to build a single-seater, you probably wouldn’t start with a Rolls- Royce Silver Shadow. But this unlikely old warhorse recently won its first race

A CENTURY OF SPEED

What better way to celebrate our birthday than with our most valuable photoshoot ever, gathering together 100 years of Britain's fastest cars?

1980s FERRARI F40 - 201mph

And so we arrive at a notable a benchmark on this journey: the Ferrari F40 was the first production car to exceed the magic 'double-ton'.

1920S VAUXHALL 30-98 OE-TYPE - 100.7mph

A century ago, the very idea of a production car achieving 100mph would have been eulogised by schoolkids and automobile makers alike.

1970s FERRARI 365 GT4 BB - 188mph

Our first Ferrari entry here was not only the fastest car of the 1970s (based on the factory's own claim of 188mph), but a significant one because it marked the start of a mid-engined era for Maranello's 12-cylinder, two-seater cars that was to endure for nearly a quarter of a century.

1930s BENTLEY 8 LITRE - 107.3mph

Establishing the top speeds of pre-war cars is a fraught business that not only requires a solid and incontestable baseline for each nominee, but also an awareness that very few cars from high-end marques would look or perform in the same way after they left their respective factories.

1950s MERCEDES-BENZ 300SL - 163mph

They say that racing improves the breed, but in the case of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL ‘Gullwing'Coupé, it actually inspired its creation.

EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL

Developed on opposite sides of the English Channel, the Alpine A310 and Lotus Europa offered supercar technology in miniature

FUTURE CLASSICS

As CGSC turns 40, motoring enthusiasts have been asked to vote for the modern cars they believe will be the classics of 40 years' time

1940s JAGUAR XK120 - 132.6mph

Of all the cars gathered here today, and taking into account the vagaries of inflation, the Jaguar XK120 was not only the least expensive when it was new, but also a relative bargain. Who would have thought that £1263 would buy what was, in 1948, not just the UK's but the world's fastest production car?

EL MAESTRO'S MASERATI

The Maserati 300S driven to sports car victories by Juan Manuel Fangio is a rush of racing history restored to its original, long-nose glory

WHERE EAGLES DARE

A chain-drive eccentricity of the Italian vintage era, this Bianchi 40hp is as fine and sporting today as it was in period

OILING THE WHEELS

Shell's early advertising posters were works of art in their own right, and are now being celebrated in a lavish new coffee-table book

THE BOURNE SUPREMACY

When the engineering gurus at BRM got their hands on the little Lotus Elan, they turned an already brilliant sports car into a sensation

VAUXHALL CALIBRA

The super-sleek leading act of GM Europe's 1990s revival now makes a usable modern classic

PRETTY LITTLE THINGS

With their feisty twin-cam engines and elegant style, the Fiat 1500S and Alfa Giulia Spider brought La Dolce Vita romance to the mainstream

JOHN MATTOS

Master of the airbrush style revives Art Deco in automotive illustrations

FORD vs FERRARI RELOADED

A former Ford product designer recalls the forgotten GN34 supercar, the Blue Oval's biggest attempt at taking on the Prancing Horse since the GT40

ENGINEER'S CUT

The DB4 that Aston Martin Lagonda chief engineer Tadek Marek called his own is a special blend of bespoke touches