Classic Cars

Classic Cars is the original classic car magazine. It defined the world of classic motoring 40 years ago and still does it today. Every issue is put together by our team of classic car experts and enthusiasts. Using the best expert writing and photography, the magazine helps you experience what it's like to drive, keep and restore the classic cars of days gone by. We bring the stories and people behind the cars to life - showing you how to buy, keep and enjoy your cars. Every issue of Classic Cars is packed with: - Road tests - Drive stories - Expert buying advice - News and events coverage Classic Cars is the original classic car magazine.

Welcome • We love to deride it as the corruption of art, but it’s compromise that gives cars their distinctive character

‘It’s nothing like the wafty barge I’d expected’ • Chronic car-swapper Kev Ponsford is always looking for the next best thing. Will a day driving his dream Ferrari 456GT convince him it’s time to settle down?

Bullseye-ing up a bargain? • Recent brace of underwhelming results say Dart is heading for lower price targets

Double-take 2+2 • Historics Jag looks a boon for back seaters

HAGERTY SPOTLIGHT

IN THE TRADE

Mercedes-Benz 300SLR sells for £115m

Putting the ‘S’ in express

Brutish bargain?

Prescott rolls back the years

Italian rarities rejoice in public exposure • Unique histories revealed at the second Prescott Italia

Tony Brooks, 1932-2022

June/July event highlights

Well oiled 356 hits heady heights

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Vera the Lotus Elan

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QUENTIN WILLSON • Quentin Willson had a nine-year stint presenting the BBC’s Top Gear, has bought and sold countless cars and has cemented a reputation as everyone’s favourite motoring pundit.

JOHN FITZPATRICK • A chance encounter with an immaculately restored Mini triggers racing memories, and strikes me as my ideal transport to the great racetrack in the sky...

ROOM FOR FUN • Who says driving enjoyment has to stop when you have a family? From post-war to (nearly) present, here are five fine driver’s cars that also have ample room to share the experience

‘We’d collect new cars from the factory, and race each other back to run them in’ • Veteran car dealer Nicky Porter reveals the secrets from his 56 years selling cars – including unorthodox bull-market tactics, roping in Royals for marketing, and running-in cars the old school way

SENT TO COVENTRY • This car was one of the first Jaguar E-types Britain saw, be it in action at Shelsley Walsh, or as Browns Lane’s local demonstrator. Today we drive it

‘It was really, really, really tired’ • Restoring an early Lotus Seven is tricky enough, but Speedsport took on a unique example modified by a noted car designer – and it doesn’t usually restore road cars

Lynx Eventer • What began life as a substandard outcast soon became a showpiece, and mobile rehearsal studio to the stars

THE COBRA’S GODFATHER? • Jack Turner was better known for his small sports cars than high-powered bruisers, but a fascinating rebuild has suggested a tantalising origin story

Seven steps to buying a Citroën XM • This heir to the DS and SM offers a lot of Citroën for the money, but they’re complex, so buy carefully

Trans Africa Land Rover

Mysterious forces

Mysterious noises

Raising the roof

1967 Jaguar ‘Mk2’ convertible £125,000 • Strong money, but as Sam Dawson explains, as well as being an eye-popping conversion, this Jag also has Brit Pop provenance

1982 Land Rover Series III 88 £24,795 • This nicely-restored ‘Series’ Land Rover blends period appeal with modern-classic usability, according to Sam Dawson...