Cars

Ferrari’s brilliant F355 Buying a Maranello great  The Dino-line Ferrari with V12-beating performance makes a great, fast-appreciating modern classic, as Malcolm McKay explains. Ferrari F355 Buyers guide: Maranello’s V8 return to form.  Photography Tony Baker.

The market Buying Guide Matra Murena Fancy France’s budget alternative to the McLaren F1? What does a Matra Murena have in common with the McLaren F1? They’re both mid-engined, built by a legendary racing company – and share an unconventional three-seater layout.

Life Cycle My Fiat 124 rotted twice; I restored it twice.  Life Cycle Ken Walker and his Fiat 124 Coupé have been through a lot together. It once lost its brakes on a hill and sufered a collapsed wheel – but he’ll never sell it.  The life story of a Fiat 124 Coupé Forty-three years, two restorations and near disaster later, Keith Walker still relishes the joys of driving the Fiat 124 that he bought new in 1973 Words Andrew Roberts. Photography Gus Gregory.

LONGTERMERS E92 M3 Track Project. Looking back at the car last month, I couldn’t see what others were pointing out – people who knew the car before and had now seen it in the workshop were shocked and couldn’t believe what I had done to a perfectly good car. But perfect in who’s eyes? To me the car was flawed with the weight BMW was asking it to carry around and so it was far from perfect from my point of view! As I said, looking back at the photos of the unpainted cage with the carbon panels on, it did look in a state and the different colours weren’t helping the cause as far as the aesthetic police were concerned.

It may be 50 years old but the ’02 is still a great classic buy Buying Guide The 2002 celebrates its 50th birthday this year – what better time to discover how to bag a good one?  BMW E10 ’02 models. We celebrate the ’02’s 50th birthday by looking back at what made it so great and what to look for when buying one.  Words: Bob Harper and Andrew Everett Photography: BMW.

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano what you need to know about owning an appreciating classic buyers’ guide. With its Enzo-derived V12 engine, 205mph and crisp handling, the 599 GTB is an epically talented, yet surprisingly usable supercar. Could this be the best sub-£100k Ferrari you can buy? Report by Chris Rees. Photography by Michael Ward.

Buyer’s guide to Citroën’s popular tin snail’ – the evergreen 2CV. Judging by current prices, the ‘ugly duckling’ has grown up to be a classic swan. Malcolm McKay investigates the enduring appeal of the toute petite voiture. Photography Tony Baker.

Shark Attack. The sharknosed ’80s BMW saloon which offers practical retro appeal. Words: Andrew Everett. When it was launched in 1981, the motoring press were surprised to see that BMW’s all-new ‘E28’ 5-Series looked like little more than a facelift of the previous ‘E12’ generation, a car that had been around since 1972. The E12 had earned itself a fine reputation as a well made mid range saloon that ranged from the prosaic 518 to the hot rod 528i and M535i.

Outrage and awe greeted the Testarossa when it was launched in 1984 – feelings have never subsided since Report by Chris Rees. Photography by Michael Ward.

The market supply of used 3 Series Saloons continues to grow rapidly, and that means just ten grand now bags a whole host of appealing second-hand E90 examples; with both high performance and super-efficient models around in substantial numbers. And that means discounts – big ones. So whether you’re buying privately, or at a dealership, don’t be tempted to pay anything like the asking price on these top three 3 Series buys.

At the ‘Ring at the end of last year my friend Ravi was hot on my heels driving the VLN E46 M3 race car fitted with slicks and my E92 just couldn’t match his speed in the tight sections. On these parts of the track my car tended to understeer – sometimes dangerously – but most of the time I just had to brake earlier and wait to get back on the throttle. Aside from the sticky slicks, the extra 250+kg my car was carrying didn’t help the cause – there is only so much the wide 285 section Cups can take…

It might be 20-years-old but the E39 is still a great machine. Lauded in its day for being the ‘Best Car In The World’ the E39 Five can still be an excellent used buy whether you’re after a cheap 520i to use as a runaround or a last-of-the-line 530i Sport to covet. Words: Bob Harper and Andrew Everett. Photography: BMW.