The message engraved on a plaque screwed to the dashboard of this Wolseley 25 Drophead Coupé says as much about post-war societal changes as it does the historical importance of this car: 'Presented to the Rt Hon Lord Nuffield as a token of gratitude and admiration by the Workpeople and Staff of Wolseley Motors Ltd. With every good wish. X'mas 1937: Gushing and cap-doffing it may sound by today's standards, but more than 80 years ago, the esteem in which Wolseley's chief was held really did inspire his employees to fund and present him with this very car.
It was no ordinary 25, either. When Wolseley workers handed their chairman the car's keys on 23 December of that year, the 25 wasn't even catalogued in the company's brochures; Lord Nuffield was in effect gifted a one-off. Whether it was, in reality, a working prototype for the future 25 Drophead Coupé model line, no one is quite sure. Either way, the Wolseley 25 dhc did reach limited production four months later, in spring 1938 - although perhaps not built to the same exacting standards as the highly original example we're driving today.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
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THE LONG WAY ROUND
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Handsome cab
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DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
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ICON.
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Blurred Lines
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Home of the brave
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PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
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