WHILE FERRARI REMAINS A GIANT IN THE worlds of both high-performance road cars and motorsport, in the early 1960s it was arguably even more of a dominant presence. Consider that it won the 1958, 1961, and 1964 F1 drivers' titles and that at Le Mans, the race where its name had really been put on the map when it won the first 24 Hours to take place after the Second World War in 1949, it would win seven times between 1958 and 1965. Its road cars had the performance and the glamour, and much of that was bequeathed from the marque's successes on the racing circuits of the world.
The story of Ferrari in sportscar racing in the 1960s is one of triumph and tragedy, and of a superpower in slow, albeit often glorious, decline. When the flat-12s fell silent at the end of the 1973 season it truly marked the end of an era, for Ferrari would never again compete at the top level of endurance racing. Sure, there were Daytonas and Boxers subsequently in the GT class, Ferrari-engined Lancias in the Group C era of the 1980s, and in more recent years class successes with the 550/575 and the V8 mid-engined cars, but never an outright factory assault for the overall race win. That is until 2023, potentially, when the firm's new Le Mans Hypercar contender is due to make its race debut.
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BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
HONDA ACCORD TYPE R
A liberal sprinkling of Honda Type R fairy dust on the late-'90s Accord produced an unlikely evo icon and a genuine performance bargain
TOY STORY
Where best to store some of Toyota’s most prized and valuable racing superstars? Under the wind tunnel at its Cologne HO, of course...
POWER PLAY
It develops 819bhp. It has no turbochargers, no hybrid assistance. Ferrari describes it as the most complete GT it's ever made. And it’s so proud of its mighty V12 engine it’s named the whole car after it. This is the 12 Cilindri
THE FIRST SAMURAIS
Japan has been responsible for many of our favourite driver's cars of recent decades, but their ancestors are often much less well known. We take a look at where the big manufacturers began their performance car journeys
DEFINITELY. NO MAYBE
Three Japanese performance icons - Lexus LFA, Subaru Impreza 22B and Nissan GT-R. Over three days on some of our favourite roads we explore what makes each uniquely thrilling, but also the car culture that unites them
1V3.0
F1, P1... and now W1. The next chapter in McLaren's Ultimate Series is the British firm's challenger to the forthcoming new Ferrari hypercar and a £2million, 1257bhp, hybrid-powered, technical tour de force
Thornley Kelham European RS
One man’s dream to build the perfect Porsche 911 has resulted inthis aaticMously restored and enhanced classic. We delve into the details and take it for a drive
Bentley Continental GT Speed
The new Continental GT is the most powerful Bentley ever, and the beginning of anew plug-in hybrid era for Crewe. But is it still a benchmark grand tourer?
