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.

Daring to be diminutive

AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts

THE LONG WAY ROUND

There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance

Handsome cab

The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best

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

Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans

ICON.

The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all

Blurred Lines

lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates

Home of the brave

The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named

PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES

Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring

From little acorn s...

The feisty Visa Trophée was an unlikely Group B rallying candidate, and a stepping stone towards Citroën's WRC supremacy

FORD RANGER RAPTOR

OTT workhorse is a kid-pleasing head-turner that mixes business with pleasure

MERCEDES-BENZ SL (R230)

The tech-heavy SL is becoming a sought-after classic with increasing specialist support

By Royal appointment

The overhauled Middlebridge Scimitar continuation was championed by Princess Anne with this, her eighth and final GTE

African Queen

A 1500-mile road trip has retraced this Morris Minor's history, from its first owner to its rediscovered remains, 54 years ago

NOT SO HACKNEYED CARRIAGE

Never mind today’s bloated Chelsea tractors, for millionaire Nubar Gulbenkian the perfect transport for the streets of 60s London was a bespoke black cab

Leading fromthe front

In the 1990s coupé boom, Toyota, Rover and Mazda scrabbled for power with race-inspired tuning, turbocharging and a sophisticated V6

EAST COAST HOME  BREW

When ambitious racer Walt Hansgen was unable to buy a new Jaguar C-type, he set out to build his own. How does it measure up?

NATIONAL VELVET

As smooth asvit is rapid and superbly built,this Vanden Plas tourer reveals how Derby Bentleys set new standards of aspirational motoring

Martin BUCKLEY

‘While the BMW drifts round every curve, the chasing Jaguar XJ6 is driven with overstated incompetence’

Simon TAYLOR

‘His team had to keep quiet about his habit of glugging a couple of glasses of red with his pasta before a race’

Mick WALSH

'The Allard family has a remarkable rallying history, from Sydney's 1949 Monte debut to Alan's '60s sorties'

ALFREDO DE LA MARIA

This Uruguayan artist captures dramatic moments from motorsport history with a vivid and arresting painting style

VAN WITH A VERY SPECIAL CARGO

Post-WW1, André Citroën was planning a new small model that was a 'proper' car, rather than a cyclecar.

Equipe Classic's Brands kick-off

There was a 15-race schedule for 2024's opening Equipe Classic Racing meeting, on 23-24 March around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent.

DERBY FLIES TO VICTORY

There was late drama as the 19th Flying Scotsman vintage rally drew to a close.

UNITED STATES OF ENTERTAINMENT

Anew mixture of grids provided scintillating on-track action at the 81st Goodwood Members’ Meeting

2-4-6-8 ain't never too late

Morgan's sports-car legacy spans more than a century, with the V-twin three-wheeler, and four-pot, V6 and V8 roadsters

DOWN MEMORY LANE

As C&SC hits 500 not out, our most prolific and popular wordsmith turns Jackanory to tell the story of his lifelong link to the magazine

Locked & loaded

Land-Rover's SAS prototype and Minerva's Blindé vehicle were built to lend agility reconnaisance and versatility to Europe's special forces