RETRO GRADE A*

Buttonless keys, ignition barrels, screeching fan belts and lumpy idles - all things retro enthusiasts adore. Jonathan Bryce heads to the Retro Rides festival at Goodwood and checks out their machines

- Jonathan Bryce

AUDI 80 AVANT DIESEL

When it was bought for £900, this 80 immediately broke down, but owner Martin Tiffin has since spent £15,000 on the car, giving it RS2 front bumpers and a 1.9-litre TDI diesel engine that has accumulated 300,000 miles during his ownership.

Tiffin now loves his Audi so much that he has framed pictures of it and, when asked if he would sell it for something ULEZ-compliant, he simply replied: "I'd just convert it to electric."

LANCIA FLAVIA

Current owner Steve Thoma found this car on eBay as a nonrunner after it had been sitting neglected for years, with the engine distinctly absent. But Thoma, who has had 16 Lancias, understood how to make it shine again, giving it a thorough respray in its original colour and a new 91bhp 1.8-litre engine.

VOLVO 850 T5-R

We took Volvo UK's immaculate 850 to Retro Rides as both our transport and to show our support for the immaculate, five-cylinder, 236bhp estate with a turbocharger the size of Latvia.

PORSCHE 944 S2

This 944 S2 isn't upgraded. It doesn't have a V10 engine hiding under its undisturbed bonnet, or coilovers from Bilstein. It doesn't even have a custom exhaust. But it is as clean as when it left the factory, with millpond-smooth bodywork, gleaming alloy wheels and an exhaust with no trace of soot.

OPEL MONZA GSE

Here's an immaculate 1982 Monza GSE with the same 3.0-litre straight six as the Carlton GSi. It's also one of the last pre-facelift cars produced.

FORD ESCORT AA VAN