Greatest Cars, Napier cars

D. Napier & Son Limited was a British engine and pre-Great War (the “brass era”) automobile manufacturer and one of the most important aircraft engine manufacturers in the early to mid-20th century. Their post-First World War Lion was the most powerful engine in the world for some time in the 1920s and into the 1930s,…

Greatest Cars, Riley One Point Five

The Riley One-Point-Five and similar Wolseley 1500 were motor vehicles based on the Morris Minor floorpan, suspension and steering but fitted with the larger 1489 cc B-Series engine and MG Magnette gearbox. Launched in 1957, the twins were differentiated by nearly 20 hp (15 kW), the Riley having twin SU carburettors giving it the most…

Greatest Cars, Alpine Renault 220

Alpine, The French marque first appeared in 1952 when Jean Redele formed the Societe des Automobiles Alpines to produce a Renault powered road car. The firm gradually turned to racing and rallying and when Renault offered sponsorship in 1964 Alpine moved into big time racing, first with a Formula 3 car and later with a…

Greatest Cars, Mitsubishi Starion

The Mitsubishi Starion is a two-door, turbocharged four-cylinder rear-wheel drive four-seat sports car that was in production from 1982 to 1989. It was also marketed in North America as the Conquest under the Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth names. Both the Starion and Conquest came to an end in 1989. Mitsubishi’s entry in the lucrative Japanese…

Greatest Cars, Riley TT Sprite

Riley was a British motorcar and bicycle manufacturer from 1890. Riley became part of the Nuffield Organisation in 1938 and was later merged into British Leyland. ln July 1969 British Leyland announced the immediate end of Riley production, although 1969 was a difficult year for the UK auto industry and cars from Riley’s inventory may…

Greatest Cars, De Tomaso competizione 2000

  The Ghia De Tomaso 2000 Competizione was a one-off race car concept built by Ghia and based on a De Tomaso Vallelunga chassis. The car was first displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966, before making further appearances at other major automotive events. Powering the Ghia De Tomaso 2000 Competizione was a 1.6…

Greatest Cars, Ferrari tipo 500

  The Ferrari 500 was a Formula 2 car designed by Aurelio Lampredi. For 1952, the FIA announced that Grand Prix races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers would be run to Formula 2 specification rather than to Formula 1. After the withdrawal of Alfa Romeo from the sport, Ferrari were the only team…

Greatest Cars, Alpine Renault

As you may recall, we covered the Alpine Renault in quite some detail earlier this year (original feature here). However, as you may have also seen from the news in the past few days, Veloce Publications released a very comprehensive and in depth look in to these great cars by Roy P Smith in 2013. We…

Greatest Cars, ATS 2500 GT

  Some of the greatest cars ever produced will be published in this section. Every week we shall feature 7 of the greatest cars in existence. So, why not tell us about your favourite 7. Use our contact page or email us with your selection. You can find more of our greatest cars here. Friday;…