Category: Journal
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What’s new pussycat?
Is there anything that hasn’t been written or retold about the Jaguar E-type? From the fabled drive from Coventry to Geneva for the 1961 launch through to Enzo Ferrari proclaiming it the most beautiful car ever designed, this is a car that defined the best of British in those ‘good old days’. Today, you can…
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The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game There is a saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. While that makes for a great saying, it might be a weak defence in a court of law. Inventors have long filed patents on designs, creations and all manner of things in order to protect them from prying eyes. Not…
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Meet your heroes
There has long been a hashtag in the automotive world that is #makelanciagreatagain. It appears with startling regularity and is usually accompanied by pictures of their great rallying past. Rally cars have always given us the worlds best drivers and their machines have typically been poster cars for a generation. Walter Rohl with his Audi…
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Ultimate Getaway: Bentley Continental GT Convertible
I’ll let you on a dirty little secret: I have a thing for driving GTs in the countryside and I think you should too. My definition of a great GT car is one that makes you feel as if you’re driving a private jet on the road. In essence: Effortless speed in sumptuous comfort. A…
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Ftype 5.0 (4.5?)
To undertake the task of redesigning a successful car acclaimed by many fans is a challenge for any manufacturer, especially for one with such heritage as Jaguar and its F-Type. I thoroughly enjoyed the “old” F-type on UK country roads (which we compared reviewed back to back with the Eagle E-Type – you can read…
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Is #MakeWagonsGreatAgain working?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you might have noticed that our roads have been invaded by compact crossover SUVs. Whatever your opinions of them are (and I know you lot have plenty), they have mostly displaced the estate body style. But it seems the estates aren’t going out without a fight. Note…
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2020 Defender: A masterclass of homage design
Land Rover has had the ginormous task of modernising a car that has grown its own cultural identity. We investigate how they went about it… Ever since car brands figured out that petrol heads are very nostalgic, we’ve seen a slew of new cars and concepts made in homage to the iconic vehicles of the…
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Electrifying classics: solution or sacrilege?
The electric revolution has begun. Whether or not you believe in climate change, the automotive industry is quickly moving to displace internal combustion engine cars in favour of electric vehicles (and apparently hydrogen fuel cell but that’s a discussion for another day). So, what does that mean for those of us with a penchant for…
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Forward thinking at Prodrive
Making your way through the revolving door and into the laboratory-clean reception area to be greeted by Colin McRae’s 1995 Championship winning Impreza, and an Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3, you can only be in one place; Prodrive’s headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire. This team of geniuses, founded by former Aston Martin chairman David Richards CBE,…
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Endurance legends never die…
The Ford GT40 was born from the ambition of Henry Ford II who wanted to have a Ford at Le Mans, but there is another side to the story… In 1963, Enzo Ferrari was interested in selling to the Ford Company, at the condition that he remained in control of Ferrari’s Motorsport division. Ford did not agree…
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Online Store Opening Soon
The Online Store Opening is coming up! Here is a teaser about what is coming up at The Mechanists – when talents meet artisans