Cars

Mental Merc Benz the Rules. There’s no shame in buying built, and when the end result is as handsome and rapid as this bonkers Benz, it deserves an added... Dave Smith Andy ‘Fly’ Tipping.

“I suppose you do have to be brave to own one…” Despite that, owner Tony Wates tells Malcolm Thorne, the Lamborghini Urraco doesn’t deserve its reputation for unreliability. But then, he did restore this one himself. Photography Tony Baker.

Six steps to buying a Jaguar XJR Now’s the time to buy Jag’s supercharged four-door before they become expensive. Words Sam Dawson. Photography John Colley.

Buy & tune Porsche 928 GTS We show you how to buy the best Porsche V8 out there. It didn’t succeed in replacing the 911 as Porsche intended, but the 928 refused to bow out quietly, leaving its final mark on the supercar scene with the awesome 5.4-litre GTS… Words Kate Wilkinson. Photography John Colley.

#TTTuesday. The Mk1 TT 8N is on the verge of becoming a modern classic – its design, first revealed in 1995, was way ahead of anything any other manufacturer was doing at the time – so it’s no surprise really, but what would Audi designers think of Jules Loose’s example? Words Danielle Bagnall. Photography Adam Walker.

Bagged Corrado 1.8T Beauty. They don’t come any more complete than this. Silver Fox. If you thought you’d been around the VW scene for while then think again, Patric James has been modifying Dubs since most of you we born and when he talks it’s usually worth listening, especially when he's on the subject of Corrados. Words: Tony Saggu. Photos: Si Gray.

VW Mk1 Golf with bam 1.8T swap. Classy Mk1 Golf gets ultimate fast-road makeover. Fun Multiplied What happens when your car gains almost five times the power it left the factory with? If you’re anything like Matt Williams and his 1.8T-swapped Mk1 Golf here, the answer involves a lot of hard driving with a constant grin on your face… Sam Preston Adam Walker.

There are some circumstances where you take a look at something and say “I’m not sure why you decided to do that, but I’m glad you did.” Hey Matt Ford and Matt Crooke present their takes on some less-common ‘Volkswagen group’ metal. Words: Paul McGrath. Photos: Anna McGrath. Same difference.

That eighties show. Auto Finesse goes ubër 80s with this 400bhp throwback Mk2 bursting with rare period parts! Part touring car, part Eighties throwback, and packing a 380bhp turbocharged 20-valve, Auto Finesse steps back into the spotlight with proof positive that you still haven’t seen every way to crack a show-stopping Mk2. Words: Alex Grant. Photos: Aron Vickers.

Messerschmitt rebuild “It was a pig to restore!” This Messerschmitt KR200 was the subject of a fastidious restoration. Magnificent ’Schmitt. The tale of one man’s determination to build a perfect German microcar. “If I’m honest, it was an absolute pig to restore” This Messerschmitt KR200 was Dave Watson’s second microcar rebuild. Ross Alkureishi recounts the tale of its lengthy resurrection. Photography James Mann.

Worth saving project BMW E34. With numbers now seriously depleted, we thought it was high time to save one of the remaining E34 5 Series. Andrew Everett introduces our new project car.

The letter from C Gooch in this issue, certainly offers plenty of food for thought with regard to the future of diesel motoring in the UK. BMW has been responsible for some simply superb diesel-powered models over the years, and continues to produce them. Earlier this summer I spent a very enjoyable couple of weeks with a BMW 435d Gran Coupé xDrive, which reaffirmed to me just how impressive these machines have become. With refinement, superb driving dynamics, power a-plenty and astonishing economy, the experience left me wondering why you’d want any other sort of car?