Cars

Jaguar E-type restored First-timer’s home rebuild. Jaguar E-type rebuild Amazing story of a DIY restoration. Epic reader resto! In at the deep end. An E-type Jaguar is by no means the easiest car to tackle as your first project. Steve Bunn tells Paul Hardiman about his six-year odyssey. Photography James Mann.

Buying Guide. The original Mercedes’ original SLK R170 can be had for buttons, but make sure you read our five-step guide to choosing the best before you buy Five steps to buying a Mercedes SLK. Merc’s bijou roadster is cheap to buy, but pitfalls abound. Here’s how to avoid them. Words Nigel Boothman. Photography Tom Wood.

‘Beautifully detailed and strikingly handsome, the Tye 34 was VW’s most expensive car in the Sixties’ Some cars just suddenly look hot, and the razor-edge Type 34 Karmann Ghia has become one of them. Like a cross between a Corvair and a 356, the chiselled VW has graduated into classic BMW and Porsche territory.

Find a well-kept BMW 528i E28 or BMW M535i E28 and you’ll have a very cool and quick Eighties performance saloon.

Buying BMW i8 Classic on the Cusp. Quentin’s seen the future – and it’s a hybrid. No, he’s not gone mad...

Life Cycle. The life story of a Lotus Elite. Over its 37-year life this Lotus has been used as a towcar, people carrier and finally as a weekend fun car. It was an exciting ride. Words Nigel Boothman. Photography Alex Tapley. Lotus Elite as company car, people carrier, gear shedder. Life Cycle. This 1978 Lotus Elite 503 has served duty as a company car, towcar and family people carrier during its hard-working life.

‘He told me to ignore the car and buy the pile of old bits’ It takes a stroke of luck to stumble upon a stripped, but historically significant Allard in a lock-up. Turning the boxes of parts into a car requires a lot of skill. Words Nigel Boothman. Photos Laurens Parsons. Epic Restoration 1946 Allard J1. Patrick White needed the help of several restorers to rebuild the remains of a famous Allard he found in a lock-up. Now HLP 5 is better than new.

Ferrari’s brilliant F355 Buying a Maranello great  The Dino-line Ferrari with V12-beating performance makes a great, fast-appreciating modern classic, as Malcolm McKay explains. Ferrari F355 Buyers guide: Maranello’s V8 return to form.  Photography Tony Baker.

The market Buying Guide Matra Murena Fancy France’s budget alternative to the McLaren F1? What does a Matra Murena have in common with the McLaren F1? They’re both mid-engined, built by a legendary racing company – and share an unconventional three-seater layout.

Life Cycle My Fiat 124 rotted twice; I restored it twice.  Life Cycle Ken Walker and his Fiat 124 Coupé have been through a lot together. It once lost its brakes on a hill and sufered a collapsed wheel – but he’ll never sell it.  The life story of a Fiat 124 Coupé Forty-three years, two restorations and near disaster later, Keith Walker still relishes the joys of driving the Fiat 124 that he bought new in 1973 Words Andrew Roberts. Photography Gus Gregory.

LONGTERMERS E92 M3 Track Project. Looking back at the car last month, I couldn’t see what others were pointing out – people who knew the car before and had now seen it in the workshop were shocked and couldn’t believe what I had done to a perfectly good car. But perfect in who’s eyes? To me the car was flawed with the weight BMW was asking it to carry around and so it was far from perfect from my point of view! As I said, looking back at the photos of the unpainted cage with the carbon panels on, it did look in a state and the different colours weren’t helping the cause as far as the aesthetic police were concerned.

It may be 50 years old but the ’02 is still a great classic buy Buying Guide The 2002 celebrates its 50th birthday this year – what better time to discover how to bag a good one?  BMW E10 ’02 models. We celebrate the ’02’s 50th birthday by looking back at what made it so great and what to look for when buying one.  Words: Bob Harper and Andrew Everett Photography: BMW.