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The Mercedes W124 300TE estate is on the rise – but not everyone’s aware of it...

With steady values, get the right torsion-bar Bug and it will look after you. Words Russ Smith. Photography John Colley.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only kid with a poster of an F40 adorning their bedroom wall. The legendary supercar, which was the swansong of the late Enzo Ferrari, was an evolution of the 288 GTO originally developed to be a Group B racer. After the formula was canned, it turned into a road car to commemorate 40 years of the Prancing Horse. Featuring a 2,9-litre V8 turbopetrol engine delivering 352 kW in a car weighing just 1,2 tonnes was unheard of in 1987. (That V8’s on/off power delivery at the turbo’s boost point meant the car could easily catch its driver off-guard and swap ends.) The F40 is a marvellous example of engineering prowess meeting typical Eighties design, right down to the NACA ducts and that wing. I got to drive my favourite classic as part of CAR’s bucket-list series and the fascination only grew. This is a childhood hero I’m glad I met.