Post David Brown, Aston Martin entered the most turbulent period in its history, but somehow it pulled through. Nothing epitomised the fighting spirit better than the V8 Vantage. We drive one of the best
Caterham Super Seven 1600 review: old-fashioned values
(Caterham Cars)
In hindsight, driving up the M1 with both the roof and doors removed wasn’t a genius idea. It was sunny when I left London, but now the clouds have congealed and a steady drizzle is blasting my scalp at 60mph.
Stretching and poppering the canvas roof into place will take at least five minutes – and besides, there is nowhere to stop. My only option, it seems, is to outrun the rain.
Yep, it transpires that if you drive at the legal limit – or, umm, slightly beyond – in a Caterham Seven, light rain will simply skim over your head and you stay dry. Until you’re forced to slow down for 50mph average speed cameras, that is…
We re listening.
The Lotus Elise will soon be no more. After an impressive 25-year production run, the purist sports car is heading off into the sunset. Known for its lightweight, razor-sharp handling, and unique appearance inside and out, the Elise and its hardtop-only sibling, the Exige, will soon be replaced by the just-announced Lotus Emira, the firm s final gasoline-engined model. The Evora is also on its way out the door. Despite its age, Lotus detects there could still be potential interest from certain parts of the industry to gain access to the Elise s tooling. This wouldn t be without precedent. The first-generation Tesla Roadster was really a heavily modified Elise.
Top Gear managed to get some time with Murray and a good portion of his collection for a lengthy hour-long video tour. After Murray walks us through his newest car, the T.50S Niki Lauda, he moves on to his personal collection. We re given a history lesson on how he got into racing, and why he owns a Formula 3 car from the Fifties. We re also given a look at his Lotus Seven and a slew of race cars he helped design, including the Brabham BT44B, his first Le Mans car, and his custom 1972 Formula 750 car.
Murray then shows us around the Rocket, his first road-going car. After that, we re given a summary of his ultra-rare De Tomaso Vallelunga and a trio of very special lightweight Abarths. After that, we move onto Murray s Lotuses and even get a look at his high-revving Honda S800.
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