The Fiat 124 Spider looks terrible. We all know it. For what seemed like a recipe dreamed up by the gods, and served dripping in honey to the salivating media, the result is a bit…ghastly. There is no excuse for this. The Japanese, not particularly renowned for the elegance of their vehicles, have managed to make the fourth-generation MX-5 look slender, sculpted and – crucially — pretty. … Continue reading 124 Spider: Has Fiat missed the boat?

The race livery is a fascinating thing. Superficially speaking, it is nothing but an advertising hoarding, designed implicitly to raise brand awareness and to ‘sex up’ whichever company happens to slap their logo across a car’s bows. In reality, this is nonsense. A great livery can transform people’s perception of a car, team or driver. In days gone by, the liveries adopted by F1 teams were a massive deal, because the … Continue reading The curious case of the racing livery

With the unveiling of its new 718 Boxster, Porsche has been the centre of much furore. Has arguably the world’s most single, bloody-minded sports car manufacturer sold its soul to the dark art of turbocharging? This has been the question on everyone’s lips. For good reason, too. The advent of mass-turbocharging across the board has led to performance cars which are less responsive, less engaging … Continue reading The Porsche 718 Boxster – brave new world?