Ed Westby

I have my pro-Rover biases to deal with as well, but it’s funny you mention the Boxster. I drove a 986 S last year, and I expected a lot. I just didn’t get it, however. It felt decidedly dull. The 996 911, however, is a very different experience.

YouTube video by Twin-Cam The MG F is a Midship '90s Roadster We Should All Love

The MG F is a Midship '90s Roadster We Should All Love
youtu.be/r2nGFP81B0U

While not without their issues, MGFs are riotous little things - that VVC engine screaming to 7200 rpm, with suspension control that will upset far more expensive machinery. If you’d like to see the video, comment ‘MG’. (8/8)

…featuring the ultra-light and fantastically rev-happy K-Series engine, producing 143 bhp. The Metro-based subframes brought back all-round double wishbone suspension, and an upgrade in the form of Hydragas, the ‘F floating on a mixture of fluid and gas. (7/8)

…nothing neared production until Mazda shocked everyone with the MX-5. Suddenly, their parent, now known as the Rover Group, were sitting on a goldmine. The MGF was go, and with a cutesy roadster body, the bones of ADO21 were revived. Here was a mid-engine, rear-drive, fluid-sprung MG… (6/8)

…overhead-cam E-Series engine, mounted transversely, in the middle. The MGD GT could have been the world’s first affordable midship sports car, but it was canned in favour of the Triumph TR7. Come the 1980s, chances of an MG sports car revival were slim. Sure, there was the odd concept, but… (5/8)

…drive, and it drove fantastically. But with little cash and the MGB storming to success, it never made production. MG moved into the future, and by 1970, they had another concept. ADO21 was a dramatic wedge-shaped coupé, again with Hydrolastic, only this time, it used their new… (4/8)

…modern shell, BMC could
do better. By ’64, they had a prototype known as EX234. With delicate Pininfarina styling applied, this B-based car featured a smaller but fierier engine from a Mini Cooper S, and floated-on-fluid with all-round double wishbone suspension. It was still rear-wheel… (3/8)

…the iconic Mini and top-selling 1100. They had transverse engines, front-wheel drive, unmatched packaging, and fluid-based Hydrolastic suspension. The MGB, by comparison, was ancient. Of course, it was rear-drive, but it had a live axle, leaf springs, and lever arm dampers. With such a… (2/8)

The MGF was 30 years in the making. Back in 1962, the superlative MGB became amongst the first truly everyday sports cars. Yet simultaneously, some Greek bloke was parading about BMC - MG’s parent firm - proclaiming to see the future. His name was Alec Issigonis, and his creations included… (1/8)

2022 marked the 50th anniversary of BMW’s M division, but their first car didn’t carry an M badge. Yet as the car that set the standard, dominating touring car racing and propelling the Bavarians’ pedigree into the stratosphere, this is the BMW 3.0 CSL. If you’d like to see the video, comment ‘CSL’.

There’s comfort in air conditioning and leather trim, but there’s no complication. But most importantly, they’re some of the last truly small superminis, all of which proves why so many paint the products of the ‘90s as ‘peak car’. (5/5)

…exposing swathes of young blokes to a modern, fashion-forward small car. While they aren’t quite as perfect as some would have you believe, the 106 and Saxo feel very different some quarter of a century on. They’re still mightily quick, but they don’t ride stupidly. (4/5)

…now joined by its badge-engineered brother - the 1.6-litre, 16 valve, 120 bhp siblings became the cars to be seen in, primarily as you could now afford one. Single-handedly kick-starting the hot hatch market, Citroën and then Peugeot offered a years’ free insurance with a low-deposit… (3/5)

…difficult for that market. Here in Britain, insurance premiums had priced young people out of the old Fiesta XR2 and Golf GTI. Ford and Volkswagen watered down their subsequent cars, the Mk4 GTI proving soft and barely discernible from a mid-range diesel. But six years into the 106’s life… (2/5)

Certain motor cars grow to define their eras, and last year, I met the siblings that did just that in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. In the Peugeot 106 GTI and Citroën Saxo VTS, the French had proved themselves again to be capable of building the best hot hatches, but this period was… (1/5)

My little Austin Mini is very much a product of the early 1980s, when seatbelts had only just become compulsory to wear! Clearly, the car’s previous owners weren’t best pleased…

Oh that’ll be a necessity! I believe there’s one for the Business CD on my E46, but they seem to be rare if they do exist. Flash-modding is absolutely a necessity. Amazing how slow and noisy these old hard drives are to access 😅

Technology peaked here.

An executive saloon designed for the motorway age, later with the brilliant 3.5-litre V8, the Rover P6 was designed to take four people and their luggage from London to Edinburgh at an average speed of 100 mph. If you’d like to see the full video, then comment ‘ROVER’

In the 1960s, Rover experimented with turbine cars, one even running at Le Mans with Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart. But as it became clear that production wasn’t on the cards, the width afforded in the P6 allowed fitment of a 3.5-litre V8. If you’d like to see the video, then comment ‘ROVER’ below.

In building the safest car in the world, Rover fitted the P6 with a De Dion tube, ensuring camber consistency across the suspension’s travel. If you’d like to see the video, comment ‘ROVER’ below.

CHEESEGRATERS

YouTube video by Twin-Cam When Rover Built the Safest Car in the World

When Rover Built the Safest Car in the World
youtu.be/rv73yxqh6c8

1963’s Rover P6 preceded mass-market concern over safety. A decade before either Mercedes-Benz or the Volvo 240, and five years before the Saab 99, Britain was building the world’s safest car in a time where seat belts were optional. If you’d like to see the full video, then comment ‘ROVER’ below.

Modern cars are really very large and obnoxious. How about something smaller? You could even call it Mini. An Austin Mini. That has a ring to it.

Does anyone else think Matt Fitzpatrick looks just a little bit like Jim Clark?

Had a 175 bhp conversion too. Looks immaculate and I adore the colour.

I have become mildly obsessed with Saabs this weekend.
In particular, this one I’ve found on Car & Classic.

…the Rover 3500 - Buick’s orphaned 215 underlining the P6 with an unmistakeable V8 burble. Given the funds, I’d probably try and daily one. But today on Twin-Cam, in lieu of my own, we’re exploring what made these cars so special, so if you’d like to see the video, then comment ‘ROVER’ below. (3/3)