The sonorous name of Maserati was, for its first two decades, chiefly associated with pure racing cars. In the 1960s, however, its various GT and luxury sedan models established the marque in the same sphere as Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Porsche. Nevertheless, plenty of ups and downs have been endured. Five Maserati brothers were involved […]

Italian marque Alfa Romeo is a fully paid-up member of the classic car establishment. For enthusiasts, it stands for relatively affordable sports cars and roadsters with, in the classic period, exceptional mechanical sophistication and driving pleasure. But Alfa’s portfolio also includes sport sedans and historic race winners. The name of Alfa Romeo is an amalgam

Mini is now a fully fledged car brand encompassing coupes, an AWD crossover, and racing models, but at its heart lies a revolutionary small car, based on a design conceived by Sir Alec Issigonis in the mid-1950s. Now owned by BMW, the firm continues to build on the little car’s success. The MINI was the

AGONIZINGLY PRETTY, THE AC ACE catapulted the homespun Thames Ditton company into the automotive limelight, instantly earning it a reputation as makers of svelte sports cars for the tweedy English middle classes. Timelessly elegant, swift, poised, and mechanically uncomplicated, the Ace went on to form the platform for the legendary AC Cobra. Clothed in a

MG, the company that virtually invented affordable, fun, British sports cars – started life making stolid, unsporting Morris cars go faster – but it quickly adapted and modified them into some legendary models to produce affordable, performance cars. The initials “MG” STAND for “Morris Garages,” a Morris dealership in Oxford owned by Morris Motors founder,

The Morgan Motor Company, based in the English county of Worcestershire, has turned old-fashioned quirkiness into an art form. Still independently owned, the firm continues to build sports cars with a heritage dating back to the 1930s, in a factory complex that opened in 1914. Morgan founder Harry “H.F.S.” Morgan started his engineering career working

As Swedish as Abba, despite being foreign-owned since 1999, Volvo has a reputation for safety. A century ago, the original company made ball bearings and took its name from the Latin for “I roll.” Its first cars were not built until 1926, a series of 10 pre-production models, one of which had a fabric-covered body

Now reduced to a subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler, Lancia’s long history blended engineering innovation with style in a manner that few companies could rival. Since its creation in 1906, the Turin-based company, its cars, and drivers have enjoyed a glittering career in motorsports, particularly in recent years in international rallying. Vincenzo Lancia was a restless

Produced from 1935–55, the MG T series was a popular range of small, convertible sports cars, mostly steel-bodied on a wooden frame, and capable of around 80 mph (129 km/h). The postwar TC enjoyed particular success with sales of more than 10,000, in large part because of the car’s achievements on the export market. It