The situation looks chaotic in this mid-Eighties dash for the Channel – but there are plenty of vehicles to keep classic car-spotters occupied

The Midland Hotel’s fading splendour is the perfect backdrop for a trip down seaside memory lane

DUNSTABLE DOWNS, BEDFORDSHIRE

In the first of three helpings of nostalgia this week, we head to a Birmingham site that helped all these vehicles go. Or sometimes not go…

ALLONBY, CUMBERLAND

Volkswagen’s diesel-powered plug-in hybrid took a decade to develop and cost the firm £1 billion. Weighing just 795kg and fitted with a super-frugal 800cc engine and tiny electric motor, the XL1 could