Fathers of style

Design is not a democracy.” Such a bold statement, wonderfully out of tune with modern group-think, could only apply to a car as radical as the Lotus Esprit. These words were only uttered today by Gio

The classics you love, drive and restore

We think of the Porsche 911 as being the stalwart of the junior supercar world, but after 28 years and more than 10,000 sales, the Lotus Esprit in all its guises was probably the closest contender. An

If it hadn’t been for a keen online rival bidder, you would now be reading about how I’d just bought a Renault Avantime and how I was embarking on an ill-judged foray into weird French car ownership.

The obvious question is whether it would have been easier to soup-up a stock Europa rather than streetify a 47. It’s a fair one, too, especially if you are unfamiliar with quite how different a Type 4

We’ve landed in North Wales for a bit of car- and train-spotting, where the Griffins and Blue Ovals face a Bavarian interloper