Something is not right. Racing cars are meant to be more difficult to drive than road cars; extra power and performance but less harnessed, so trickier to access and control than with the engineering

‘Flash Alf’ Martin was a welder, but not just any welder. He was a brilliant welder. He worked for the Rubery Owen Group, which owned British Racing Motors, the BRM Formula 1 team. In its factory at B

The very first Aston Martin, built in 1914, just months before the start of the First World War. Development of the car slowed for obvious reasons, yet that didn’t stop Lionel Martin driving it to Wil

Beauty,’ said the 18th Century Scottish philosopher David Hume, ‘is no quality in things themselves: it exists merely in the mind… and each mind perceives a different beauty.’ That difference in perce

Rétromobile is Europe’s finest indoor classic car show, and as I nosed happily around this year’s three floors it seemed better than ever. Among the money-drenched dealers’ stands, favourites included

Martin Brundle, Derek Warwick and David Brabham all pick out the 3.5-litre V8 Jaguar XJR-14 among the finest racing cars they ever drove. Ross Brawn’s design for Tom Walkinshaw Racing ‘only’ won three