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....
Every major European country saw a huge growth in demand for small family cars during the 1950s. Each nation had its own “champion”, and for France it was Renault. Nationalized in 1945, the state-owned company soon became the leading car-maker in Europe, and so rapid...
For many Americans, the 1950s was a time of increased wealth and prosperity, and this was reflected in the cars they drove, which got bigger and more powerful. They had styling influenced by everything from science fiction films to space rockets and jet fighter planes,...
Pininfarina is one of Italy’s towering giants of car design, but it was founded by someone very short—being only 5ft (152cm) tall, Battista Farina’s nickname of Pinin, or “tiny”, was apt. His design empire became a hallmark of quality and genius, as well as a...
The prancing horse of Ferrari has become a fixture at the very summit of automotive achievement. Enzo Ferrari’s steadfast approach to speed ensured that his team became the most successful of them all in Formula 1 racing, and his company has created some of the...
The 1950s was a decade when a lot of people who had only dreamt of owning a car actually managed to do so for the first time. For some, economy was important, so they either bought something second-hand, or even ultra-frugal microcars, such as the...
With 11 distinct generations of car launched over a 50-year period, the Ford Thunderbird was not conceived as a sporty car like the Mustang, but rather as a personal luxury car. With an emphasis on style and sophistication for two rather than outright performance, it...
Convertibles added fun and a touch of glamour to the most dowdy, workaday car ranges and so were popular additions to many model line-ups. As the 1950s progressed, car-makers moved on from just chopping the roofs off their saloons to making stand-alone open models. Many...
Over three generations, the Zagato family has forged a coach-building dynasty with a century-long history. A Zagato design is utterly unmistakable, characterized by extremes of shape, construction, and performance. Today the Milanese company’s work—especially with prestige marques such as Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ferrari, Aston Martin,...
Italy combined art and engineering to produce stylish cars that were fun to drive—and they came in all sizes and price ranges. Innovations such as V engines, overhead camshafts, disc brakes, independent suspension, and monocoque construction put Italian models way ahead of the humdrum machinery...