One of the most iconic power plants in automotive history, Jaguar’s XK straight-six was light, powerful, reliable-and essentially unchanged for almost 40 years. As well as featuring in the original XK120, the unit was used in XK140, XK150, and E-type sports cars, C- and D-type...
Instructed to help restore the UK’s devastated balance of payments after World War II, British car manufacturers hurried to build sports cars to sell in the lucrative U.S. market, where home-grown products were too bulky to match nimble European cars on twisty roads. Few of...
Pickup trucks have been part of the fabric of American society for almost a century, and none more so than Ford’s F-Series. It was the first all-new offering from Ford following the post-war resumption of civilian car manufacturing, and was advertised as “Built Stronger to...
The demands and shortages of World War II meant that transportation in the 1940s had to concentrate on practicality without frills or luxuries—vans and pickups were vital to move food and supplies to where they were needed, and off-road vehicles were required to carry troops...
There was a huge appetite for new cars in post-war America, so car makers rushed into production, working with essentially pre-war body styles. These styles, however, had seen three seasons’ more development than European makes, since the United States had joined the war later. By...
After World War II, few people in Europe could afford large, luxurious sedans. Instead, most designs were conservative, and only figures such as government ministers, ambassadors, or doctors could justify a large, powerful car for their work. Cars were mostly updated pre-war creations with heavy...
Despite the 1929 stock market crash that precipitated a worldwide recession, the 1930s saw small manufacturers continue to make large-engined sports tourers, with ever-increasing refinement as the global economy recovered. The widespread building of high-quality surfaced roads allowed wealthy drivers to cruise at hitherto unimagined...
BMW began as a maker of aircraft engines, later diversifying into motorcycles and then cars. From near-certain bankruptcy in the 1950s, BMW bounced back in the 1960s with the landmark Neue Klasse models. It has since grown into one of the most respected European marques...
The 1930s saw the ultimate flowering of the coachbuilder’s art. The most exotic chassis, often adapted from state-of-the-art racing cars into road going performance machines, were dressed in the most stylish, streamlined, luxurious, and even decadent bodywork the world had yet seen. It is no...
Traditionally associated with high-priced luxury, the Ford-owned Lincoln marque offered buyers its least-expensive model to date with the 1936 Zephyr. Featuring Lincoln’s first unibody construction-in all-steel—and powered by a new V12 engine, the Zephyr thrilled with its daring, sleek design. Launched at the 1936 New...