Classic Cars

Classic Cars is the original classic car magazine. It defined the world of classic motoring 40 years ago and still does it today. Every issue is put together by our team of classic car experts and enthusiasts. Using the best expert writing and photography, the magazine helps you experience what it's like to drive, keep and restore the classic cars of days gone by. We bring the stories and people behind the cars to life - showing you how to buy, keep and enjoy your cars. Every issue of Classic Cars is packed with: - Road tests - Drive stories - Expert buying advice - News and events coverage Classic Cars is the original classic car magazine.

Welcome • The Mercedes W113 SL ‘Pagoda’ pulled off a clever trick, outshining rivals without feeling the need to shout too loudly about it. No wonder its appeal never wavered

‘This is iconic design and engineering – everything about it was new’ • Classic Cars reader Simon Biggs is a connoisseur of classic luxury saloons, so how will he find the pure early Citroën DS19 – and at 6ft 6in, will he fit in it?

Early XK120s look better value • With the price of top-notch examples tailing off, it’s becoming a buyer’s market

Buyers’ bonanza • TR2 goes for well below estimate at H&H

Best of the breed?

The Right Stuff • Not only one of the finest cars to be built in the Fifties, this Mercedes 300b is also a rare right-hand-drive example

Mercedes roadsters on the up • Values of all ages have increased in the last five years, but older models are making the most headway

Motorclassica returns in style • After two years on covid hiatus, Australia’s most prestigious classic show roars back

Old stagers rally back to Telford • The Historic Rally Festival returned to the event calendar at full strength, luring historied cars back to the special stages for the first time since their heyday

Super Tourers storm Donington • Nineties giants soldier on through downpours at the Super Touring Festival

Dusty Deauville discovered • Curiously modified De Tomaso saloon emerges in Norway with fresh resto hopes

THE SOPHISTICATES • Cosseting choices from Alvis, Aston Martin, Bentley, Mercedes and Citroën

An ego-bruising Ferrari?

QUENTIN WILLSON • Weakening demand is throwing up steady stream of classic bargains for anyone who has a sub-£10k budget. Now looks like a good time to pounce...

JOHN FITZPATRICK • I was surprised to see Mercedes had sold one of the most precious cars from its collection. The sum realised underlined the power of provenance

LIFE AND TIMELESSNESS 60 Years Mercedes SL ‘Pagoda’ • From stylist’s muse to the toughest of rally stages, the ‘Pagoda’ Mercedes SL packed a lot of action and glamour into a relatively short eight-year production lifespan.

Talk of the Town • Once misunderstood, the Mercedes ‘Pagoda’ SL went on to create and define an entirely new kind of car. Join us on a drive through its natural playground of nocturnal Mayfair as the icon turns 60

EXPRESS of the ELITE • The Mercedes SL 'Pagoda' had the style and exclusivity to attract the most stylish and glamorous celebrities of the Sixties and beyond. Here are its A-lister highlights

HARD TO TOP • We drive the unique 1953Aston Martin DB2/4 development car that wowed Aston boss David Brown and F1 racer Peter Collins with a high-performance engine and prototypical fixed-head coachwork

[The Collector] ‘These are Toyotas after all, so they all start!’ • Focused almost entirely on iterations of Toyota’s formidable Land Cruiser, this collection could almost be the manufacturer’s own. We head to Pretoria in South Africa for a guided tour of Johan van der Vyver’s perennial 4x4 passion project

[Interview] ‘We sometimes sketched in typical Italian style as if to...