Designed by Mercedes's head of design Bruno Sacco, the W124 range immediately became the benchmark by which medium-sized car models were judged in the late 1980s due to its engineering excellence and high build quality. There was a model to suit every would-be-buyer, from the taxi driver through the family motorist and on to those who were willing and able to pay for luxury and performance.

The book covers:

Design, development and manufacture of all models of W124 including estates, cabriolets and the stylish coup range

Engines and performance

Special editions and...

No car has had such a profound impact on the motoring scene as the original Mini. Designed in response to petrol shortages in the late 1950s, it was introduced in 1959 in both Austin and Morris guises, with either basic or De Luxe trim levels. Success came swiftly, and before long its makers at BMC were introducing van, pick-up and estate versions, high-performance Mini Coopers, and higher equipment levels on the Mini Super. Right through the 1960s, the success story continued, and the original formula proved so right that the updated Mk II models of 1967 were instantly recognisable as...

The British Motor Corporation's 1100 and 1300 model range was amongst the most successful in the Corporation's history, selling more than 2.1 million of all types between its introduction in 1962 and its demise in 1974. World-wide, it was sold under eight different marque names and in two-door saloon, four-door saloon, two-door estate, and five-door hatchback forms - and very nearly as a van as well. In Britain, it was the country's best-selling car between 1962 and 1971, being beaten just once (in 1967) by the Ford Cortina.

BMC 1100 and 1300 looks at the design and...

BMW's M5 was a simple concept: a production 5 Series saloon re-developed for high performance by the Motorsport division. The M5 was the car that really initiated the legend of the M-cars from BMW. The letter M has been applied to a high-performance BMW as early as 1978, but that year's M1 was an exotic supercar. It had the right image, but the M1 was never going to bring in major profits. The M5 was much simpler in concept. It was and remains a production 5 Series saloon, redeveloped for ultra-high performance. Manufacturing costs were minimized, allowing BMW to price the car more...

A history of all four generations of compact Jaguar, and their Daimler equivalents, tracing the gradual development of Sir William Lyons' original idea over a period between 1955 and 1969. From the powerful, luxury MK 1 and 2 cars to the 4.2-litre 420, this book covers design, devleopment and styling; special-bodied variants; racing performance; buying and owning a compact Jaguar saloon model and, finally, specifications and production figures.

William Hillman was an early maker of cars in Coventry: he produced cars from 1907 before selling his company to the Rootes Brothers in 1928. Three years later came the Hillman Minx, the first of a line that would endure for nearly half a century. By the 1950s, the latest Minx came in multiple forms--including a versatile and much-liked compact estate derivative called the Husky. The Minx remained the core Hillman product even after the remarkable Imp arrived in 1963 to claim a slice of the market opened by the BMC Mini.

Rarely revolutionary, Hillman cars nevertheless carved out a...