Kerbsider

The Porsche V8 – One of the Greats

The Porsche V8 is now well into it’s fourth decade on earth. First unveiled as the engineer to power the supposed 911 replacement – the Porsche 928 – back in 1977, a V8 was a logical choice for Porsche. A larger displacement V8 allowed Porsche engineers to detune the compression ratio of the engine, allowingContinue reading “The Porsche V8 – One of the Greats”

All Hail the Jaguar XJ220S

680bhp. That’s a whole lot of horsepower even in 2023 where only the fastest and most powerful supercars have more. Now imagine 680bhp back in the mid-1990s. This is what the Jaguar XJ220S brought to the table back then. 680bhp must’ve been an almost inconceivable figure for a road car. Considering that the standard XJ220Continue reading “All Hail the Jaguar XJ220S”

In the Rear View | Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4

Cars possess a unique position; they are built to appeal to and fulfil consumer desires, but the operation and functionality of a the motor car has stayed a constant for the last seventy years. A car remains useful long after it is new – people are still driving cars that are twenty or thirty yearsContinue reading “In the Rear View | Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4”

Big German Executive Cars | Mercedes CL-Class (C215)

Call this naivety or even ignorance, but I truly do not think there was a more exciting place in the automotive world than in the workshops and laboratories of Audi, BMW and Mercedes between 1990 to 2010. For two decades, the big three shared a monopoly on daring, engineering and panache; each striving to outdoContinue reading “Big German Executive Cars | Mercedes CL-Class (C215)”

In the Rear View | Toyota Supra Mk.4’s Interior

The Mk4 Toyota Supra is one of the most renowned performance cars of all time. Whilst there are five generations worth of Supras, each interesting and worthy cars in their own right, the Mk4 is the vehicle that is conjured by the mind’s eye upon hearing those five fabled letters. Even Kerbsider’s school studies couldContinue reading “In the Rear View | Toyota Supra Mk.4’s Interior”

From ubiquity to rarity – the Porsche 911

When was the last time you saw a 992-generation Porsche 911 on the road? Compared to all previous 911s, the 992 is a rare beast in anyone’s books. There simply aren’t all that many around, especially compared to the 997-generation of 911; it seemed every tenth car you saw on the road was a 997Continue reading “From ubiquity to rarity – the Porsche 911”

Opinion | The Death of the Subtle German Performance Car

For a long, long, time subtlety was the order of the day for German performance cars. This was perhaps a manifestation of that cliché that a nation’s identity somehow trickles down into the cars it produces. In this instance, that Germans are excellent engineers but their cars lack a certain visual panache. Whilst this clichéContinue reading “Opinion | The Death of the Subtle German Performance Car”

In the Rear View | All Hail the Skoda Felicia Fun

Car manufacturers these days are all quite serious. They rarely make cars for the heck of it, instead every model has to have an identifiable customer base or at least will be appealing enough to enough people in order to make the car a financial success. This paring back of models reveals truly what modernContinue reading “In the Rear View | All Hail the Skoda Felicia Fun”

Opinion | The new BMW 5-Series and BMW’s current design crisis

Hey! The new BMW 5-Series has been revealed, let’s have a quick-look at it. Yes, the newest 5-Series has been revealed and it looks… not good. It seems at this point BMW has two or three different design philosophies competing against one another. Perhaps BMW, as a global brand, is becoming like Ford; where theyContinue reading “Opinion | The new BMW 5-Series and BMW’s current design crisis”

In the Rear View | Remembering Saab

Not so long ago, there were two Swedish car manufacturers. One was niche, the other even more so. Volvo and Saab: Scandinavian sensibilities and a sense of duty that few other manufacturers have ever matched. Perhaps we have Sweden as a country to thank for the existence of both. Sweden is full of both treesContinue reading “In the Rear View | Remembering Saab”