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Mercedes-Ferrari-Mercedes podium at the Monaco Grand Prix | Column M

Today was race day in Monte-Carlo, and what a great race the Monaco Grand Prix 2019 was! Lewis Hamilton won the race in front of Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas. Max Verstappen crossed the finish line in second position but got a 5 seconds penalty for unsafe release in the pits, he touched the Mercedes of Bottas – the Dutchman ended up finishing in 4th position.

During the major part of…

Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix 2019 - Day 1 | Column M

Today was the start of race weekend at Monte-Carlo for the 77th Monaco Grand Prix. This race is always special due to its historical significance, where legends of motorsport have been competing since 1929. It’s even more true this year as the Grand Prix is celebrating its 90th anniversary !

Arriving here, we are wondering who could take the win apart from Mercedes who have been so strong for…

I broke 3 cars learning drifting in Dubai | Column M

I really am a mixed bag of automotive culture. On one hand, I enjoy classic cars; their details, design, curves and the unique story that every example has to tell. On the other hand, I also enjoy the destructive side of motoring, shredding tyres, uncouth and loud, burnt rubber… that is drifting. While I’ve been constantly involved in documenting and writing about classic cars, it’s been almost 4…

Mario Andretti Indy 500 Collection | Column M

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mario Andretti’s 1969 Indy 500 win, Curb has collaborate with the legendary American race car driver for a capsule collection. Andretti is an American icon who not only conquered the world of Indy 500, but also claimed victories at Formula 1, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR. He is the only driver to have won races over a period of five consecutive…

The Missing Link - 1939 Porsche Type 64 | Column M

Ferdinand Porsche and Volkswagen are well known to share a common page in the history of German cars, but there’s been a rather unknown piece of history between him transforming from being the creator of the Volkswagen Beetle to the birth of the first production Porsche, the 356. This gap can only be fulfilled by a single machine that’s survived the test of time – the 1939 Porsche Type 64.

Th…

One Formula – 50 Years of Car Design

Veteran automotive designer Gordon Murray has collaborated with award-winning author Philip Porter to create One Formula, a two-volume book set that details into more than 70 designs created by over the years by the legendary designer. The book has more than 1,200 illustrations spread over 948 pages. Buy

Drive every new Maserati on your next trip to Italy | Column M

Maserati is back for the 20th year in partnership with Scuderia de Adamich to present a new season of Master Maserati driving course. The 2019 season consists of 11 events that will take place at “Autodromo Riccardo Paletti” at Varano de’ Melegari near Parma, Italy where participants will receive driver training for both track and off-road while being instructed by three-time GT1 World Champion…

Aston Martin Vantage AMR - Manual transmission goodness | Column M

Limited to 200 examples, off which the final 59 will be presented in Sterling Green and Lime exterior paint scheme to celebrate the company’s victory at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Aston Martin DBR1. Aston Martin has just introduced a limited edition Vantage AMR that will be fitted with a 7-speed manual gearbox to row the 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 that produces 503bhp / 625Nm engine to a…

Lotus Type 130 - The first British electric hypercar | Column M

Since 2017, when Lotus Engineering was acquired by Chinese automotive giants Geely, things have been rather quiet, up to this point that is. At the 2019 Shanghai Motor Show that kicked off this week, Lotus confirmed their new hypercar – Type 130, which would be their first all-new production car since 2008. The Type 130 will be the world’s first British electric hypercar, which, according to…

Harald Ertl’s BMW M1

During the early 80s Harald Ertl, an Austrian journalist and race car driver decided to break 300kmph in a BMW M1. The stock car couldn’t do it so Ertl, backed by BP, turned to Gustav Hoecker Sportwagen-Service GmbH to add twin turbochargers, that would push the 3.5-litre straight-six to produce about 410 bhp. The exterior was altered for better aerodynamics and cooling. On October 17, 1981, Ertl…

Meeting the Abarth Monoposto | Column M

I have been following European classic car affairs for quite sometime now. Ever since I saw the Abarth Monoposto being discovered for the first time by Classic Driver back in 2015, I knew that this was one of those cars that I had to see, if I ever got a chance. That’s exactly what happened to me during August 2018 when I was visiting Turin as part of my 3-month Europe trip.

Turin as a city in…

Titans of the 70s : Porsche 917 meets Concorde

1969 was the year when tow historic iconics would come to light; one in the realm of motorsport, the other in commercial aviation. While French and British Aerospace were leaping towards their first supersonic commercial flight with Concorde, engineers at Porsche were cooking up a recipe that would shake endurance racing to its core for ears to come with the 917.

While the Porsche 917 would…

Bentley Returns To Pikes Peak with the Continental GT | Column M

After Bentley smashed the record for the fastest SUV to have ever scaled the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb last year with their Bentley Bentayga, the British manufacturer returns to the 2019 edition of the race with driver Ryhs Millen, but this time with a different purpose. While last year’s attempt was to set to break the SUV record which was earlier set by the Range Rover Sport (2014),…

Rowan Atkinson's Mercedes-Benz 500 E which he liked so much that he bought it twice | Column M

The W124 Mercedes-Benz 500 E was a perfect German sleeper car. While it dressed up in an unassuming attire common with the W124 series, its 5.0-litre V8 was capable of accelerating the 500 E to 62mph (100kmph) from standstill in 5.5 seconds, pretty impressive for an early 90s sedan. Probably the reason why British comedian Rowan Atkinson loved the car so much that after four years of ownership,…

BMW 3.5 CSL Group 2 "Batmobile" | Column M

What’s better than a BMW 3.0 CS? Well, that would be this, a 3.0 CS that’s been upgraded to 3.5 CSL Group 2 specification. But there’s more. This particular example here is the venerable “Batmobile” that competed in the 1972.73 DRM and then was passed on to a new owner to race in the 1973 ETCC (European Touring Car Championship) until 1976. But it didn’t end there, the BMW 3.5 CSL Group 2…

Aston Martin DB AR1 Zagato is a perfect blend of British engineering and Italian flair.

In an effort to reinvigorate sales of the Aston Martin brand, Ford teamed up with legendary Italian coach builder Zagato to create a grand touring car that inspired from the Aston Martins of the past. The result was the Aston Martin DB7 Zagato that took inspiration from the DB4GT Zagato of the 1960s and the V8 Vantage Zagato of the 80s. It took power from a 6.0-litre V12 engine that produced…