Retro Cars Magazine Retro Cars August 13 Zurück Ausgabe

The fi rst words of mine in this fantastic title are a huge thanks to former editor Simon
Jackson for taking this magazine so far and making it stand out from the crowd. I hope I
can continue in his place and grow what is already a cracking forum for lovers of all things
four-wheeled. My love of cars has been there from the earliest years and grew into a
passion once the ‘L’ plates were removed from my fi rst car (MkII VW Golf 1.6CL).
Since then some 30 plus classic cars (and the odd modern) have had a log book in my name and
everyone without fail was improved, modded or restored to varying degrees during my ownership.
I am as passionate about spanner-spinning as I am about wheel-spinning, for me the thrill of
knowing how something works and upgrading cars myself trumps the ‘blank cheque’ build every
time. However, I know there’s plenty of scope for hugely impressive creations to emerge from an
imaginative owner and a talented pro-restorer.
My current line-up of classics on the drive includes an ‘82 Porsche 944 track car (fully stripped)
a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 Sportline (rusty project) and a 1992 Range Rover Vogue (tow mule).
There’s also a long running MkII Golf 16v race car build... but the less said about that the better! Right
enough about me, well nearly… I love cars of all shapes, sizes, marques, models, power outputs
and ages - so if you fear that the eclectic mix of machinery that has made Retro Cars your favourite
magazine up to now will take a Teutonic track, fear not!
In this issue Dan Bevis gets close to master restorer and infl uential creator of cool cars, Andy
Saunders, and gets his story about his latest creation. This Saxo powered PL17 Panhard is a wild
take on a pedestrian ‘Fifties saloon and ticks all of our boxes. I drive an LE50 (Mazda twin-cam
powered MGB) and also get rather excited behind the wheel of a 5.0-litre V8 equipped MkI Capri.
Paul Guinness explores the retro supercar potential of the Jaguar XKR.