Car History

Unveiled at the 2002 Tokyo Auto Salon, the Mazda Cosmo 21 put a Renesis rotary engine into an MX-5. What could’ve been…

Mazda once developed a V12 engine intended for ‘the best car in the world’, but the project was canned in 1992.

Among Mazda’s long list of unusual engines is a little-known 2.25-litre V6 found in the just as obscure Mazda Millenia

The 965 was intended to be a budget version of the 959, but Porsche pulled the plug to cut costs

In 2006, Chrysler revealed its intentions to take on Europe's supermini elite with the Dodge Hornet

In the late 1990s, Chrysler and Rover joined forces to create Tritec, an engine manufacturer based in Brazil that still operates under Fiat ownership

It's 10 years since a modified Octavia broke the 2.0-litre forced induction land speed record in Utah

Sometimes a manufacturer would give you less and actually charge you less...

As the Mini hatch turns 20, we're taking a closer look at two very different but both mid-engined concepts that served as forerunners

Just 10 years since the original electric SLS was revealed to the world, we can look back and see just how far we’ve come since then – and how far we might go in the decade to come

Today it’s perfectly normal to see half a dozen Mercedes-Benz A-Class models on your morning commute, but in the 1980s a hatchback Mercedes was an alien concept; never mind one with 160 horsepower…

Maserati is on track for a dramatic rebirth spearheaded by the MC20, but 30 years ago, things were very different for the company

The Corvette 'Falconer' ZR12 was intended to take on the original Dodge Viper, but it never made production

Ford's archivists found some very early sketches for the GT40, showing a radically different vehicle to the one that was put into production

Audi has rolled out the original 100 Avant Duo for a photocall A7 Sportback TFSI e, reminding the world plug-in hybrids have been a thing for a while

Born out of an aborted supercar project, the Barchetta is one of the stranger parts of Maserati's chequered history

Bertone's 8C Competizione-based concept did a great job of celebrating Alfa Romeo's centenary, but the years that followed weren't so great for the FCA subsidiary

Porsche has revealed all about the Boxster Bergspyder - a roof-less, windscreen-less 981 which came closer to production sign-off than you might expect

Audi may be making headlines by turning much of its S range over to diesel power, but Mercedes tried something similar 17 years ago

Ferrari's tiny V12 engine powered its first ever car and would last all the way up until 1989 after a few growth spurts

The Alfa Montreal-like Bertone BMW Spicup 2800 never made it to production, but the Geneva show car was sold on and used extensively

As the big American auto makers battled US consumer desire for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the 1960s, Oldsmobile figured out a way to keep its V8s: turbocharging

The S2000 may be famous for its high-revving inline-four engine, but the 'SSM' concept that spawned it had an extra cylinder under the bonnet...

The Ford Mondeo ST250 Eco was the Blue Oval's attempt at making a 'green' performance car, but it never went into production

This brilliantly mad, Vauxhall-based homologation special had enough pace to worry Ferraris of its day