The AROnline Facebook page is certainly proving to be an interesting off-shoot of this place, with lively conversation – and an ongoing ‘what’s that car’ thread going on. Considering you might think we’ve seen it all before, there’s still plenty to post, as a recent thread about the Anadol FW11 prototype and its similarity with [...]

Star of the 1977 Earl’s Court motor show was the sensational six-wheeled Panther supercar. For a while it looked like it was going into production, too, but its creator Robert Jankel was scuppered by delays in development. We tell the story of Britain’s might-have-been supercar. Six-wheeled wonder Visitors to the 1977 London Motorfair were astonished [...]

Keith Adams Despite the world and its daughter knowing that there’s a new small Jaguar sports car on its way, the appearance, and overall beauty of the C-X16 still managed to surprise the world’s media when the first pictures appeared days before its Frankfurt début. The question that’s on everyone’s lips is when does the [...]

Matthew Hayward Land Rover pulled the covers off a Sport version of its ‘New Defender’ concept, in addition to the DC100 previewed in the lead up to Frankfurt, supporting the announcement that it plans to replace the current Defender in 2015. The launch of a new off-roader will coincide with the incoming Euro 6 regulations, [...]

Keith Adams It’s the longed-for new sports car that Jaguar enthusiasts have been hoping the company would build since the death of the E-type in 1975. The C-X16 concept will be shown to the public for the first time at the IAA in Frankfurt on 13 September, and from the accompanying images, it’s likely to [...]

THE Triumph Fury was a little more than a motorshow crowd pleaser – it was a hint at what Triumph could really achieve with its sports car range during the Sixties. ROBERT LEITCH put together this story for the website, explaining how the Fury came about… Fury: an E-type for the masses AN article by [...]

In taking over from the venerable A-series, Rover’s hi-tech new engine had a hard act to follow. However, it went on to earn itself an enviable reputation in both four- and six-cylinder forms. KEITH ADAMS discusses this controversial engine… The light fantastic HOW to replace the irreplaceable A-series engine? Build a light, powerful and technically [...]

The Jaguar C-X16 production concept will make its global debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show on 13 September. Designed by the same team that produced the Jaguar XJ, XF and XK, headed by Jaguar’s Design Director Ian Callum, the C-X16 concept is a precursor to future Jaguar sports cars that will aim to set new [...]

What would Rover produced during the 1990s without Honda or BMW to influence the situation? Inspired by Roy Axe’s AR18 prototype photos, AROnline’s very own engineering genius Robert Leitch cooks up an enticing recipe for Rover’s 1990s’ growth… Words: Robert Leitch Doing it Rover’s way… THE APPEARANCE of those previously unseen Rover 700 pictures made [...]

The Rover SD1 estate car is a fascinating study into how it is possible to convert a sporting fastback into a usable estate car. It was deemed so successful in terms of concept that BL Chairman and Chief Executive, Michael Edwardes, adopted one of the two running prototypes produced, and used it as his daily [...]

Some images from the projects that produced the Rover SD1… The winning proposal The winning proposal – the SD1 as we know it today. This version managed to maintain the five-door layout of the others, but with the extra dimension of genuine style. The character clearly comes from the details: sweeping side indicators, side swage [...]

Some images from the projects that produced the Rover SD1… Second Proposal A sleeker version of the first idea, this time with a tapered nose and lower bonnet line. The top picture shows the initial scale model in clay, whereas below is the full-size version. In its own right, this car could have been developed [...]

Some images from the projects that produced the Rover SD1… Once the decision was made to go with Solihull, instead of Canley design for the new Rover-Triumph car, Bache pressed ahead with his five-door designs. These came down to three basic shapes: First Proposal This version was blessed with a rather formulaic ‘seventies front-end style [...]

Some images from the projects that produced the Rover SD1… Project P10 This drawing was produced by David Bache in the late 1960s, whilst the aborted Rover P8 was still in development. Right from the outset, Bache knew that he wanted a fastback saloon or hatchback. This rendering shows that the basic proportions were already [...]

Replacing the legendary E-type was never going to be easy for Jaguar – and radical thinking was going to be needed. Ian Nicholls charts the development of the car that was given the uneasy task, the XJ-S. Initial thoughts: the XJ21 project Moving on: XJ27

Worthing-based International Automotive Developments decided to raise its profile with a TR7 facelift project… Anyone visiting stand 146 at the 1980 Brimingham Motor Show would have been able to inspect a facelifted version of the TR7, with glassy, 2+2 fastback styling and a T-bar roof with removable panels. The car, dubbed TRX, was built by [...]

The Sherpa/LDV 200/400/Pilot Convoy was a perfect example of British industry make-do-and-mend. In an ideal world, the boxy JU/J4-based van would have been replaced sometime in the early 1980s, but it ended up going on a whole lot longer… Here’s the fascinating story of one aborted attempt at replacement, and how it went on to [...]

The Spritual successor to the 1970 Range Rover was revealed at the 2004 Detroit Motorshow… Although not a part of the family now, it is impossible not to include the Range Stormer. Beguilingly handsome and with blue-chip credentials, it is certain that when this car enters production, it will be a huge success for Land [...]

Development on the new Range Rover started in 1995, and it went through several metamorphoses before management were completely happy with the direction it was going in…. Land Rover and BMW produced competing design proposals, and it was the British iteration of the concept that won through at the end of the day. Former Rover [...]

The biggest criticism normally aimed at the Maxi – other than the early model’s obstructive gearchange – is usually reserved for its plain Jane styling. The Aquila showed how it could have been made into a far more stylish beast. Alas, it was only ever to be a one-off styling exercise. AS the winning entry [...]