Triumph Scrambler 1200 X: The Right Kind of Trouble
People might complain that the Triumph Scrambler 1200 X (and its sibling, the XE) are expensive at £12-13k, the equivalent of a well-specced sports tourer. I say... good.
Long Reads
26 articles
A Little Adventure: The Honda Africa Twin AS
Honda's Africa Twin is more than a motorcycle. I always liked the ballsiness of its name invoking the magic of an entire continent as your marketing, the implication being that This Is It - the motorcycle which is going to take you anywhere.
Hive Mind: The Honda CB750 Hornet
There's a hell of a lot to be said about a bike that gets you up at 3 a.m. for just one more go. While the rest of London slept, I found myself out on the CB750 Hornet again. Couldn't help it. I knew the nice man from Honda would soon be on his way to take it from me...
Easy Rider: The Royal Enfield Shotgun 650
It's funny how rarely motorcycle riders are accused of compensating for anything. Drive a Porsche or a McLaren, a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, and the suggestion that you're making up for a lack of something is usually quick to follow.
Call Of The Wild: The Honda XL750 Transalp
I'm going to do this one a bit differently. A lot of what you read about the Honda XL750 Transalp covers technical specs: kerb weight, power output, and all sorts of other numbers to do with suspension travel and wheel diameter...
Urban Legend: The Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450
As the bike rolled down the ramp, I started asking questions. Panniers? Who puts panniers on a 450cc urban slice-and-dicer? What do I need those for? Oh, they are removable. That's cool. But waterproof panniers? Am I turning into my dad?
Functional Form: The Honda CMX1100 Rebel
There is only one metric that matters when you test a motorcycle: how quickly you want to jump back on it. The Honda CMX1100 Rebel takes this one step further. It has the curious ability to make you want to ride it again before you've even parked it up.
Scram Africa: Becoming A Desert Rat
In this week's article, our wayward motorcycle correspondent Conrad G weaves a yarn of sun, sand and suffering on the 2022 edition of Scram Africa, the rip-snorting continental scramble from Fuel Motorcycles...
Sim Racing To Reality: Mathieu Gauthier-Thornton's Tips For Track Success
It’s me again - your tame sim-racer turned real life clubman competitor! This time around I’m going to explain exactly how you can use your home sim racing setup to help you prepare for racing success in real life.
Join The Club: Racing The Phantom P94
In this piece, amateur racing driver Mathieu Gauthier-Thornton takes us through his journey into motor racing, starting at the world-famous Silverstone circuit in 2021 as a competitor in the Clubmans Sports Prototype Championship.
The Abarth 695: Pint-Sized Pugilist
I should start this review with a moan. You know, the usual; how the modern car market doesn’t cater for drivers who want to combine fun, practicality, affordability and respect from petrolheads. But I can't, because as you grow wiser in this game, you learn...
Out Of The Ashes: The Audi Quattro
Rallying is a funny old sport. Entirely different to any of its siblings over in the land of tarmac, there’s always been a romance in the dirt tracks, the terrifyingly thronged crowds, and the crackle of gravel in wheel arches.
Great Escapes: The Morgan Plus Four
There is no such thing as a discrete delivery of a Morgan Plus Four. Even before the clamshell trailer had swung open to release my test vehicle, a small audience had gathered to watch the spectacle on the otherwise sleepy road...
What's New, Pussycat? The Jaguar F-Type
They say only those you love can truly hurt you.
How To Drive Fast: An Interview with Scott Mansell
Scott Mansell is an expert racing driver and coach with 25 years’ experience. He is also the founder of Driver61. We were lucky enough to sit down with Scott to get his insights on driving technique, racing psychology, and what it feels like to drive at the limit...
Somebody To Love: The Alfa Romeo Giulia
Each morning I get up and die a little. My street is an automotive wasteland, each nondescript utility vehicle slightly duller than the next, in a parade of mediocrity stretching towards the horizon.
German GT: The Aestec GTS
It’s hardly news that Germany and the automobile have a pretty tight relationship. From Bertha Benz’s pioneering first road trip to the relentless industrial output of today, it is a country that doesn't even have its own word for 'petrol-head'.
The Boss: The 2001 Audi S8
Cars are a medium for all kinds of romantic ideas. Sit behind the wheel of an Alfa Spider and you’re suddenly a 1960s Italian stud, all smouldering side-eye as you toy with the limit on a Mediterranean coastal road...
God Mode: The Caterham 620R
Three days, two drivers, and one race-striped tearaway – the Fitzroy Motor team get to grips with the 620R, Caterham’s most extreme offering yet.
Racing Beyond Reality: GTS RS
A sunny afternoon in the Eifel. I was on the Nürburgring Nordschliefe, a coil of unforgiving racetrack wrapped around the castle of Nürburg in the Rhineland Palatinate. Jackie Stewart had christened it the Green Hell in far less cosseted times, when race drivers risked their lives...
The Mazda MX-5: Soul of Motion
For over a quarter of a century and four generations of development, Mazda and owners of the MX-5 have had to tread carefully. First, Mazda smiled sweetly as it took the idea of the classic British two-seat roadster and showed how it should really be done...
The Abarth 124: The Path To The Scorpion's Nest
There's something about seeing an Abarth 124 Spider which makes you do a double take. Yes, if you squint, Abarths look like Fiats. But they ain't. Not really. There's more there, something more boisterous, pugilistic, testy.
The BMW M3: E46 or E92 - Choose Your Weapon
For decades now the BMW M3 has been The People’s Sportscar. From a well-travelled daily driver for a few grand to a six-figure special edition you’ll never have the guts to drive, there is a car out there for you.
The Morgan 4/4: Tried, Tested, Triumphant
As a little boy I used to play with toy cars. My favourites from the fleet were a red Rolls Royce, a battered Lamborghini Miura and a raceworn Jaguar XJR-9. But there was one rather quaint toy car which I remember as having a particular significance...
Discovering the Caterham 7
The modern car is a lie. All you’ve been told about the necessity of power steering, traction control, heated seats and Radio 4 muttering away as you cruise down the M6 is false. Society does a great job of filtering most of our experiences through several layers of abstraction.
Fitzroy Motor at Goodwood Breakfast Club
It was an early start, and I hate early starts. After a sleepy coffee and accidentally waking the dog on the way out of the flat, I pulled myself into my Renault, nipped at by the morning cold. Dawn was breaking over London, and my body sullenly questioned what it was doing...