Styling it out

There are plenty of cars that are entertaining on the right road, on the right day, which encourage you to put your foot down and to have some fun. But here’s the thing. So many classic car enthusiasts never use their full potential.

Let us be honest here. So many of us buy our classics not because we want to drive them hard, but because we like the image. We feel good when we get into the cars we love, and when we look in shop windows, we look good too. And there are many accessible classics that can give us exactly the same sort of thrill as the poster cars we always aspired to. Cars which offer no less, in terms of the enjoyment most enthusiasts will derive, yet offering potential savings and, often, easier maintenance. So if you want to look the part without worrying too much about shredding tarmac, here are some of our favourite ways to do it.

AUSTIN METROPOLITAN

Our first two choices offer the perfect budget alternatives for fans of Americana. But rather than a V8, each has a humble four-cylinder under its bonnet. The Austin Metropolitan is an unusual classic because despite being built in Longbridge, it is the real thing – a genuine American classic. That’s because it was only badged as an Austin for right-hand drive markets – the original Metropolitan, launched two years before RHD production began, was badged as a Nash and a Hudson. Built by Austin, Nash had subcontracted the work