Engineering a modern automotive classic

There can be little argument that modern cars are vastly better than their predecessors. Whether it’s a question of performance, fuel economy, crash protection or any other metric you care to pick, the march of progress over the last 130 years or so has been relentless.

But when it comes to intangible qualities such as style, craftmanship and driver involvement, a lot of enthusiasts – perhaps even the majority – would argue that industry has taken a step backwards at some point. Ever-tightening regulations for noise, emissions and safety have dramatically impacted the way that modern cars look and sound, while hundreds of kilos of onboard technology have set up a destructive cycle of bigger and heavier mechanical components.

It’s no surprise, then, that a small army of specialist manufacturers have sprung up offering various modern takes on the traditional hand-built sports car. Some take a period classic and add selected modern refinements, some ‘backdate’ more recent cars to give them the look and feel of older models, and some build entirely new cars to a traditional template.