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The beauty of classic cars is something that is being appreciated by an increasing number of people all over the world. Both women and men in a multitude of countries are turning to owning and restoring classic cars as a pastime or hobby that for many becomes a lifelong passion.

Clubs for classic car owners are on the increase as classic car lovers come together to race, show and swap information and stories about their cars. Many insurance companies now offer policies specifically for classic cars and there are even insurance companies that only deal with insurance for vintage and classic cars.

When it comes to restoring classic cars please remember that it can be a long and painstaking process not for the fainthearted or uncommitted classic car lover. It is important to ensure that all the right materials are used when restoring a classic car. So make sure you go to the extra trouble of finding exactly the right parts and colors etc so that the job is done right.

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The Aston Martin DB5 is an icon of the British car industry, and has been immortalized in history thanks to its appearance in several James Bond films. Launched in 1963, it is a British classic and almost half a century later it remains Aston Martins most famous car. The DB series was in fact named after David Brown who was the head of Aston Martin from 1947 through to 1972, and the sleek styling along with the cars success is a credit to himself and his team of stylists and engineers.

The car driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger, which was the DB5′s first appearance in a James Bond film was actually also the original DB5 prototype. Infamously, this car is currently missing having been stolen from the last genuine owner in Florida during 1997. Let’s hope he had some quality classic car insurance in place! After appearing in Goldfinger, DB5′s went on to appear in Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and Casino Royale. It was also to appear in The World is not enough as a cameo role, although the scene didn’t make the final cut.

The Aston Martin DB5 was essentially an evolution of the DB4 which it replaced. The DB5 had a longer wheel base and increased weight, but this was offset by the increased engine capacity which raised the power of the base model to 282bhp, and the top of the range DB5 Vantage generated 325bhp. The very earliest models only provided the choice between a rather limited 4 speed manual gearbox or a 3 speed automatic. However, shortly after release a sporty 5 speed gearbox was implemented, and became standard across the range. The DB5 was very much a sports car, but in true Aston Martin style it also provided an element of luxury with electric windows as standard, and the option of air conditioning.

The Jaguar XK120 was first revealed to the public at the London Motor Show in 1948, and it reinvented the world of sports cars by providing a car with elegant curves, a fantastic chassis, and a remarkable price. It became the fastest production car at the time of launch, and was rivalled only by the V12 Ferrari which was 4 times the price.

This proved to be an unbeatable combination, and became a milestone for Jaguar whilst reviving the motor industry with much fanfare after the war. Interestingly, the XK120 was only really designed as test bed with which to show off the XK engine, but with orders flooding in Jaguar wasted no time and put the car into full production. Several versions were eventually released, with the Roadster version being a hit amongst Hollywood stars like Clark Gable. It is still a design classic today, and in 1999 the car featured in the box office hit Cruel Intentions, driven by Ryan Phillippe & Reese Witherspoon.

The XK120 was the creation of Sir William Lyons, aka “Mr. Jaguar”, and was powered by the 3442cc power plant dubbed the XK engine, generating 160bhp, and the XK120 is so named as its top speed tipped 120mph. As expected it was a success on the track and was driven by some of motor sports biggest legends such as Stirling Moss and Ian Appleyard, and helped Jaguar win the Le Mans title on several occasions.

In 1961, the Alpine A110 made its introduction, as an improved and updated A108. Most of the Alpines of the time made use of Renault parts that are mass-produced. The A-110′s predecessor the A-108 was designed for Dauphine components, while the A-110 was the updated version made to use the R8 parts. The A-110 was first available with “Berlinetta” body works then with Cabriolet.

The A-110′s fiberglass body sat on a chassis with a backbone of steel, the Lotus Elan influenced this design. The Alpine designers used Colin Chapman as a primary origin for their inspiration. The A-110 was outfitted with a 1.1 l R8 Major or with R8 Gordini engines, which had 95 hp SAE at 6500 rpm.

The engine is why, early in the 1970s, it achieved the majority of its renown as a winning rally car. This was after the 1960s when the A-110 won a number of French rallies using the iron cast R8 Gordini engines. This car was then outfitted with the Renault 16 TS engine, aluminium block. With two dual-chamber Weber 45 carburetor, this engine was capable of 125 hp DIN at 6000 rpm, which is why it reached 130 mph in speed.

In the course of the 1970 through 1972 racing seasons, the car gained international fame when it attended the new International Championship for Manufacturers and won a number of events throughout Europe. Among the most noteworthy was the car’s victory in the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally driven by the Swedish Ove Andersson.

In 1973, Alpine was bought out by Renault and the International Championship, at this time, was replaced with the World Rally Championship. Renault competed with the A-110, the team consisted of Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Bernard Darniche, and Jean-Luc Therier as the permanent drivers. Once in a while, there would be “guest stars” drivers such as Jean-Claude Andruet who had won the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally. This made the Alpine the first of the World Rally champions. Around the world, there were other manufacturers of the Alpine, using various other names. Like in Brazil, it was Interlagos, which was driven by Emerson Fittipaldi in a few races. In Mexico, from 1965 through 1974, it was the Dinalpin, produced by Diesel Nacional that, by the way, also manufactured the Renault cars. In Bulgaria, from 1967 through 1969, the Alpine A-110 was produced and called the Bulgaralpine. This car was produced through the partnership of ETO Bulet and SPC Metalhim, this partnership also produced the Bulgarrenault.

By 1974, the Alpine A-110 had reached its end of being developed any further. At first A-110 was outfitted with fuel injection but it didn’t produce any further performance improvements, then the DOHC 16-valve head was tried but that was unreliable. Next was a chassis modification using an A310 double wishbone rear suspension along with A-110 1600SC but that was no better.