Category: Cars and Bikes

You don’t get more retro than a classic black cab – one of the most recognisable sites on the roads of London and indeed around the UK – and likely to be for many years to come. But did you know you can buy one easily without being a taxi driver?

You can from several places, including Elite London taxis, which offers cabs fully checked and serviced, all with warranties and a one-year MOT. And as these have been used as ‘working’ vehicles, you can be assured that they’ve been serviced and looked after over the years. But there are downsides – obviously these are high mileage cars, not to everyone’s taste, not the fastest on the road (70 – 75mph maximum) and mainly automatic.

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The story of the Irbit Ural range of motorcycles is a long and quite interesting one – but suffice to say that these bikes date back to World War II, with a design that was based on the BMW bikes of the time. And after the war, production continued for the consumer market, with the company falling into private hands after the fall of communism.

And now the bikes are being exported in association with the US-arm of the company. There’s a range of retro-styled motorbikes and sidecars to choose from, all solidly built for the Russian road system and climates, with our favourite being this appropriately-named Retro model (above).

As well as the 1960s styling, the 749cc bike features electric and kick-start, an air-cooled, four-stroke engine and 18-inch chrome spoke wheels amongst other things. Oh yes – and that matching sidecar. Yes, you might look like something of out of a 70s sitcom (George and Mildred or Olive and Arthur off On The Buses), but it’s certainly a head-turner for around $10,000 (£5,000).

Find out more at the Irbit Ural website

The name De Lorean is as famous as it is infamous, but there’s no denying that the price of these futuristic cars is on the rise – so the DMC-12 on Auto Trader right now could be  shrewd investment.

The cars were made from 1981 – 1983, mainly for the US market (the reason why are all left-hand drive and a good reason why it featured as a time machine in the US-made 80s classic Back To The Future). The one here is described as a ‘show winner inside and out’ and still having that ‘new car smell’. But it is also described as ‘unrestored’, despite having upgrades to the electrics, locks and gearbox.

The fact that the owner will ‘trailer anywhere’ doesn’t make it sound like a good runner either. But it does have low mileage (17,500) and for the £26,500 price tag, you are guaranteed a real head-turner.

More images and details of the De Lorean DMC-12 for sale