Collection: Performance Car Magazine

Performance Car is one of the most revered titles in British motoring journalism history. Launched in 1983 (evolving from Hot Car), it ran until 1998 and is widely considered the spiritual predecessor to Evo magazine. In fact, when publisher EMAP decided to close the magazine and merge it into Car, several of its key writers and contributors (including Harry Metcalfe, Richard Meaden, and John Barker) immediately went off to found Evo to keep the ethos alive.

For collectors, Performance Car captures the absolute golden era of analogue driving. It championed the pure thrill of the drive over mere top speed, focusing on everything from accessible hot hatches to the defining supercars of the 80s and 90s.

Key highlights for collectors:

• The Birth of Evo: Vintage issues are essential for fans of modern performance motoring, as this is where the Evo philosophy ("The Thrill of Driving") was born and refined.

• Legendary Journalism: The magazine was famous for its exceptionally high standard of writing and photography. It was also the publication that gave Jeremy Clarkson his first major break as a columnist in the 1980s.

• Performance Car of the Year (PCOTY): The legendary annual group test that pitted the year's greatest driver's cars against each other on challenging public roads and tracks.

• Golden Era Group Tests: Epic, period-correct battles between defining cars of the era—think Sierra Cosworth vs. E30 M3, or Peugeot 205 GTi vs. Renault 5 GT Turbo.