Fast Car Magazine January 1995 Calibra Escort Cossie Renault 5 Rover V8 (1503)

Original Fast Car Magazine – January 1995, a strong early issue from the classic 1990s UK modified-car and tuning scene.

This issue has a particularly distinctive period cover featuring a dramatically styled wide-arch Vauxhall Calibra, finished in yellow with an aggressive body conversion, deep-dish wheels, large rear spoiler and twin-exit exhaust treatment. The magazine is packed with performance cars, engine tuning, body styling, wheel fitment, cooling systems and early-1990s ICE culture.

Magazine Details

Publication: Fast Car
Date: January 1995
Cover Price: £2.40
Genre: Modified Cars / Performance / Tuning / Styling / ICE
SKU: 1503

Cover & Main Features

The cover highlights a substantial selection of period performance and tuning material, including:

• Wide Load – wide-arch Vauxhall Calibra cover feature
• 450BHP Ford Escort Cosworth
• 4.3 Rover V8
• 1700 Renault 5 GT Turbo
• Rev-limiters tested
• Wheel offsets
• Oil coolers
• Alternative performance cars including Lancia Thema, Renault 21 and Austin Montego
• Period JVC in-car entertainment competition
• Large classified section covering cars and performance parts

The contents pages reveal even more detail and show how varied this issue is.

Feature Cars

Notable feature-car articles include:

• Wide Load – Ultimate Wide-Arch Calibra – page 50
• 450BHP Escort – Ultimate Acid Trip – page 10
• Cossie Alternatives – featuring Lancia, Renault and Montego – page 24
• Loud & Clio – modified Renault feature – page 96
• Artful Dodger – seriously styled Ford Orion – page 110
• Bare Knuckle – 540BHP V8 Mini pick-up – page 122

The mixture of Ford, Vauxhall, Renault, Rover-derived V8 power and unusual custom builds makes this a particularly interesting snapshot of the British modifying scene before the late-1990s styling boom.

Tuning & Technical Content

The contents also show a strong technical side, including:

• Rev-Limiters Tested – non-destructive testing
• Within Wheels – guide to wheel offsets
• Oil Coolers – technical feature dealing with engine oil temperature
• 4.3 Rover V8 – performance upgrade feature
• Vizard on Valves – engine technology article
• 1700 Renault 5 – large-capacity Renault 5 Turbo engine feature
• How Do They? – body-kit construction/building article

This makes the magazine useful not just as a nostalgic tuning title but also as a period reference for the types of modifications, components and technical approaches being used in the UK scene in the mid-1990s.

Period Interest

For collectors of 1990s performance magazines, the issue has particularly strong period appeal through its coverage of:

Vauxhall Calibra, Ford Escort Cosworth, Renault 5 GT Turbo, Rover V8 conversions, Mini V8 builds, Ford Orion, Lancia Thema, Renault 21 and Montego performance alternatives.

The styling shown throughout is very much of its era – wide arches, deep-dish alloy wheels, large spoilers, body kits, lowered suspension and heavily modified turbo engines.

Condition

Pre-owned vintage condition with noticeable age-related and handling wear.

Please examine all supplied photographs carefully.

Visible condition points include:

• Noticeable creasing across the front cover, including a prominent diagonal crease running down from the upper-right area.
• General surface scratching, scuffing and rubbing to the front cover.
• Significant spine wear, including rubbing, small splits/nicks and loss along portions of the spine edge.
• Top edge wear with small bends, creases and surface loss.
• Both upper corners show handling wear.
• Bottom-left corner has visible creasing, rubbing and slight fraying.
• Bottom edge has general wear and small creases.
• Front cover shows age-related marks and handling impressions.
• Rear cover has visible creasing, rubbing, surface marks and edge wear.
• Rear cover corners and spine edge show further age-related wear.
• Interior pages visible in the photographs remain colourful, legible and securely presented, although normal age/handling wear should be expected.
• Contents page remains clear and readable.
• Magazine does not sit perfectly flat, consistent with age, storage and previous use.

Overall this is not a pristine copy, but it remains a very collectable original January 1995 issue with strong early Fast Car content and plenty of genuine period tuning material.

Please use the photographs as the main guide to condition, as they form part of the description.

SKU: 1503