On this day in 1975, Autocar tested two lovely GTs. The Beta 1600 Coupé was a car "truly in the Lancia tradition", while France's Monica was "extremely well designed and desirable", erring slightly more toward sportiness than luxury. You can read more at themotoringarchive.com

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This chassis, detailed by Autocar in March 1907, is interesting not especially from a mechanical standpoint but because it was made by Thames Ironworks, whose staff had formed what became West Ham United United. Surely it's the only car ever to have been built by top football players?

In 1928, King Amanullah of Afghanistan visited the Vickers-Armstrong factory in Sheffield. But what of use could be offered to a man who lived in a country with no metalled roads? Simple: a car with tank tracks at the rear!

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On this day in 1963, Autocar ran something of a Ford special. Here we see the rather varied quartet of Cortina, Zephyr, Anglia and short-lived Classic. You can read all about it at themotoringarchive.com.

On this day in 1901, we reported on the latest city cars from American EV maker Columbia, which also offered a subscription service; talk about ahead of its time! Customers included Charles Rolls (pictured) and Queen Victoria. You can read all about it at themotoringarchive.com.

On this day in 1993, we were disappointed as Audi cancelled the Quattro Spyder, despite a list of 3000 eager buyers. The sports coupé had a lightweight aluminium structure and a 2.8-litre V6. At least we got the A8 instead. You can read all about it at themotoringarchive.com.

On this day in 1998, Autocar scooped Britain's forthcoming retro-styled rival to the BMW 5 Series: the Jaguar S-Type. We got pretty close to the real thing with our artist's impression, don't you think? You can read all about it at themotoringarchive.com.

On this day in 1972 we gorged on sports cars. Which would you take home? We spy some from Jaguar, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, AC, Ginetta, MG, Triumph, Lancia, Lotus, Morgan, Ford, Fiat, Alfa, Datsun, Opel, Volvo, Reliant, TVR... You can read all about it at themotoringarchive.com

Back in 1953, we saw this oddity racing at Snetterton: the Bristol-engined Golding-Cooper, driven by John Barber – a fishmonger from London. "Very fully streamlined" indeed, although we don't believe it ever achieved much. You can read all about it at themotoringarchive.com

How did FIAT UK mark the 1981 launch of the Panda? By getting 1969's Miss World and someone in a panda costume to deliver a giant cheque for £50,000 to the WWF atop a specially painted car, of course! You can read all about the Mk1 Panda at themotoringarchive.com

In the 1920s and 1930s, Autocar's magazine covers really were works of art. Here's a particularly lovely example from January 1937, advertising the latest Jaguar. You can browse through them all at themotoringarchive.com

Often it's painful to see what you could once have afforded. We've just spotted an ad for an Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ in a 1965 Autocar mag. Only £3275 in mint condition – about £45,000 in today's money. Nowadays you need a million! You can find much more at themotoringarchive.com

It's safe to say the Donington Park circuit has changed quite a bit since 1936! Picture on the left from an Autocar snapper in the aeroplane of Mr TB André, picture on the right from a Google satellite. You can read all about Donington's history at themotoringarchive.com.