Cars

In the early 1990s, many of the 'luxury' marques offered long-wheelbase versions of their flagship saloons to seduce the men of big business (as well as big businessmen) into the rear seats of their cars. The LWB models ranged from chauffeur-centric limousines, to large, long cars that were spectacularly good to drive. We pick five of our favourites.

Obviously, rarity plays a significant role in collectability; with only 351 built, that side of the 2000GT’s appeal is clear. But look at the factors behind its tiny production numbers, and you’ll find an explanation for the little Toyota’s delayed success.

Okuyama always had a fondness for special edition projects, overseeing the design of the Glickenhaus Ferrari P4/5 and the Maserati Birdcage 75^th. Born in Yamagata in 1959, he also designed motorcycles, furniture, houses and trains. In 2007, he established his own studio and in 2008 presented his first sports car: the KO7 roadster, based on Lotus Elise R underpinnings. 

Focusing on his memorable spell racing for Ferrari – which included two Drivers' Championship wins – the customisation department has taken inspiration from Lauda's 312T F1 car.

Naturally, then, this Tailor Made 458 is red, but it also has a white roof and accents, as well as longitudinal roof-stripes in the colours of the Italian flag; and some very 70s gold wheels that really stand out.

Visually, the ‘gentle giant’ remained almost unchanged since production began in 1967 and it wasn’t until 1997 that the whisper-quiet, chrome-festooned Century was replaced by a revised second series. There’s certainly an air of Mercedes 600 about the five-metre-long saloon. 

“All the cars pictured here are from Naito-san's personal collection. His main business is in restoring and race-prepping classic cars and while the showroom isn’t exactly hidden away – it's on a main street with glass frontage – there is no sign or contact details, and it’s obviously only opened up by appointment. Since Naito-san has never (until now) advertised his business, it’s extremely rare for the media to have access, so I felt honoured.

According to Porsche, the Macan is “the first compact SUV that is also a sportscar.” A little ambitious maybe, there’s no doubt about its positioning within the range: it’ll play little brother to the Cayenne, and most likely enjoy the same degree of sales success. Perhaps that success would be increased had Porsche adopted the much-rumoured and spicily relevant ‘Cajun’ (Cayenne Junior?), rather than the chosen, has-no-ring-to-it-at-all name –apparently relating to some sort of Indonesian Tiger.