Jaguar XK120 Racing White No.6 1949

To wrestle this wild reptile, first you climb through the window, clamp yourself in with a five-point harness, and cinch the chinstrap on a crash helmet with a Darth Vader breathing tube to keep out the choking dust. After you fire up the 780hp small-block and stomp on the go-pedal, you'd better hang on tight because blasting across the desert feels like a non-stop crash. It's all too loud, too hot, too fast--and too much fun. It's like riding a nuclear-powered roller coaster headed for critical mass. You launch off hilltops at freeway speeds, floating for an impossibly long moment while awaiting the inevitable landing on hard-packed sand Actually, jumping is the easy part. It's the 100-mph sprints, skipping like a stone over the rutted, gnarly terrain that are frightening and exhilarating at the same time. The ride is not unlike that of an offshore boat running at full throttle in the open ocean, jumping from one swell to the next. Only thing is, the sun-baked desert floor doesn't cushion the landing.

Lancia Stratos as driven in the 1975 Swedish Rally by B. Waldegard and H Thorszelius.

BMW 320Si WTCC . Driver Andy Priaulx

BMW 320si WTCC. Driver Jorg Muller

The BMW 328 was built between 1936 and 1940, designed by Fritz Fiedler. It featured many advanced features for its time such as a tubular space frame and a hemispherical combustion chamber engine. It was much praised at the time for its performance and handling, proving to be suitable not only for the BMW factory drivers, but also perfect for everyday motoring.The car won many races including the prestigious Mille Miglia — a class win in 1938 and the outright winner (with a streamlined body) in 1940. It also won the RAC Rally in 1939 and came in fifth overall (first in its class) in the 1939 Le Mans 24 hours. In fact, the BMW 328, proved unbeatable in international sportscar races in the two-litre class.

A messy legal battle ensued for the Englishman's services for 2002, from which fresh suitors, 2000 and 2001 Manufacturers' Champions Peugeot emerged victorious. The existing tally of ten WRC triumphs, however, was not to be added to, with the quest for a second world title equally fruitless for Burns. In November 2003, however, with the Englishman heading to the season-ending Wales Rally GB still in the frame to duke it out for that title, Burns suffered a blackout while driving to the rally. He was withdrawn from the event, and thus the title fight, and duly diagnosed with an astrocytoma, a type of brain tumour. He did have a brief stint out of hospital in summer of 2004, only to be made to return, undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as surgery in April 2005 that was described as "very successful".Late on Friday, November 25, 2005, four years to the day after winning the World Rally Championship, Burns died at the age of 34, after having been in a coma for some days as a result of a brain tumour.

Seat Leon WTCC. Driver Pierre Yves.

Markko joined Ford Rallye Sport in 2002 and took the lead in a WRC event for the first time at the Cyprus Rally. He led again at the Acropolis before a puncture ruined his chances of getting a victory. Martin stayed at Ford in 2003 and achieved excellent performances in New Zealand and Argentina... only to retire. Markko took his revenge at the Acropolis Rally. He led the event almost from the start until the finish and won his first WRC victory. On top of that, the Estonian won in Finland in front of the local stars. The 2004 season confirmed that Markko Martin was one of the best drivers in the world. The Ford driver won in Mexico, Corsica and Catalunya, the latter two events on asphalt. Martin finished third in the 2004 standings.

Seat Leon WTCC. Driver Jordi Gene