FIRST CLASS: PACKING IT IN

The most exciting thing about this utterly bonkers car is that none of it should logically work.The fact that it functions at all is impressive; that it works so brilliantly is a marvel, and true testament to how beautifully engineered it all is.Take a look at the engine: the 100E was designed to have a Moulinex-sized sidevalve under its tiny bonnet, so the notion of shoehorning a long, longitudinal straight-six in there is just about as zany as they come.You can see how much of it disappears out of view from head on, and yet the interior isn’t full of gearbox. How has Dean done that?Witchcraft, that’s how. And the same goes for the chassis — the act of fitting 17 inch wheels with massive Porsche brakes to a 100E beggars belief, and all of that rose-jointed suspension is wholly at odds with the Popular concept.Which is what makes this car so gloriously beguiling.