1999 Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor

The W201 190E had been the baby Benz of the 1980s, but for the 1994 model year it was replaced by the W202 platform, now called the "C-class".

The Olivier Boulay-penned bodywork still harked to the 190E's classic shape but featured smoother, slightly more curvaceous aero-friendly lines.  

The Desert Silver Metallic one in the photo looks to be from after the 1997 model year facelift.

For the 1999 model year, Mercedes bolted a Roots-type mechanically driven supercharger and an intercooler to their 2.3L DOHC 16V four cylinder and a "Kompressor" badge to the decklid, giving the littlest Benz some added zing. Horsepower was up by 37 to 185, rivaling the 2.8L sixes in their 3-series competitors from BMW.

Car and Driver tested a 1999 C230 Kompressor and noted a zero-to-sixty time of 7.6 seconds and a quarter mile time of 15.7 seconds at 89mph. A governor shut off the fun at 133 miles per hour and it circled a skidpad at 0.81g. Price as tested was $32,685 in 1999 dollars, which is $63,722 when adjusted for inflation.

The one in the pic was snapped with a Canon EOS 7D and an EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM zoom lens in December of 2025.

1999 Honda Prelude

The fifth generation of Honda's sporty Prelude coupe got a light refresh for the 1999 model year, its third one on the market.

A new grille with a small "Prelude" nameplate is the most visible cue, but there were also new colors (Milano Red, like on this example, was one of them) and a horsepower bump under the hood.

The VTEC-equipped H22A4 2.2L 16V inline four now screamed out 200 SAE net ponies at 7,000 revs per minute and, in Motor Trend's testing, powered a 5-speed Prelude SH to sixty in seven seconds flat on the way to a 140mph top speed.

The one in the picture was snapped on an overcast morning in May, using a Pentax K20D and an 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 WR zoom lens.

1999 Jaguar XK8 Convertible

By the mid 1990s, Jaguar's big grand touring coupe, the XJS (renamed from XJ-S after Jag was acquired by Ford) had been carrying the marque's sporting flag for two decades and was decidedly long in the tooth.

The cash infusion from Dearborn helped push its replacement over the goal line and into production. The new XK8, internally known as the X100, was a svelter design that was intended to be more reminiscent of the classic XK-E from days of yore. Unlike the XJS it replaced, which came into the world during an era when ragtops were on the outs, the XK8 was intended to be a convertible from the start and in fact the droptop XK8 outsold the coupe version by better than two-to-one over its decade long model run.

Carrying the floorpan (and thus the wheelbase length) and a few structural bits over from the XJS, the XK was otherwise largely a clean sheet of paper. Sharing the design of its independent rear suspension with the XJ sedans, the XK8 was launched with a new all-alloy 4.0L DOHC 32V V-8. Dubbed the Jaguar AJ26,  it made 290 SAE net horsepower at 6100 rpm. 

This was enough to shove a '97 XK8 to sixty in 6.7 seconds in Motor Trend's testing at the time, on the way to a quarter mile in fifteen flat at 95mph through the traps.

This Meteorite Silver Metallic example was photographed with an Olympus OM-D E-M5 and a Panasonic Leica 12-60mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens in October of 2025.

1999 Mitsubishi Galant ES

The eighth generation of Mitsubishi's Galant sedan reached the American market for the 1999 model year, a couple years behind the domestic market.

In some ways it was a bit of a downgrade from its predecessor. The snout was a little more formal and retro and while the previous model had been touted for having multilink suspension at each corner, a novelty for a front wheel drive passenger bus, this generation reverted to a strut-type front suspension.

While a snarly 195hp SOHC 3.0L V-6 was on the menu, the base engine for the ES trim level was a 2.4L SOHC four-banger rated at 145 SAE net ponies. That's what's under the hood of this slightly rumpled Monarch Green Pearl one, backed by the optional 4-speed automatic.

This photo was taken using a Pentax K20D and 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens in August of 2025.

1999 Bentley Arnage Green Label

The Arnage and its Rolls-Royce sibling, the Silver Seraph, were the first all-new cars from the Vickers establishment in decades. As part of their updated image, they had their ancient pushrod motors replaced with 4.4L BMW V-8 powerplants.

These DOHC 32V mills were more efficient and powerful, especially the Cosworth-massaged twin-turbocharged variant in the Bentley, which thumped out 349 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. The German magazine Auto Motor und Sport got a '98 Arnage to 100km/h in 7.3 seconds and to a top speed of 149mph.

Alas, the Green Labels are rare because Vickers was in the process of having its car brands carved off by the German automakers BMW and Volkswagen. BMW got Rolls-Royce while VW got Bentley, and it simply would not do to have a Volkswagen subsidiary buying motors from their rival in Bavaria, so the Red Label Arnage was launched with a refreshed 6.75L pushrod twin-turbo L-series V-8.

The one in the photos, which I think is in Dark Sapphire Pearl, was photographed with a Leica D-Lux 3 in February of 2017.