The good old A-frame.

This is how you used to transport your race car.

That's how I used to transport my mud plugger. You were towing an unregistered and unroadworthy vehicle but it didn't matter because it was attached to a car that was. The same applied to a vehicle on a tow rope. Then it got outlawed so the next step was the trailer.

If you were an enthusiast for a particular vehicle model then it was inevitable that your tow car was the same make. So that ended up being a problem too when the towing vehicle had to be heavier than what was being towed.