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| BRITISH SPORTS CARS |
One cannot define the British sports car as a species of, as it were. insular aрpearance, on the north west fringe of Europe. It is not that simple. In a very particular way British sports cars reflect the structure of British society, with its class structure and contradictions. There are the aristocrats, right up to the majestic Bentley 4 1/2 litre supercharged model of the late twenties, or the Aston Martin Vanquish of today. At the other end of the wheel-based social scale are the purveyors of sporty mobility for the lower classes, like the MG ТС or the Austin Healey Sprite. Somewhere in between, a man like Jaguar boss Sir William Lyons literally made it his mission to make his fine creations accessible, even to people who could not really afford them. Sports cars for millionaires, sports cars for millions. The world owes the latter to a phenomenon that Enzo Ferrari contemptuously called the British DIY mentality. He was referring to the British Formula 1 racing cars, but he probably also had in mind the road vehicles made by his British competitors. The recipe is simple: take an engine, drives, axles, instruments, gear levers and switches from the anonymous stores of the big series, add a robust chassis and dress the lot in an attractive, original or maybe even breathtaking design. Buying windscreen wipers at a low price from an outside source is much cheaper than designing and making them yourself, said Walter Hayes, top man for a time at Aston Martin. And lo, the cars had personality and charisma, they were wonderfully youthful, the dream of entire generations. For the whole is generally much more than the sum of the parts, particularly as passion always played a part, the devotion of the men who made the cars and are still making them, and the love of those who are in a position to drive them. So far about two and a half million British sports cars have been produced, from the bestselling MGB with its huge total of 513,272 roadsters and coupés to the exotic Jaguar XK SS, which only 16 fortunate people were able to own. We hope this book will give the reader an overall impression. It was not possible to give an exhaustive account and we have had to limit ourselves to a representative selection, which is therefore subjective. |
FOREWORD by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu AC Ace & Aceca ALLARD J2X ALVIS TB 21 ASTON MARTIN International DB1 DB2 DB4 DB6 DBS V8/V8 Virage/V8 DB7 Vanquish AUSTIN-HEALEY 100 Sprite 3000 BENTLEY 4 1/2-Liter Supercharged BRISTOL 404 CATERHAM Seven 21 CATERHAM CARS LIMITED DAIMLER SP250 ELVA Courier FRAZER NASH Mille Miglia GINETTA G4 G27 GINETTA CARS LIMITED HEALEY Silverstone H.R.G. 1500 JAGUAR SSI & Jaguar SS100 XK120 XK150 XKSS E-Type V12 XJ-S XJ220 XK8 CONNOLLY LEATHER LIMITED JENSEN 541 Jensen-Healey JOWETT Jupiter LEA-FRANCIS 2 1/2-Liter Sports LOTUS Elite Seven Elan Europa Lotus Elan +2 Elite & Eclat Esprit Esprit Turbo Elan Elise Exige LOTUS CARS LIMITED MARCOS GT Mantara McLAREN F1 MG J2 TA TC TD TF MGA MG Midget & Austin-Healey Sprite MGB MGF MORGAN Three-wheeler 4/4 Series 1 Plus 4 4/4 Series II and later Plus 8 Aero 8 CHARLES MORGAN MORGAN MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED PHANTER Kallista RELIANT Scimitar SSI RILEY Brookelands Nine Sprite RMC Roadster SINGER Roadster SUNBEAM Alpine Tiger SWALLOW Doretti TRIUMPH Roadster TR2 TR3 TR4 & TR5 Spitfire GT6 TR6 Stag TR7 & TR8 TVR Grantura Vixen M-Series Tasmin & derivatives Griffith Cerbera Tuscan TVR ENGINEERING LIMITED WESTFIELD Seven APPENDIX Specifications Index Acknowledgements |
 
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