One cannot define the British sports car as a species of, as it were. insular appearance, 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 ?? 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