British Sports Cars of the 1950s and ’60s (Shire Library)

Description

Nobody built sports cars like British manufacturers in the 1950s and 1960s. There was once something very special about the combination of low-slung open two-seater bodywork with a spartan interior, a slick sporting gearchange and a rorty exhaust note. This was once wind-in-the-hair motoring, and it was once inexpensive by the average young man – no less than, until he got married and had a circle of relatives. The names of MG and Triumph stood proudly out from the remaining, but there were many others as well. Austin-Healeys and Jaguars were grander and faster, but they still embodied that virtually indefinable fun factor. Then there were the bit-part players, who did their best to protected a place in the affections of the sports car buying public.

British sports cars were hugely popular out of the country, especially in america. And tellingly, when Japanese manufacturer Mazda wanted to make a sports car in 1989, it sought inspiration from these very classics of the 1950s and 1960s. Lately, the Mazda MX-5 is the world’s best-selling sports car.