Table Of Content.
~ IPO~fl
CARS
Author DougNye
Illustrator Jim DugdaJe
Editor Tim Auger
Designer Ron Pickless
Consultant Michael Ware
First published in Great Bntain in 1980
by Ward Lock umited
116 Baker Street London W1M 2BB
a Pentos Company
Designed end produced by
Grise~ and Dempsey limned
141 - 143 Drury Lane London WC2
© Grisewood and Dempsey limited 1980
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Colour separations by Newsele Litho Ltd, Milan
Printed by South China Printing Co. Hong Kong
Nve. Doug
co..:
SporUUlfS - UIf QUOdesI.
I. Sports cars - Hl&tory
I. Title. II. ~
629.22'22 TL236
ISBNO·7063·6037·0
Contents
Introduction 9 1935 Fiat 38 1959 Berkeley 65
1903 Mercedes 14 1935 Frazer Nash 38 1961 Jaguar 66
1908 Benz 14 1935 Laganda 39 1961 Lotus 67
1908 Smnley 15 1935 Squire 40 1962 Triumph 68
1911 Isotta-Fraschini 16 1936 Delahaye 41 1963 Austin-Healey 68
1913 Bcdt':iia 16 1936 HRG 42 1963 MGB 70
1913 Mercer 17 1938 Jaguar 5S 43 1964 AC 70
1922 Bugani 18 1937 BMW 44 1965 Morgan 72
1924 Morgan 18 1947 Cisitalia 46 1966 Ford 73
1925 Lancia 19 19-18 MG-16 1968 Ford 74
1926 Bentley 20 1949 Vcriras "'7 1971 De Tomaso 74
1926 Vaux,hall 21 1950 Jaguar 48 1970 Matta 75
1927 Alvis 24 1950 Talbm-Lago 50 1970 Ferrari Dino 76
1927 Riley 25 1951 Healey 50 1972 Lamborghini 78
1928 Amilcar 26 1952 Allard 51 1972 Lola 79
1928 Auburn 27 1951 Porsche 52 1973 Alpine-Renault 80
1928 Mercedes-Benz 28 1952 Aston Martin 53 1973 TVR 80
1929 Hispano-Suiza 30 1953 Austin-Healey 54 1973 Triumph 81
1929 Salmson 30 1953 Pegaso 55 1975 Datsun 82
1930 AU51in 31 1953 Triumph 56 1975 Triumph 83
1930 Bendey 32 1954 AC 57 1976 Fiat 84
1930 OM 32 1954 Jaguar 58 1979 Lotus 85
(931 Talbot 33 1955 Mercedes-Benz 59 1979 Panther 86
1932 Bugani 34 1955 Sunbeam 60 '979 Porsche 86
1932 Stutz 34 1956 NGA 60 1980 De Lorean 87
1933 Alfa Romeo 35 1956 Chevrolet 62 Tables 88
1933 MG 36 1956 Maserati 64 Index 90
1935 Aston Martin 37 1958 Ferrari 64 Acknowledgements 92
"
Introduction
What is a sports car? That question has been them with such enthusiasm (despite the
asked innumerable times. and many long and miseries of leaking hoods and freezing feet in
learned essays have been written under that rain and snow I deri\"oo immense rnjQ)'mrnt
title. One could claim that a spons car is an from them. This is perhaps the key. For the
., open twO-sealer orrering high perfonnanct" sake of enjoyment. for many years mcn and
both in a straight line, and through corners. women took up open-air motoring in a
But some sports cars have appear<--d which machine which would accelerate more briskly
have foolS and more than two seats and which [han most bread-and-butter 'rransport' cars
can out-perform their open roadster brethren on the road; which would hrake more effect
not onl) along the straight, hut also through i\cJ~ than them; which might haH a higher
those all-important corners. So \\(" try another ultimate topspecd in a straight line: and hieh
\1
answer. A sporlS car is a high-performance car. would especially be capable of negOlialing
Simple as that? \\"cll, no, for SOffit' high corners safely al a much higher speed. These
performance cars arc built \"Cry much for altributesin turn produced a vehideadmirably
straight-line ('omfofl; to carry 11\'c people and \Iell-suited for ust'" in competition events on
a mass ofluggage a thousand miles or morc on road or track in addition to humdrum
motorways, Irec\\ays, autoroutes and auto motoring duties. If a car was essentially
strada with a minimum of fuss and fa.igue. capable of participating in s[Xlning events,
A Cilr6cn-.\laserati S'\I saloon car or a thcn it could be assumed to be a 'sporL~ car".
Rolls-Royce Corniche is a high-performance One must hayc reservations about such a
carofthis l)':PC. \\·ilh the best will in Ihe world. definition, but looking through the following
no enthusiast could adequau'ly dcscribe either pages the reader will see thal the sportS
of them as a ·sports car'. cars we have selected do not stray faron either
Perhaps a sports car is largely indefinable, side of a sporting cemral thread. The earliest
but those who seck one will recognize it when 19£)3 60hp :\lerccdcs was a high-performance
they sec it . production road car stripped to save weight
For many years the type in essence was and entered as a last minute stop-gap in the
virtually unmistakable. 1\ lost sports cars would important Gordon Bennel! Trophy race,
ha,·e open cockpits, and most of them would which it actually won. In this \Iay it proved
have no more than two seats. The type evol"ed itself a sporting car of considerable stature,
in the vintage period of the nineteen-twenties although in essence its design was dcrivcd
and caught firm hold in the thirties in models from that ofa pure-blooded racer, 'de·tuncd'
such as the .\IC :\lidget and :\Iagnette. for road usc. Here the sports car shows an
Postwar their descendants, particularly the origin close to that of the Cr,wd Prix car,
!\IC T-series, spelled ·sports car' to the world bUl this book follows the sports car as it
in an unmistakable manner. Yet the T-serics de\elopcd along separate lines.
cars in particular, the MG Te, TO and TF of The first true sports-car competition devel·
the late forties and early fifties, were ne\"Cr oped in Germany before World War 1 as the
particularly fast cars. "·hat was really im Herkomcr Trial. and its successful descend·
portant was that they looked fa~t. they looked ant. the Prince Henr) Trial. Thesc cvents
sporty, and the people \\ ho owned and dro\c almost ull\\iujngl) encouraged interested
9
motor-manufacturers to construct specialized time· the likt"S of the \'auxhall 30/98, the
touring cars which com bined powerful engines Bentleys and the SS-series :\lcrccdcs-Bcnz.
with lightweight hody designs and the latest Today each of these cars, even the still
thinking: in steering. braking and suspension. humble but so fascinating little cyclecars,
Upon the success of the Trial-winningdo::signs. have become much-sought-after collectors'
vinoriom maHufacturers would pHI illlo items, cherished by the true enthusiast and
small-series production cars which were in salted a\\'a) b) the stone-heaned invcstor.
mally cases sold onl~ to cuStomers of rccog What mOSt of these classical vintage sports
ni.:cd ability! In m<lnv cases these carefutlv cars ha\'e in common is their lack of a fixed
allocated sPorting cars were destined t~ roof and their considerable power/brakingl
undertake extensive" sprint and hillclimh steeringroadholding advantage over con
competition programmes in order to promote temporary workada) saloon can;. This ad
their manufacturers' names and images more \'antage in these vital departments continued
widely, and upon their success depended the into the thirties although some exceptions,
JIlass sales of those 'transport' designs the like the saloon-bodit.--d Lancias and the mighty
growing volume of bread-and-butter motor Hispano-Suiza limousines, sen·ed to prove
cars designed to transport people and baggage the rule. Despite their extra \Ieight both were
from point 1\ to point B. and liHle more. cap,!ble of oUl-pclforming many more flashy
After World \\'ar I came the vinta!(e years 'true sports car.; upon othen\·isc even terms.
of motoring in [urope and America'. This Dunng the thirties sports-car racing
was the period ill which the many-faceted achieved major importance in e\cnt.~ such as
'spons car' market developed, although not the I.e :\Ians ~q.-Hours in France, the Mille
under such a glib and modern tide. Enthusiast :\Iiglia in Italy and the RAe Tounst Trophy
cars ranged from the spartan and often dia in the Cnited Kingdom. These fostered
bolicall~ dangerous cyclecars like the "anom the dt"Si~n, construnion and promotion of
GNs of Britain and the French Bed.:lia desi~lS such classic sports cars as lhe Alfa Romeo
to the middle-of-the-road. \l\-ist"S, the striking HC-23OO, the :\lG 'K3' :\Iagnette. the Talbot
ly neat and fast .\milears, Salmsons and 105 and the Ddahaye 135C, Each of liH'se
Buganis, the dignified bUl so sophisticau.'-d great cars is described indetail in the text which
Lam·ias. to the' sponing epitome of their follows, and is fixed there in relation to its
1 h~ /,1)37 lI"orkj /wm rif .\.) .I (}(J' moddJ "",td INJOT! /1" .mll', II ,IJI! Rol~,.
10
"" HIf;DIII I}/It jj IliJl
'"mhin;:, in 8rrlDilt. iJtJu/~
'rDT u.h.d ,pill/IINI!" !lff
I",
'mf)tIN~. Dn" /If) d>JMh/
flilOIO/ /wlr \dlill,~ (NO'
Jptda/f)r"'j'lIIc f)_tl/I,~/( .• .
l' Upj 1-<lII£ia lAmbda
,r"T/IItn,t,//t., I/",!), hill a/
IJ'~IIT', HQ<"t r/".m!;, Q
'flvt"H,an 1..0 ltd, bu/
Trial.
sister lIlodel~ from the ~am{' manufacturer,
and against the background of ilS colltt'mp
oral) rivals.
The vital thing to remcmlK"r i~ lhat comp
etition models such illi lhfS(' wcrc devduJXd
from, and hccamc the prototypes for fUlither
dc\dopment of high-performance ~porting
cars intended primaril~ for sale 10 the ~elleral
public for use Oil the open higll\\ay. In this
\iuli respect the} diHcred from till: hi~hl~
spccialile<1 purpose-built rarin~ car. which
Ilad dc-vclopcd worldwide into:l single cenlr'al
scat open-wheeled projectile by 193233 and
which in (.'SS{'nre \\a5 10 han! decreasing
significance fOf road-car ril,lnufaclUrer<; as the
rears roJled by.
Yet in the thirties the sportjng caf \\as ~till
essentially a wealth) man's lOy. ,lnd there is
no doubt that the lucky original O\\llers of
these cars often plap."rl lon~ and hard \\ ilh
them, and deriyC'd enormous pleasure from
the expcriellce. It was aftef World War II
thai such pleasure rc,llI} hf'gan to become
,waitablc 10 all, in the mushroom growth
particulady of the British spOrts car industn
in \\'hich models like Ihe immortal \1(;
T-series, the Triumph TRs, the .\w.lill
Ileaky family. the mi~l\ly Ja~u;lr ralllZe and
the peripheral marques lik(' the . \Uards.
"
HRGs, the trut> Ht>aleys, AslolI-:\lanins \Iere Car Club of America club race to til(' Int('r
produced fII III(Wf. The "ast majority of all national arena of Le :\Ians-promotcd a
lilesr British can; lIen." exported. mainly (0 feeling of ende;lvour, e_'(ci\emCIll and achit"\"t~
the CSA. aud as Britain came to displace IlWIll which refiected (Tedit throughout rhe
Italy from mOlOr·racing domination so this rest of those manufaelurrrs' r;"lng-es, hO\le,·er
firm foundation of sports-car kno\\-how and mundane.
commercial success played its part. By this time the sports car as gt'llcrally
S,ill. the Italian ~ports I;ar had made i!:; accepted the open-top Lllo-seat ro.adster
mark through the 'tween-war ~ears and that had begun to. lose ilS pe]10rlllance advantage
turbulent nation of flair, imagination and o.'·er the bread-and-butler tramport mo.tor
suprt>me craftsmanship cominued 10 produce car. :\Io.re competition sporting-car know-how
spons cars which represcnt the pinnacle oftbe was being built into more cars. Ford of
art names like Ferrari. :\Iascrati and Lancia Britain achie\t'd saloon·car racing dominance
were have few peers in ilHernational road in Britain and her Commonwealth wilh
(0
racing competition, but [heir products Ilere successi,'e models from the lOSE. ,\nglia
few and expensive, beyond the pockt>t of :\Ir through lhe Cortina to the Esco.rt and Fiesta
Aycrage, who could easily find the where of today. Alfa Romeo in hair picked lip with
withall to indulge his enthusiasm at the the GTA saloon where thn had onc(' domi
whedofan :\IG. TR, HcalcyorJag·. nated with the classical 8C-2300; the class
The succe~s of thew marque;; in all par!:; of racing had chan~o;:d, hl\( the success and
ofthc world was not lost upon General :\Iotors image of achie,'ement was the same. Jaguar
and the Ford Motor Company in America, saloon cars for many years were just as
and in the fifties and sixties both laullched dominant in British saloon-car racing as had
their spons GIl' projects the Che\Tolet ('...or been their C-Type and D-Type sJ->Orts-racing
,-ctlc family and the Muslang-lo-GT40 pro \isters in former \ears at Le :\Ians. :\Iere"t'des
gramme 'I hid} ill both cas~ had a two-fold Ik-nz ~ent sal~n cars racing succt"!'..Sfully
effect. Firstl) sponing cars lINe sold 10 a new through the P,lmpas of .\r~f'ntina and round
found 'youth' market with tht> money to par the looping mountain course of the \'tirbur
for fun on four wheels. Secondly these sPOf1ill~ !{fing to. emulate the former dominal!(·e of
cars in general image and in all manner of their le~endar) Grand Pri... .. cal'S, and of lhe
cOlllpetition from the most humble Sports immortal gooSLR spons-racer of the fifties.
R(ll(~mg .HJ!illt-Rrmwll,
12
In each cast' Ihese \H~n' tin-top saloon ("at'S amongst them; it is a saloon which could
which ill standard trim could be seen flowing undoubtcdl) in it.s many ,Old highly indi\"idual
through or choking the streelS of all~' town "ariants oUl-perform lllallY of the canl we
or ci\\ almost am"where in Iht" Free \\'orld. han- ihcluded, bUi such high-priced Grand
The si'xties saw the' release of~ ,Ioon car models Touring eXOIi(;a as the Dc Tomaso PanH~ra,
like the Ford Lotus-Cortina and the Escort Lamhorghini .\liura and Porsche Turbo
Twin-Cam, "hid} could out-brake and often demand the space; they arc uncquinl(:ally
oUt-{:onwl" many of the classic sports cars of 'sportS cars' in the most modern sense,
yore. and most of their cotlt('mporary pure From atl this emerges one common theme.
bred '~POTtS car' compelilion. For cXiunplc The pleasure of motoring, the joy of driving,
am rcason,lbk Ford EscorL saloon "Quid is best sef';ed by those machines we call sportS
m,;kc most \IG5 or Triumph TRs look caTS and among their names we find some
POSili\'el~ lam!' through winding country which by their 'peei'll appeal, Iheir comp
lanes, and so a form of roofed-in but still etition succcs.~, th("ir commercial success,
pleasurable sporting motorin~ (,,\·oh-OO. This or sometimes mereh by their unusual tedl
reached its natural condusion in the dcyclop nical interest or charm~ must qualify for Ihe
rncnt of enclosed-cockpit sports cars. such as 'das:.i(" lag,
the original Triumph TR7. which was hastily The arr,lIlgement of this book is basically
designed when it appeared that thc burgeo chronological. with the car, in each yeilr
ning yolumc of American Federal Safety placed alphabetiC'all~, although lIH."re arc
Regulations would ban open-cockpit cars, one or twO depanUfeli rrom this rule where it
because of their lack ofroll--on:T protcction for makes sense to group particular cars together,
their occupants, This subsequently pron'd to or II here a particular!) important car merits
be nothing Inore than scare-moll~erillg. and a two-page spre'ld 10 itself In what fullows
an open-codpi! TR7 has nO\, been intra- some enthusiast!; may be outraged to find
duced SI)e('ifirall) for the lucrati\'e but sensi that their p'lnicular favourite has been
ti\"c ,\meriran market. omil1ed in favour of somethillg lhey C'omidcr
To\\ ards the end of this book. therefore. ummrthy, but lik(" the definition of 'spons
you \\ill find many roofed-in high-perfor car·, perhaps it is all a mailer of opinion,
mance cars \\ hich qualify for the 'sports car'
tag nonc the less. The Ford Escort is nOi 7 hi Frtnch J/alm ,\1.'):)30 «'US ~)'"i((11 oj lIlt hi.{:h
p..,j"rmnna ,porIUl/J cur of 1M .((,tnlit. rouf find nlf,
13
'Gordon Bennett'
Mercedes
1903, Germany
or
In the earlicst days mOlor'ITIdll~ comp---f'<ench :\Iercedi."s cu:.tomer named Baron
ctition. the Gordon Bennett Cup "as an Pierre de Caters comacled Emile Jellind.
annual IllIcrnationaJ C'Tnt contc~tcd 1)\ CMe- salesman-cum-promoter of the Daimler·huill
full) ('hO\('I1 national teams of three ca~ (';'jell. cal'!> which were Ilamoo after his dau~hlcr
The competition was FrcndHlominalf'd until \lercfd6iJdlinek and suggl'Stcd that strip-
I,
1902, when Sch\}11 Francis 1:-C:lgf"s XapicT ped 60hp production models such as his 0\\11
was the sole rUllner to complete th(' di~lancc mi~ht do the job in Ireland. The compan)
f!'Om Paris LO SalLburg. This fjriti,h ,"ietory took up de Cau~rs's idciI, stripped his car of
gone the Royal Automobile Club of Great unnecessary fillings and entered him in the
Britain and Ireland the right to orl{anizt." Cordon iknnelt.
the 1903 ("\('nt on their hOI11(' territory. Since Another 60hp wa~ called back from
it \, as impossihle to gain pcnlli~~ion to close American ~ponsman Clarence Cray Dins-
public roads on Ihe mamland for motor- more. His chauffeur Wilhelm Werner was,
racing usc. a large figure-or-ei~hl cou!"')(" \\as ho\\c\'cr. jUdl{l:d b~ the German club to be
chD:icn ncar Ballphannon in .. hal is no\\ Eire. imufficielllh <Jualifit'd as a 'gentleman dri\cr'
The Ctrmans produced an exccllent racin~ to represent hiS country. The .Belgian CamillI!
car in their 90hp ~lcrct-dt-s model. but jU~1 Jena ... ) therffore took his placc.
lo ..
Olle month berore Ihe h race look place the ...\.\ Ball)~hanlloll the two strippt.-d produc-
~Icr('cdi:~ factory al Canslau. nCilr Slutt'l:an, tion ~Iereed.:s &h riln \e~ well, and.Jenatzy
\\ a~ ~\\ cpt by fire. The racing dcp<lrtlllclIl \\ as scored ~lcr(,l:dcs's first major 1n lernational
gutted and iL~ gohp cars were dC~lroyed .. \ \·icto~. a\era~ing 49.! mph o\"er .'Pi miles.
Benz50hp
J9 08, Germany beill~ a ponrdit of Ihe- \, inner paintcd rree or
chan~e b) the Prof('<;wr him;;df. I I began in
The compctiti\·e ('\"CnlS .\ hich finl dc\ doped 1905 and ',as won b} a heft) ~Icrec:dt-s 40
a Irue '~ports car. brttll \.ere or((anizoo in \,j(h more or le<i~ standard ht"a\·)\\ei~ht
German\" berore \\"orld War I. rlle\ \\cre coachwork. In 19<:.6. howcyer. coach"ork
:\5
known the International I'ourin~ G.'lr rcgulatiom .. crt rela,C'd and light\\ei~ht
Competition for the Herkomer Troph\. Ih(' -lx-xJiC"i appcoared. to aid the can>' j>o. . er-Io
first compcLition was sponsored b~ Proressor weightratloandm illlpro\"C their~rforman('c,
Hubert von Hcrkomer R.\. one or its prizes
'/ h I',illlt' "'Nfl R,,,::..
1/Olahl" I'" ill Ilrmd :"'''gl
IIJ iJrrlJTllr IllrudrTllarA (II
III/If \~rh (11(5.
14
