Author: Paul Hardiman

Paul Hardiman has written for a variety of British car magazines since 1983. His motorsport career includes racing in the Goodwood Revival and navigating everything from an A35 to a 300SLR. He has been SCM’s English-car specialist since 2007.

1984 Peugeot 205 GTI 1.6

At the Geneva Motor Show in March 1984, Peugeot presented the 205 GTI, a sporty version of the 205 city car it had launched a year earlier. Initially offered in a 1.6-L, 105-hp version, in March 1986 it became available with 115 hp as an option, and by the end […]

1929 Bentley 4½ Litre Supercharged Le Mans Tourer

There are few sounds in motorsport quite as evocative as a Blower Bentley at full chat — a gruff explosion of noise and power only matched by the guttural howl of a Vulcan bomber. Unapologetically loud, dirty, and fearsomely quick, the model earned a legion of fans throughout the 1920s […]

1931 Frazer Nash Interceptor

Frazer Nash was founded in 1922 by Captain Archibald Frazer-Nash, who in partnership with H R Godfrey had been producing the GN cyclecar. Designed by Godfrey and Frazer-Nash, the GN was Britain’s first and best-known cyclecar. The two young engineers set up shop initially in Hendon, North London, whence the […]

1936 Lagonda LG45 4½-Litre Rapide-Style Sports Tourer

A 1937 model built late in 1936, this outstandingly attractive rebodied Lagonda is modeled after the definitive LG45R Rapide of the mid-1930s. It is one of a batch of six original LG45s converted to Rapide specification — in this case including the correct T9 gearbox — during the 1980s by the […]

1961 Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Convertible

Sir William Lyons’ leadership allowed Jaguar to flourish. He had appointed the gifted engineer, pilot and racing technical wizard Frank RW “Lofty” England to lead the company’s racing department. Applying his experience working with Tim Birkin’s team and the Blower Bentley cars, as well as Prince Bira’s White Mouse Stable, […]

1957 Jaguar XKSS

Jaguar had withdrawn from racing following the 1956 season and was left with a number of D-types remaining unsold in their factory stock. An idea was had that the cars could be converted to roadgoing specification and sold into the American market. The conversion, as it were, involved removing the […]

1963 AC MA-200 Convertible Prototype

One of the British motor industry’s more fascinating “might-have-beens,” this beautiful open roadster is an indication of what might have replaced the AC Ace had the company not been occupied building Carroll Shelby’s Cobra. The car’s curious “MA” chassis number prefix is assumed to refer to AC’s Polish engineer Zdzislaw […]

1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500

The original Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was the first Ford to wear the Cosworth badge and was presented to the public at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1985. Launched for sale in July 1986, and based on the 3-door Sierra body shell, it was designed by Ford’s Special Vehicle […]

1961 AC Greyhound

First seen at the 1959 London Motor Show, the four-seater AC Greyhound was the second coupe based on the Ace roadster, the first being the two-seater Aceca, whose lines were successfully adapted to suit the larger car. Like the Aceca’s, the Greyhound’s extremely shapely and attractive body was constructed in […]

1949 MG TC

By the 1950s, MG had come a long way from its roots as an offshoot of Morris Motors and had cemented a place as an innovative builder of sporting road and competition cars. Released in 1945, the TC provided a marginally wider body than its pre-war TB predecessor, and now […]