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.

1965 Aston Martin DB5 Coupe

The buyer paid a premium for originality and left-hand drive, and the American collector no doubt carefully picked his moment Chassis number: DB51847L Engine number: 4001847 Aston Martin developed and released the all-new DB4 in 1958 alongside the final DB2-derived DB Mark III. The following year, the company received a […]

1968 Jaguar E-type Series 1.5 Roadster

  The purest early 3.8s fetch the most money, but this car offered the best of both worlds Chassis number: 1E2100 Engine number: 7E175478 The first significant upgrade of Jaguar’s sensational E-type sports car occurred in October 1964, with the launch of the 4.2-liter version. Along with the bigger, torquier […]

1971 AC 428 Fastback Coupe

These cars are rare, as they were slow and costly to build — and they were more expensive than an Aston Martin DB6 Chassis number: CF62 Born on the back of the Cobra two-seat roadsters, AC decided to move up-market and build a larger and altogether more civilized car. They […]

1959 Jaguar XK 150 S 3.8 Roadster

This car was the 63rd XK 150 Roadster built and sold new with optional chrome wire wheels. Special equipment extras included fog lamps, a dual exhaust system and square-pad disc brakes. The engine was fitted with a straight-port “Gold Top” cylinder head, lead and bronze bearings and a lightened flywheel. […]

1958 AC Ace Roadster

One of the most influential and widely imitated classic sports car designs ever is that of the AC Ace roadster—although, of course, much of the world associates its appearance with the later Shelby Cobra derivative, which resulted when the Ace received Ford V8 power and a Carroll Shelby performance makeover […]

1958 AC Ace Roadster

One of the most influential and widely imitated classic sports car designs ever is that of the AC Ace roadster—although, of course, much of the world associates its appearance with the later Shelby Cobra derivative, which resulted when the Ace received Ford V8 power and a Carroll Shelby performance makeover […]

1963 Aston Martin DB4 Convertible Barn Find

Classically proportioned and instantly recognizable from the moment of its introduction in 1958, the Touring-styled Aston Martin DB4 established a look that would survive, with only minor revisions, until 1970. Designed by Tadek Marek and already proven in racing, the DB4’s new twin-cam, 6-cylinder engine displaced 3670cc while the gearbox […]

1965 Sunbeam Tiger Mk I Convertible

Inspired by Carroll Shelby’s success in shoehorning a Ford V8 into the AC Ace to create the Cobra, British carmaker Rootes asked Shelby to perform the same trick with its Sunbeam Alpine sports car. Ford’s 260-ci V8 engine was chosen, and even though this had “only”160 horsepower on tap, its […]

1964 Aston Martin DB5 “James Bond”

We don’t need to introduce the Aston Martin DB5, the epitome of British style and performance in the 1960s, and the catalog description ran to a couple thousand words, so here is the quick version: “The Most Famous Car in The World” as arch-Bond fan Dave Worrall’s book of the […]