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.

2017 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato

Aston Martin and Zagato have enjoyed a long but fitful association. They first collaborated in 1960, when the British carmaker asked the Italian coachbuilder to reinvent its DB4GT competition model for the following season. Despite its success, but no doubt on account of the small number of cars built, it […]

1960 Bristol 406 Zagato Coupe

“The Bristol Zagato Grand Touring model is designed to cater for those who desire an even faster car than the standard type 406 saloon. The Bristol Zagato is lighter and smaller, with a tuned version of the 406 Bristol engine. The lightweight 2-door coachwork has been built to the requirements […]

1970 Aston Martin DB6 Mk II

With the DB6 Mk II’s introduction in June 1969, the final incarnation of the original DB Series, begun in 1958 by the DB4, had arrived. The option of AE Brico fuel injection was the most significant mechanical development, while flared wheelarches, necessitated by the adoption of the wider DBS wheels, […]

1983 Renault 5 Turbo

Not to be confused with the conventional front-wheel-drive Renault 5 Gordini Turbo or GT Turbo, the Renault 5 Turbo (and later Turbo 2) was a mid-engined homologation special built in limited numbers for professional rallying between 1979 and 1986. Renault’s considerable Formula One-derived turbocharging expertise was applied to the humble […]

1969 Ford GT40

One of the little-known aspects of Ford’s GT40 program was the company’s early interest in civilizing it for the road as the Mk III, to be marketed as an exotic halo model. To that end, 20 late-production GT40 chassis were commissioned in late 1966 by Ford headquarters in Detroit for […]

1960 Jaguar XK 150 S 3.8

Launched in 1957, the Jaguar XK 150 was the third and final iteration of the XK series, following on from the XK 120 and XK 140. Available as both a fixed-head coupe or a drophead coupe, the XK 150 featured updated styling and various mechanical improvements, including four-wheel disc brakes. […]

2010 Morgan Aero SuperSports

It may look vintage with its chromed radiator grille and separate fender wings, but there is nothing remotely old-fashioned about the engineering of the Morgan Aero SuperSports — or the way it performs. Introduced for Morgan’s centenary in 2010, the Aero SuperSports was a targa top-equipped evolution of the revolutionary […]

1930 Bentley 4½ Litre

Garnering its first Le Mans victory in 1924, in just its fifth year of existence, the Bentley marque cemented its reputation for speed and endurance with a string of successive wins at the French classic from 1927 through 1930. Introduced in chassis form at the Olympia Motor Show in October […]

1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Bertone Drophead Coupe

The Bertone-bodied Aston Martins of the 1950s paired Italian design flair with solid British engineering. One of only two DB2/4 chassis built with this striking convertible body style, and possessing a fascinating provenance, LML506 is an important coachbuilt Aston Martin from the early years of the David Brown era. Based […]

2017 Jaguar XKSS Continuation

There are few modern sports cars around which legends gather more thickly than the Jaguar XKSS. Following the company’s withdrawal from racing after the 1956 season, a number of both completed and incomplete D-types remained in factory stock and unsold. The decision was made to convert these cars to road-going […]