Paul Hardiman

  Manufactured by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, the first Aston-Martins (the hyphen is correct for the period) rapidly established a reputation for high performance and sporting prowess in the years immediately following World War I. The foundations were laid for proper series production with the formation of Aston Martin Motors Ltd. in 1926 under…

Similar to the preceding TR4A — the first TR with independent rear suspension — but with Triumph’s 2.5-liter, 6-cylinder engine installed in place of the old 2.1-liter four, the TR5 was produced during the 1968 model year only (October 1967 to November 1968) pending the arrival of the restyled TR6. The bulk of production was…

With the Interceptor saloon’s introduction in 1967, Jensen had switched from glassfibre to steel for its car bodies. Underneath, the preceding C-V8’s robust chassis, running gear and 6,276-cc Chrysler engine remained substantially unchanged. With around 280 bhp on tap, performance was more than adequate, The Motor recording a top speed of 140 mph with 100…

Launched in 1936 alongside the 2½-liter saloon, the SS 100 Jaguar sports car marked the company’s first use of the Jaguar name. Beautifully styled in the manner of its SS 90 predecessor, the newcomer employed a shorter, 102-inch wheelbase chassis and a revised version of the 2,663-cc Standard Six which produced 104 bhp. In 1938,…

The culmination of Aston Martin’s long-running line of DB 6-cylinder sports saloons and thus considered by many to be the last real Aston, the DB6 had been introduced in 1965, updating the DB5. Although recognizably related to the Touring-styled DB4 of 1958, the DB6 abandoned the Carrozzeria Touring-developed Superleggera body structure of its predecessors in…

The final glorious incarnation of Jaguar’s fabulous XK series of sports cars arrived in 1957. The XK 150 was a progressive development of the XK 120 and XK 140, retaining the same basic chassis, 3.4-liter engine and 4-speed Moss transmission of its predecessors while benefiting from a new, wider body that provided increased interior space…

The XJ 220 prototype was unveiled to the world in Birmingham in 1988. The car was greeted with enthusiasm, and the decision was taken to produce a limited series of 350 examples. As Jaguar was not set up to produce such a small series, the build project was given to Jaguar-Sport, a joint venture between…

During the 1950s, the most accessible, most appealing, and in many cases, the most successful club racing car available to any aspiring racing driver was one of the products of the Donald Healey Motor Company’s famous factory at The Cape, Warwick. This particularly appealing, and in period highly successful, Austin-Healey 100S is a shining example…