Sports Cars

~ 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 and Dempsey limned 141 - 143 Drury Lane London WC2 © Grisewood and Dempsey limited 1980 Grise~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Colour separations by Newsele Litho Ltd, Milan Printed by South China Printing Co. Hong Kong Nve. Doug SporUUlfS - co..: UIf QUOdesI. I. Sports cars - Hl&tory I. Title. II. ~ 629.22'22 TL236 ISBNO·7063·6037·0 Contents Introduction 9 1903 Mercedes 14 1908 Benz 14 1908 Smnley 15 191 1 Isotta-Fraschini 16 1913 Bcdt':iia 16 1913 Mercer 17 1922 Bugani 18 1924 Morgan 18 1925 Lancia 19 1926 Bentley 20 1926 Vaux,hall 21 1927 Alvis 24 1927 Riley 25 1928 Amilcar 26 1928 Auburn 27 1928 Mercedes-Benz 28 1929 Hispano-Suiza 30 1929 Salmson 30 1930 AU51in 31 1930 Bendey 32 1930 OM 32 (931 Talbot 33 Bugani 34 Stutz 34 Alfa Romeo 35 MG 36 Aston Martin 37 1932 1932 1933 1933 1935 1935 Fiat 38 1935 Frazer Nash 38 1935 Laganda 39 1935 Squire 40 1936 Delahaye 41 1936 HRG 42 1938 Jaguar 5S 43 1937 BMW 44 1947 Cisitalia 46 19-18 MG-16 1949 Vcriras "'7 1950 Jaguar 48 1950 Talbm-Lago 50 1951 Healey 50 1952 Allard 51 1951 Porsche 52 1952 Aston Martin 53 1953 Austin-Healey 54 1953 Pegaso 55 1953 Triumph 56 1954 AC 57 1954 Jaguar 58 1955 Mercedes-Benz 59 1955 Sunbeam 60 1956 NGA 60 1956 Chevrolet 62 1956 Maserati 64 1958 Ferrari 64 1959 1961 1961 1962 1963 1963 1964 1965 Berkeley 65 Jaguar 66 Lotus 67 Triumph 68 Austin-Healey 68 MGB 70 AC 70 Morgan 72 1966 Ford 73 1968 Ford 74 1971 De Tomaso 74 1970 Matta 75 1970 Ferrari Dino 76 1972 Lamborghini 78 1972 L ola 79 1973 Alpine-Renault 80 1973 TVR 80 1973 Triumph 81 1975 Datsun 82 1975 Triumph 83 1976 Fiat 84 1979 Lotus 85 1979 Panther 86 '979 Porsche 86 1980 De Lorean 87 Tables 88 Index 90 Acknowledgements 92 " ., Introduction What is a sports car? That question has been asked innumerable times. and many long and learned essays have been written under that title. One could claim that a spons car is an open twO-sealer orrering high perfonnanct" both in a straight line, and through corners. But some sports cars have appearJMh/ flilOIO/ /wlr \dlill,~ (NO' Jptda/f)r"'j' lIIc f)_tl/I,~/( . • . '"mhin;:, in I", l' Upj 1- money to par for fun on four wheels. Secondly these sPOf1ill~ cars in general image and in all manner of cOlllpetition from the most humble Sports R(ll(~mg 12 .HJ!illt-Rrmwll, Car Club of America club race to til(' Int('rnational arena of Le :\ Ians-promotcd a feeling of ende;lvour, e_'(ci\emCIll and achit"\"t~­ IlWIll which refiected (Tedit throughout rhe rest of those manufaelurrrs' r;"lng-es, hO\le,·er mundane. By this time the sports car as gt'llcrally accepted the o pen-top Lllo-seat ro.adster had begun to. lose ilS pe]10rlllance advantage o.'·er the bread-and-butler tramport mo.tor car. :\ Io.re competition sporting-ca r know-how was being built into more cars. Ford of Britain achie\t'd saloon ·car racing dominance in Britain and her Commonwealth wilh successi,'e models from the lOSE. ,\nglia through lhe Cortina to the Esco.rt and Fiesta of today. Alfa Romeo in hair picked lip with the GT A saloon where thn had onc(' dominated with the classical 8C-2300; the class of racing had chan~o;:d, hl\( the success and image of achie,'ement was the same. Jaguar saloon cars for many years were just as dominant in British saloon-car racing as had been their C-Type and D-Type sJ->Orts-racing \isters in former \ears at Le :\Ians. :\Iere"t'desIk-nz ~ent s