M is for Marvelous – 1956 Austin-Healey 100M

bn2 bmc healey roadster two tone

When the BN2 version of the Austin-Healey 100 came out in 1955, it was a significant but not drastic improvement over the BN1 that had been launched in 1953. There was now a four-speed gearbox, eye-catching two-tone paint and other detail changes, but otherwise the car had the same good looks and lively feel. 1955 was also the year that Healey decided to give the customer a hotter version of the 100 for the road. They had already built fifty … [Read more...]

Frugal Fun – 1985 TVR Tasmin

280i Ford

If you can find one, these '80s wedges can be seriously cheap and relatively simple to keep running. Heavy use of Ford parts throughout make maintenance a little easier and a fiberglass body keeps rust out of the question, at least on that part of the car. But even though production of the Tasmin coupe and convertible numbered in the mere hundreds, and even with the panache of the TVR name, a good Tasmin can often be had for the price of a two or … [Read more...]

Join the Elite – 1979 Lotus Elite

hatchback 907 original yellow

The 1970s were not the best of times for any carmaker, and Lotus was no exception. Formula One was still for the most part going swimmingly, but the road car business was not an easy one. Chapman was still ambitious as ever, though, and Lotus made an even more complete break with their kit car past in 1974 when they introduced the Elite, a car that had been in planning since the late '60s. It may have shared its name with the Climax-powered Elite … [Read more...]

A Perfectionist’s P6 – 1970 Rover 2000 TC

front

In a time when the Germans hadn't yet cornered the market on lively but luxurious four door sedans, the choices available for such a car were a bit more diverse. Among the interesting cars around was one that is surprisingly almost forgotten today: The Rover P6. Marketed as the Rover 2000 in the United States, the car was a step below Jaguar on the luxury car ladder, but was still fairly advanced for the day with four wheel disc brakes (inboard … [Read more...]

Spotless Sports Racer – 1966 Brabham BT8

repco brabham bt-8 sports racer

Today, we primarily know the Brabham name from Formula One. Australian racing hero Jack Brabham had a stellar career as a driver, winning the World Championship in 1959, 1960 and 1966. The last of those was of course in a car bearing his own name, and he will probably always remain the only person in Formula One to ever accomplish such a feat. Later, during the 1970s and 1980s, the Brabham Grand Prix team soldiered on under the ownership of … [Read more...]

One-Family Feline – 1967 Jaguar E-Type Roadster

Series 1.5 4.2 convertible white

Even though the Kougar we just featured is rarer and faster than the Jaguars it borrows its parts from, it is no icon. The E-Type, on the other hand, was destined to be a legendary car from day one and this example, located in Denver, Colorado, looks to have been treated as such, also since day one. An almost completely original XKE Roadster  with less than 35,000 miles on the clock, it is an interesting case of preservation at its finest. … [Read more...]

A Different Kind of Cat – 1968 Kougar Roadster

jag xk

Kougar started building sports cars, usually Jaguar-based, in the late 1960s, and the company is actually still around today. They look a bit like some of the old HWM-Jags from the '50s, but have more up to date '60s mechanicals from the E-Type and Jaguar's sedans of the period such as the Mk II. Performance was brisk, to say the least, as the Kougar's light weight made the most of Jaguar's well-proven XK engine and the E-Type's innovative … [Read more...]

Racy but Rusty – 1959 Jaguar XK150S

xk 150 s triple carb project coupe

For the 1958 model year, Jaguar replaced their graceful XK140 with the aptly named XK150. Styling was less dramatic and therefore less interesting than the 120 and 140 that came before it, and although the "120" in XK120 stood for the car's impressive top speed, the same could definitely not be said  of the XK150. The very hottest versions could only manage around 130. That said, it was still a step in the right direction mechanically, with … [Read more...]

Flat Radiator Special – 1957 Morgan Plus 4

+ 4 special flat rad

Any Morgan fan is going to take one look at this car, located in San Francisco, California, and point out that the body and year don't match up. This Plus 4 is advertised as a 1957, but has the flat radiator shape that disappeared for 1954. The "Flat Rad" cars have been interesting oddities among crowd of cowled radiator machines that have been the Morgan way for almost six decades now, and as a result some people like them a little bit more. … [Read more...]

Worn Out, But Worth It? – 1971 Lotus Europa

Lotus Europe project renault

Lotus Europas can be kind of a mixed bag. Rougher driver quality examples can be had for dirt cheap, and even the very best Lotus Twin Cam-powered cars will barely crack $30,000. And for whatever you end up paying, you're getting the legendary Lotus name, one of the best handling road cars of the 1960s, and one of the first mid-engined sports cars ever put on sale. … [Read more...]