Vintage British Sports CarsThe manufacturers of vintage british sports cars were tremedously successful with models such as the Triumph TR2 being worldwide hits. Car manufacturing during the 1950s may have been dominated by the Americans, but as far as sports cars are concerned it was the British who produced some of the most famous during the decade. The interest in sports cars during the decade was spurred by the popularity of motor racing. Racing driver Ken Rudd was the man responsible for the construction of the Ace-Bristol. Production was taken over by AC, based in London who rolled out the AC Ace-Bristol and the AC Aceca-Bristol. They were launched in 1957 and as an optional extra customers could order a cowl which would reduce drag and increase the top speed to 120 mph. Triumph is a name readily associated with the British 1950s sports cars. The Coventry-based car manufacturer unveiled the TR1 in 1952 which proved to be a bit of a disaster. Undaunted, Triumph went back to the drawing board to give the world the TR2.
photo by Softeis used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license The TR2 wowed the motoring public on its 1953 launch. Independently tested this beauty could hit a top speed in excess of 107 mph. Even with the optional overdrive it cost less than £1,000 making it the cheapest British vehicle to break the 100 mph barrier. The TR2 became a favourite among celebrities, though tragically English musician Dennis Brain was killed while driving one in September 1957. In 1955 Triumph made several design and technical changes before rolling out the TR3. It featured disc brakes, a first for a British produced series model, and did well for the country’s car exports breaking the 10,000 mark during 1957.
Among the list of British vintage sports cars produced during the 50s is the Jaguar XK150. Rolled out in 1957 it was the first of the XK series to have a one-piece windscreen as opposed to the split windscreen of its predecessors, the XK120 and the XK140. The XK150 redesign was undertaken with an eye on exports as the Jaguar executives looked towards the lucrative American market. Production of the XK150 continued until 1961. Another British sports car with true vintage credentials is the MGA. Once again the aim was to produce a sports car which appealed to the foreign market with exports exceeding domestic sales by almost 20 to 1. The MGA was assembled in Abingdon and was launched in 1955. Production continued for the next seven years. In 1958 a high performance twin-cam model was added to the MGA range, complete with Dunlop disc brakes .This excellent example of vintage British sports cars was found to be able to top 113 mph by independent testers. Related Articles
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