LANCASTER CLASSIC CAR NEWS
ROVER 2600 SD1
When British Leyland commenced work on the SD1, David Bache, Rover’s Head of Design, intended to create a five-door supercar on a limited budget. He later stated: “It may be more difficult to achieve high standards with a simpler design because more intensive development is needed:
1967 JAGUAR E-TYPE
In December of 1961, Car & Driver rhapsodised over the E-Type: Our first impressions of taking over this car are not easy to describe. The car is beautiful to look at from any angle, and it was said by many, who saw it in the flesh for the first time when meeting our test crew, that pictures so far published had all failed to do justice to its appearance.
1955 CITROEN ‘ONZE NORMALE’ TRACTION AVANT
When Citroën unveiled the original Traction Avant to the public on the 18th of April 1934, it marked an evolutionary step in the development of the motor car. There was the elegant uni-body construction, the front wheel drive, the torsion bar suspension and the hydraulic brakes. By comparison, other saloons of that era looked as though they had recently emerged from The Ark.
1970 AUSTIN-HEALEY SPRITE
In late 1969, British Leyland extensively revised the MG Midget Mk. III and its Austin-Healey Sprite Mk. IV companion model. The black grilles and Ro-Style wheels altered the line-up’s image. It was farewell to blazers, cravats and Graham Hill moustaches and hello to Jason King sideburns and large amounts of Hai Karate aftershave. And who could resist the “Racy 3-spoke steering wheel with simulated leather-bound rim”?
AUSTIN A90 ATLANTIC
Seventy-five years ago, the A90 Atlantic was a star of the first post-war London Motor Show. Many of the 562,954 visitors to Earls Court were agog at those gold-faced instruments, the ECKO radio set, the heater, the centrally mounted fog lamp and the "Jewelescent" paint finish. Plus, any car with a power-operated hood was a world apart from a realm of smog, Woodbines and queuing for the cheese ration.
75 YEARS OF THE JAGUAR XK120
Many people are familiar with the history of the XK120 – that Browns Lane intended it as a ‘test-bed’ for the latest Jaguar engine and how its appearance at Earls Court was because of the Mk. VII saloon would not be ready until 1950 due to body-tooling problems.
THE MORRIS MINOR TRAVELLER AT SEVENTY
Autocar of 9th October 1953 profiled a new version of a vehicle, one “considered by many people as a classic design of its type, and as such is often used as a yardstick when comparing small cars”. They further praised the “very bright and light interior” and the “particularly useful luggage compartment”. It was, of course, the Morris Minor “Travellers Car”.
THE WORLD’S OLDEST LANDCRAB?– A 1963 PRE-PRODUCTION AUSTIN 1800
It is always a pleasure to follow the progress of a car you wrote about previously. Many years ago, I compared a pre-production Austin 1800 ‘Landcrab’ with a Slough-built Citroën ID19 for Classic Cars magazine and described it as “a scaled-up BMC 1100 and is just as enjoyable to drive”. And now 531 NOF is in search of a new custodian.
The Forgotten Ford Granada – Made By Hyundai
Some of us (all right, me) have long been fascinated with large European saloons that enjoyed an afterlife or a parallel career in another continent. India’s Hindustan Contessa (aka the Vauxhall Victor FE) and the Standard 2000 (aka the Rover SD1) are prime examples of the former; we have the Hyundai-built Ford Granada Mk for the latter. II.
A VISIT TO THE 1953 LONDON MOTOR SHOW
It is the 21st October 1953, and the Duke of Edinburgh is to open the London Motor Show - an event that heralds the beginning of the post-war buyer’s market. Of course, Vauxhall buyers might still be awaiting delivery of the Wyvern or Velox they bought in 1947 and Morris dealers may still be fulfilling orders for the Minor placed in 1948.
MEET THE OWNER – ELTON MURPHY AND HIS OPEL COMMODORE GS
Just take a look at the veloured magnificence of that interior, with wooden decorations reminiscent of a top-of-the-range hostess trolley. Then, marvel at the vinyl roof, the matt black grille and those elaborate wheels. Elton Murphy’s Type B Opel Commodore GS is a very exclusive machine, the sort of car that should be driven by Stephen Greif or any other actor who played sun-shaded villains in 1970s television programmes,
70 YEARS OF VOLKSWAGEN IN THE UK
The 1953 London Motor Show marked the first time a British motorist could buy a German car since the Second World War, but the Beetle had been a presence on the UK’s roads for a number of years. VW had sold them to British service personnel in Germany for £150 during the late 1940s, and on demob, they were allowed to take their Beetles home.
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