Introduced in October 1953, the AC Ace was essentially a reworked version of LOY 500, the handsome John Tojeiro-designed sports racer with which motor trader Cliff Davis had notched up six wins and four seconds that season (in addition to placing 9th overall at the Goodwood Nine Hours). Lured into […]
Author: Paul Hardiman
Paul Hardiman has written for a variety of British car magazines since 1983. His motorsport career includes racing in the Goodwood Revival and navigating everything from an A35 to a 300SLR. He has been SCM’s English-car specialist since 2007.
1970 Aston Martin DB6 Mk II
Two things kept the price down: British buyers are notoriously suspicious of automatics in “sporty” cars; and it was presented on a cheap set of tires The culmination of Aston Martin’s long-running line of “DB” 6-cylinder sports saloons, the DB6 was introduced in 1965. Aston Martin lengthened the wheelbase by […]
1968 Lotus 51R
Even if another road racer comes along claiming to be the Flower Power car, this one wears the right chassis and registration numbers {vsig}2009-7_2346{/vsig} Formula Ford was introduced in Great Britain in 1967 as a new form of poor man’s motor racing. Written into its regulations was the requirement for […]
1954 Arnolt-Bristol Bolide
This car had come straight out of a $55,000 restoration and the restorer was on hand on sale day to answer questions, which always helps Stanley Harold “Wacky” Arnolt made a fortune selling engines and other equipment to the armed forces during WWII. A lifelong motorhead, he set up SH […]
1939 Jaguar SS 100 3½-Liter Roadster
Any patina has been lost in a slightly over-shiny restoration and repaint, though it does have a big history file and is eligible for many prestige events {vsig}2009-5_2320{/vsig} Launched for 1936, the SS 100 was the first real high-performance model produced by SS Cars Limited, and used a new Weslake-developed […]
1976 Lotus Esprit S1
Even if the “real”-or “other,” if you prefer-Lotus appeared in most of the action shots, we can fairly say this car has Bond film provenance {vsig}2009-3_2298{/vsig} The Lotus Esprit was unveiled as the Silver Car concept at the Turin Motor Show in November 1972. Based on a Europa twin-cam chassis, […]
1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Re-creation
I doubt whether anybody could tell the difference between this and aSanction II without looking at the chassis number {vsig}2009-2_2281{/vsig} The competition variant of the legendary Aston Martin DB4, the DB4GT, was introduced in September 1959 at the London Motor Show. It was based on the race-winning prototype DP199/1, which […]
1997 McLaren F1
The buyer wouldn’t be beaten. He replied “Yo” to each raise of $150,000, all the way to $4 million, winning a lot of affection from the crowd No ABS. No traction control. No power steering. No airbags. No add-on spoilers. The McLaren F1 didn’t need them. The thinking man’s supercar […]
1938 Horch 853 Special Roadster
Though the 853 bears an uncanny resemblance to the legendary Mercedes-Benz 540K, and has a similar output, values lag behind the better-known car Horch is one of the four companies that merged to form Auto Union, from which the present-day Audi descends. After training as a blacksmith and qualifying as […]
1936 Lagonda LG45R Rapide
It always used to come to us in November, to be readied for the Mille Miglia, and it’s a gutsy car that hasn’t been tarted up for Pebble Beach {vsig}2008-11_2246{/vsig} Lagonda introduced the 4½-liter M45 at the 1933 London Motor Show. With its overhead-valve 6-cylinder Meadows engine, here was a […]