Classic Cars January 2022

Pathé news footage of the 1962 Earls Court Motor Show picks out the Triumph Spitfire as one of the glittering new highlights awaiting the eager motorist, ‘Faster and altogether more luxurious than any sports car of the same price’, enthused the voiceover in typically clipped, received pronunciation. The £730 (at launch) sports car delivered 90mph from its twin-carburettor engine, and with independent rear suspension, comfortably eclipsed its slightly cheaper Austin-Healey Sprite/MG Midget rivals. With the Tornados’ Telstar topping America’s Billboard 100 and slashed car purchase tax kickstarting record UK car sales, these were exciting and groovy times, perfect for a car that offered much of the glamour of a Jaguar E-type for a third of the price. Unless you’d already started a family, why buy an Austin A40 or Ford Anglia…

Welcome As the Spitfire hits 60, we’re reminded of its colourful past, even when we’re looking at black and white pictures Pathé news footage of the 1962 Earls Court Motor Show picks out the Triumph Spitfire as one of the glittering new highlights awaiting the eager motorist, ‘Faster and altogether more luxurious than any sports car of the same price’, enthused the voiceover in typically clipped, received pronunciation. The £730 (at launch) sports car delivered 90mph from its twin-carburettor engine, and with independent rear suspension, comfortably eclipsed its slightly cheaper Austin-Healey Sprite/MG Midget rivals. With the Tornados’ Telstar topping America’s Billboard 100 and slashed car purchase tax kickstarting record UK car sales, these were exciting and groovy times, perfect for a car that offered much of the glamour of a…

[The List] Dodge Charger ‘The engine sells it… the exhaust is so, so loud’ The 1969 Dodge Charger seemed a world way to a young Rob Squire: five decades on he’s eager to discover whether the drive lives up to its muscle car image Words: EMMA WOODCOCK Photos: JONATHAN JACOB Your dream drive made real The garage door swings open to reveal an unrestored, factory-original 1969 Dodge Charger White Hat Special. Its timeworn Y2 Yellow body fills the unit, spanning 208 inches from the inset quad rear lights to where Robert Squire is standing, up against the staved-in front bumper. ‘Bloody hell,’ he laughs, ‘Does this thing go?’ It does. Sympathetically returned to the road by owner Dave McSherry of Brooklyn’s Auto Services (brooklynautoservices.com), the 43,000 mile coupé drives using…

Your dream drive made real The garage door swings open to reveal an unrestored, factory-original 1969 Dodge Charger White Hat Special. Its timeworn Y2 Yellow body fills the unit, spanning 208 inches from the inset quad rear lights to where Robert Squire is standing, up against the staved-in front bumper. ‘Bloody hell,’ he laughs, ‘Does this thing go?’ It does. Sympathetically returned to the road by owner Dave McSherry of Brooklyn’s Auto Services (brooklynautoservices.com), the 43,000 mile coupé drives using the vast majority of its original parts. ‘I want to capture the feeling of first driving off the Colorado Springs forecourt in June 1969,’ says Rob. Today he’ll take the wheel to discover whether the Charger lives up to his American dream. ‘The B-body Dodge was an object of absolute fascination when…

ROBERT’S TOP TEN Jaguar XK-SS ‘Fast even today: 4.2 seconds to 60mph with the right differential. Can you imagine driving one back in the Fifties?’ AC Cobra 427 ‘A wild child! I’ve tried a 289 but the 7.0-litre would be a real challenge’ Jaguar E-type Lightweight ‘An amazing feat for a small Coventry manufacturer and quicker than a Ferrari 250GTO. Sublime’ Jaguar XJ13 ‘With that V12 engine this would be some kind of car at full chat!’ Lotus Esprit V8 ‘A proper Lotus engine with an unfair reputation - and I love the Peter Stevens styling’ Lamborghini Miura ‘The schoolboy image on the wall. Beauty second only to an E-type’ Lotus Europa ‘The big-valve John Player Special version, a car you wear and it can blow the doors off an…

Jaguar XK-SS ‘Fast even today: 4.2 seconds to 60mph with the right differential. Can you imagine driving one back in the Fifties?’ AC Cobra 427 ‘A wild child! I’ve tried a 289 but the 7.0-litre would be a real challenge’ Jaguar E-type Lightweight ‘An amazing feat for a small Coventry manufacturer and quicker than a Ferrari 250GTO. Sublime’ Jaguar XJ13 ‘With that V12 engine this would be some kind of car at full chat!’ Lotus Esprit V8 ‘A proper Lotus engine with an unfair reputation - and I love the Peter Stevens styling’ Lamborghini Miura ‘The schoolboy image on the wall. Beauty second only to an E-type’ Lotus Europa ‘The big-valve John Player Special version, a car you wear and it can blow the doors off an Elan on track’ Allard J2 ‘I drove one with Cherry Bombs back in the Eighties. Rev the engine…