The History of British Sports Cars

The British sports car boom began with a shortage. Steel was rationed after the war, and manufacturers were told they would get none unless they exported 75 per cent of their cars. North America became the market that mattered. MG's TC, announced in 1945 and based on the pre-war TB, reached exactly 10,000 cars by 1949, and nearly 2,000 went to the United States. Jaguar followed with the XK120, launched at the 1948 London Motor Show with a 3.4-litre twin-cam six. Of 12,061 built, most were sold in America, helping to establish Jaguar as a leading imported brand.

The E-type made its world debut in Geneva, at the time of the motor show, on 15 March 1961. Demand for test drives was so strong that Norman Dewis drove a second car overnight from Coventry, and Jaguar left Geneva with more than 500 orders. Malcolm Sayer shaped the body, and the D-type racer's central tub evolved into a half monocoque enclosing the cabin and rear of the car, with a new independent rear suspension fixed to the shell. The 3.8-litre XK six gave way to a 4.2 in 1964, and the Series 3 brought a V12. Jaguar built 72,512 E-types by 1974.

Below Jaguar sat the cars more people could afford. The MGB arrived in 1962 with a unitary body and a 1,798 cc B-series engine; the Pininfarina-styled GT followed in 1965, and 513,276 MGBs were built by 1980. Triumph's TR line began with the TR2 of 1953, and its separate chassis lineage ran to the Karmann-restyled TR6, built from 1969 to 1976 with a 2.5-litre six, fuel-injected for Britain and carburetted for America. The Austin-Healey 3000 of 1959 to 1967 used BMC's 2,912 cc C-series six, and Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom drove one to win the 1960 Liège-Rome-Liège rally.

British makers carried racing lessons to the road. Jaguar developed disc brakes with Dunlop, and at Le Mans in 1953 its C-types finished first, second and fourth, the winners averaging over 100 mph for the first time in the race's history. Colin Chapman took a different route to speed. His Lotus Seven of 1957 was built to the rule of simplify, then add lightness, and his Elan of 1962 put a glass-reinforced composite body on a steel backbone chassis with a twin-cam engine, soon enlarged to 1,558 cc. Records are incomplete, but Lotus built roughly 9,000 to 12,000 Elans from 1962 to 1973.

American safety and emissions rules shaped the 1970s. MGBs gained black impact-resistant bumpers to meet US safety legislation, and British Leyland lacked the money to keep re-engineering older designs for emissions standards. The Austin-Healey 3000 had already ended in 1967, the E-type followed in 1974 and the TR6 in 1976. The last MGB, a white roadster, left the Abingdon line on 22 October 1980, and the factory closed two days later. Some traditions never stopped. Caterham bought the rights to build and develop the Seven from Chapman in 1973 and still builds it in Britain.

Most of these cars are over 40, so they can join the historic vehicle tax class and are exempt from the MOT unless substantially changed, though they must still be roadworthy; check the current rules on GOV.UK. Historic-class cars and anything built before 1973 are also exempt from London's ULEZ. Parts support is strong: British Motor Heritage makes MGB and Midget bodyshells on original factory tooling. Rust is the main enemy, so check the sills and floors. Classic And Retro Autos in Witton Gilbert offers welding and fabrication, including correcting poor previous repairs, from £80 an hour plus VAT.

513,276 MGBs were built between 1962 and 1980, including 125,282 GTs, before the Abingdon factory closed in October 1980. That volume is one reason parts supply is so good today: British Motor Heritage still makes complete MGB roadster and GT bodyshells using the original factory press tooling and assembly jigs.

From March 1961, when it was unveiled in Geneva at the time of the motor show, until 1974. It began with a 3.8-litre six, moved to a 4.2-litre six in 1964 and ended as the V12 Series 3. Jaguar's heritage trust records 72,512 E-types built across the whole run, in open two-seater, fixed-head coupé and 2+2 forms.

Jaguar developed disc brakes with Dunlop, and at Le Mans in 1953 its C-types finished first, second and fourth, the winners averaging over 100 mph for the first time. Colin Chapman built his Lotus Seven of 1957 to the rule of simplify, then add lightness, and his Elan put a glass-reinforced composite body on a steel backbone chassis.

Several pressures arrived together in the 1970s. American safety and emissions rules demanded constant changes, such as the MGB's impact bumpers, and British Leyland lacked the money to keep re-engineering ageing designs. MG's Abingdon factory closed in October 1980, though Caterham has built the Lotus Seven since buying the rights in 1973.