Most automotive enthusiasts appreciate the innate differences between sports cars from America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom even if they are unable to articulate what makes them unique. Even the casual car guy can tell you that American muscle cars have large displacement engines; Italian engines make their power with lots of…
I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning I sleep alone Sweep the streets I used to roam — From Viva La Vida by Coldplay I spend way…
Dick Jacobs already had an MG dealership and was an established racer when he was asked to drive one of the prototype alloy-bodied MGA racers in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955 by his friends in the BMC Competition Department at Abingdon.The race, however, was ill-fated for almost all concerned and shortly after…
Later today the checkered flag will fall once more to mark the start of another 24 Hours of Le Mans. As many of you may have read in the most recent edition of Moss Motoring, British sports cars have had a long and (sometimes tragic) association with the great race. Perhaps the single event most…
No less a personage than Top Gear presenter James May considers the Triumph Mayflower the ugliest car of all time. The first monocoque Triumph was designed by Leslie Moore who was the Design Chief at Mulliners (responsible for much of the coachwork for Rolls-Royce and Bentley) and was given an interpretation of Triumph’s pre-war razor edge…
Let’s talk about period British sports car advertisements. Going through some images recently I came across these period advertisements for some of our favorite British sports cars. Taking a moment to look at them and admire the images, I was struck by something unusual. Namely, I was taken aback at how small the individuals depicted…
Almost ten years before the Mazda Miata would rekindle the world’s affection for small roadsters, Tony Stevens wanted to produce an affordable alternative to the designs offered by larger manufacturers. Stevens, who had been an engineer at the Rootes Group, working on various Sunbeam, Humber and Hillman designs had already dabbled in the small manufacturer waters…
The Indianapolis 500 might be considered America’s greatest race, but Britain has left an indelible mark on the legendary contest with multiple victories for both cars and drivers, and countless compelling story lines to enliven the story of the greatest spectacle in motorsport. The first British citizen to win the race was Dario Resta…
About a million years ago, we purchased a small competitor named Start Your Engines, located in Beltsville, MD. The deal included the usual stuff, like parts, mailing lists, and some employees. Okay, so we didn’t actually buy the employees, but one of them, in the form of our ace catalog man, Eric Wilhelm, has stayed…
To read the first part of this series, click the following link: Part 1 In which Sam Bennett continues his story of life in the MG factory during the emergence of the MG sports car. By Marcham Rhoade I carried on working in the rectification department for some time on the J2s being produced at…
