Despite the fact that the MGB and Midget soldiered on through the 70s with few changes (except for those mandated by increasingly more stringent safety regulations) it doesn’t mean that the crew at Abingdon wasn’t hard at work on developing new models for sale alongside – or in place of – those stalwarts. Due to…
Little known in the United States, the MGB Costello V8 is admired as one of the most historically important variants of the car produced. A skilled engineer and talented racing driver, Ken Costello saw a need to increase the performance of the standard MGB without resorting to measures that would adversely affect reliability. Costello considered…
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…
With the moniker of Mr. Big Healey, John Chatham has earned his status as one of the storied marque’s most legendary men. Across four decades, Chatham piloted DD300 – an Austin-Healey 3000 – on tracks around the world and became famous as one of the fastest drivers of the era. Chatham’s father purchased a garage…
For those of you with teenage girls at home, no doubt you’ve heard Meghan Trainor warble, “it’s all about that bass” from an iPod or similar device. Well, for classic cars you can substitute provenance for bass and you’ll understand how the market works. That inimitable history was enough to lift this 1949 MG TC…
Among the early acolytes to the Healey faith – and certainly among the most well known at the time – Jackie Cooper was an ardent admirer of Donald Healey and his machines. From the first introduction of the iconic 100 in 1953, Cooper used the car for both transportation and competition in an era when…
For Triumph enthusiasts, words cannot properly describe the singular importance of Giovanni Michelotti to the success and survival of the company in the Sixties and Seventies. Constantly hindered by limited development funds and hampered by a confused management situation, Michelotti’s designs enabled Triumph to differentiate itself from its competitors by offering an entirely different sense…
More than fifty years have passed since the iconic MGB debuted at the London Motor Show at Earl’s Court in 1962. During the years since it became the best selling sports car in the world – later surpassed by the Mazda Miata – and evolved into one of the most cherished (and accessible) classics in…
Premier vintage racing events like the Monterey Motorsports Reunion (née The Historics) and Silverstone represent the closest that we can come to transporting ourselves back in time to watch the greats battle it out on the track. In period, however, the vehicles on the track were weapons grade tools that were only as valuable as they…
There are some people that spend their retirement doing yard work or reading quietly in a favorite chair. After 30 years as an engineer, James King decided to try and turn his hobby into a business with more success than most have in their regular careers. King Triumphs made its reputation performing TR6 restorations and…
