In time all Reliant 3-wheelers, including the earlier Regal and later Rialto, came to be commonly called “Reliant Robins,” (or worse – “Robin Reliants”) so familiar were they in the fabric of U.K. life. In…
Browsing Category British Cars
Ace Archbishop: Ford Cortina Mk1 GT
In the 1950s, English Fords had done quite well in the USA, but aside from the Anglia they had been swept aside by the Falcon. But the Falcon didn’t compete directly with the smallest cars…
Triumph TR3: Hard Core
Triumph’s legendary TR3, in fact, all post-war Triumphs, probably wouldn’t have happened if not for an argument between Sir John Black and William Lyons. Former Humber man Black had revived a nearly moribund Standard in…
The David Brown legend: Aston DB2/4 Drophead
Keen on speed from a young age, David Brown was a natural fit for Aston-Martin. Though his father didn’t drive, he grew up around the family business – David Brown & Sons – founded by…
BMC’s Finned Farinas: Austin A55 Cambridge
The story of the big BMC Farina cars starts with the 1952 merger of the Nuffield Organization (Morris, MG, Riley, and Wolseley) and Austin into BMC. Rationalizing the disparate array of cars the combine now…
The First Escort: Dagenham’s Little Wagon
The Escort name would later be famous as the 1960s European Mk1 and the 1980s North American front-driver, but this little wagon was the original Ford Escort, way back in 1955. Ford of England had…
Airborne Armor: Land Rover 1/2-ton Lightweight
It’s a Land Rover alright, but of a very particular kind – it’s called the “half ton lightweight,” although it’s actually not as light as the name or materials used would imply. The story of…
Triumph Stag: The Complicated Web
What became the troubled Triumph Stag started off as a simple request from Giovanni Michelotti to Triumph design chief Harry Webster. Michelotti had strong links to Triumph and wanted a donor car for use in…
Lotus’ New Looks: 1976 Lotus Eclat
In early 1973, the Lotus lineup was familiar – Elan, Elan +2, Europa, Seven. By the time of the Paris Motor Show in October, 1975, it was unrecognizable. For some months, Lotus’ only production car…
John Black to the Rescue: 1935 Standard 10
“Standard” came to mean something else entirely by the 1950s and mirrored today’s definition of “basic” by the 1960s, but in the early days of the Standard Motor Company, it meant “having standards,” or possibly…
Balchder Cymru: 1964 Gilbern GT
Ydych chi’n siarad Cymraeg? Today’s rare treat is a Gilbern GT – rare in its homeland, and almost entirely unknown in North America. Gilbern was a Welsh manufacturer of small sports cars, based in the…
Barker Boattail: 1931 Bentley 8 Litre
This imposing Barker-bodied Bentley 8 Litre was one of the highlights of yesterday’s kickoff of the Pebble Beach Motoring Classic – a drive from Washington down to the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which is…