ROVER P4 75 'CYCLOPS'!! UK!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1949 until 1954

Engine installed 2,106 cc Straight Six

Top speed of 85 mph (137km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 21.6 secs

The Rover P4 75 chassis & engine were used by two ex-Rover engineers to create the two-seater Marauder sports car - but the failed to make a success of it & only 15 roadsters & coupes were actually produced in two years from 1950 before the chastened would be entrepreneurs rejoined Rover.

ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER DAWN!! UK!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1949 until 1955

Engine installed 4,257 cc or 4,566 cc Straight Six

Top speed of 94 mph (151 km/h)' 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 15.2 secs

Thanks to inexperience with pressed-steel bodywork, coupled with the poor quality of postwar materials available to car makers, the legendary Rolls-Royce build quality was somewhat compromised & (shock, horror!) Silver Dawns were prone to serious rust problems.

RILEY RM!! UK!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1945 until 1955

Engine installed 1,496 cc or 2,443 cc Straight Four

Varied by model, but the RMB could reach 90 mph (145km/h) & accelerate from 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 16.8 secs

There is a very active Riley RM owners' club in Britain that stages annual rallies, often at impressive 'stately home' locations like Sandringham, where it's possible to secure a ride (& perhaps even a drive) in one of these enduring classics.

PORSCHE 356!! Germany!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by Germany

First manufactured in Year 1949 until 1955

Engine installed 1,131 cc, 1,286 cc or 1,488 cc Flat Four

Top speed increased with engine size, but for early models was 84 mph (135km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 12.5 secs

The car in which James Dean died in 1955 was a Porsche 550 Spyder, a car that was actually derived from the 356 Speedster - whose track successes had prompted Porsche to develop the 550 specifically for racing purposes.

OLDSMOBILE FUTURAMIC 88!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured by 1949 until 1950

Engine installed 5.0 I (303 cid) OHV V8

Top speed of 90 mph; 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 12.2 secs

Valuable publicity was always given to the pace car selected for the high-profile Indianapolis 500 race at the historic Brickyard - & in 1949 that honour went to an Oldsmobile Futuramic 88.

NASH AIRFLYTE!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1949 until 1951

Engine installed 2.8 I (171 cid) (600/ Statesman); 3.8 I (232 cid) (Ambassador)

Top speed of 89 mph (143km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 17.4 decs

The first thing anyone who drives an Airflyte today discovers is that enclosed wheels can only swivel so far, resulting in a very wide turning circle & difficulty in negotiating hairpin bends - & salesman in 1949 even had a job persuading would-be buyers that flat tyres could be changed

MORRIS MINOR!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1948 until 1971

Engine installed 918 cc Straight Four (Series 1)

Series 1 had a top speed of 60 mph (97 km/h)

The names Morris Minor (& later Minor Thousand) undoubtedly have a familiar ring but they might well have sounded strange to modern ears had the original name been kept - the prototype was known as the 'Morris Mosquito', though this was wisely dropped.

MERCURY 1949!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1949 until 1951

Engine installed 4.2 I (256 cid) V8

Top speed of 105 mph (169 km/h)

From the start, one of the chief selling points of Mercury cars was their high performance, echoing the model name (Mercury was the speedy winged messenger of Greek mythology) & easily outrunning Fords V8s with the same motor, as a result of Mercury's careful engine-tuning programme.

MASERATI A6!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by Italy

First manufactured in Year 1947 until 1953

Engine installed 1,488 cc (A6 1500), 1,982 cc (A6GCS) Straight Six

Top speed of 95 mph (153 km/h)

During World War II an unseemly race developed between Maserati & Volkswagen to develop the first prestigious V16 town car for their respective dictators, Benito Mussolini & Adolf Hitler - but neither succeeded.

LINCOLN CONTINENTAL!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1940 until 1948

Engine installed 4.8 I (293 cid) V12

Top speed of barely 70 mph (113 km/h)

Wdsel Ford was so pleased with the reaction to his custom-built Continental that he brashly claimed that he could sell a thousand instantly - but in fact when production of the first series ended in 1948 just over two thousand had been made, though World War II may have had something to do with the shortfall.

LAND ROVER SERIES 1!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1948 until 1958

Engine installed 1,595 or 1,997 cc Straight Four petrol; 1,997 cc Straight Four diesel

Up to 65 mph (2 litre models)

Nobody at Rover ever actually said it, but the message must have been glaringly obvious to buyers of early Series 1 Land Rovers - you can have any colour you like as long as it's Army-surplus green.

KURTIS SPORT!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1948 until 1950

Engine installed mostly the 3.9 I (239 cid) Ford V8 (but other motors could be & were fitted)

Top speed of up to 140 mph (225km/h) depending in engine

Frank Kurtis tried again in the mid-1950s, producing a few 500M production sports cars, based on this 1953 Indy-winning design, that were mostly given fibreglass roadster bodies - but sadly they didn't catch on & Kurtis was to end his automotive days building lumbering airport service vehicles.

JAGUAR XK 120!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1948 until 1954

Engine installed 3,442 cc DOHC Straight Six

Top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) in road trim; 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 10 secs

The best place to chase an XK 120 is America - over three-quarters of the production run consisted of left-hand drive versions destined for the car's admirer (including Humphrey Bogart & many other Hollywood stars) in the United States.

HUMBER HAWK!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1945 until 1949

Engine installed 1,944 cc Sidevalve Straight Four

Top speed of 65 mph (105 km/h)

The Hawk went on to better things after humble beginnings, continuing to evolve as a genuine premium brand within the Rootes stable - the Series I to IVA Hawks continuing until Rootes finally abandoned a decade later.

HUDSON COMMODORE EIGHT!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1941 until 1952

Engine installed 4.1 I (254 cid) Straight Eight

Top speed of 91 mph (146km/h)

Those third generation 'step-down' Commodores were very well built & still drive beautifully today, representing great value for money as drivable classics with good original examples available for well under $50,000.

HRG 1500 AERO!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1945 until 1947

Engine installed 1,496 cc Straight Four

Top speed of 100 mph (161km/h)

HRG also made an 1100 version of their fabled competition car, with tuned engines borrowed from Singer's Nine Tourer (the 1500 engine came from the Twelve Saloon) & though only some 250 cars were made during two decades their build quality may be judged by the fact that some 225 are still around.

HEALEY SILVERSTONE!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1949 until 1950

Engine installed 2,443 cc Straight Four

Top speed of 113 mph (182km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 11 secs

Although almost all Silverstones came with Healey's enhanced 'fits everything' Riley 2.4 I four-cylinder engine, the inevitable quest to be faster than everyone else led to a few late models being fitted with a 3.0 I Alvis Straight-six engine.

CADILLAC CUSTOM CONVERTIBLE!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1940

Engine installed 5.7I (346 cid) V8

Top speed was around 95 mph (153 km/h)

The surviving Cadillac Custom Convertible was the subject of a full ground-up restoration in 1990 & this beautiful piece of automotive history is now in immaculate concours-winning condition.

HEALEY SPORTSMOBILE!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1948 until 1950

Engine installed 2,443 cc Straight Four

Top speed of 105 mph (164km/h)

Bearing in mind that only 23 were ever made, the Healey advertising campaign for the Sportsmobile rather disingenuously stated that 'in spite of the demands of the export markets a limited number of these superb cars is now available for home delivery'.

FRAZER MANHATTAN!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1947 until 1951

Engine installed 3.7 I (226 cid) Straight Six

Top speed around 75 mph (121km/h)

Kaiser-Fraser automobiles were built at Willow Run, the world's then-largest building, which had been constructed by the US Government & used by Henry Ford to build B-24 Liberator bombers - after the War Ford had no further interest in the facility & Kaiser-Frazer was able to secure a cheap lease.

FORD 1949 CUSTOM!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1949

Engine installed 3.7 I (226 cid) Straight Six; 3.9 I (239 cid) V8

Top speed was around 90 mph (120km/h) for the V8

Today's restore-and-drive enthusiasts generally feel that the 1949 Custom sedans are rather ordinary & much prefer the other body styles, which are highly sought after.

FERRARI 166 INTER!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by Italy

First manufactured in Year 1948 until 1950

Engine installed 1,995 cc V12

Top speed of 106 mph (170km/h) with a 0-60 mph (97km/h) time of 10 secs

The famous Ferrari Prancing Horse motif was originally the emblem of leading Italian World War I fighter ace Francesco Baracca - It was removed from the wreckage of his mysterious death crash & acquired by Enzo Ferrari in 1923.

CROSLEY HOT SHOT!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1949 until 1952

Engine installed 0.75 I (45.8 cid) Straight Four

Top speed of 77 mph (124km/h) for models without a supercharger

When ge first began marketing his cars in 1939, Powel Crosley distributed many of them through the appliance stores that sold his radios & refrigerators - with prices for the basic economy models starting as low as $299.

CITROEN 2CV!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by France

First manufactured in Year 1948

Engine installed 375 cc Flat Twin

Top speed of early models was 39 mph (63km/h)

The 2CV was so popular upon launch that there was soon a three-year waiting list, quickly rising to five years, ensuring that buyers who couldn't wait had to pay considerably more than price of a new car for their covered transport.

CISITALIA 202!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by Italy

First manufactured in Year 1947 until 1952

Engine installed 1,089 cc Straight Four

Top speed of 105 mph (169km/h)

The Cisitalia business conglomerate was controlled by industrialist Piero Dusio, a sportsman who completed in the 1952 Italian Formula One world championship race driving one of his own Cisitalia D46s - but sadly he failed to qualify & attempts to create a proper Grand Prix car bankrupted the company.

CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1941 until 1950

Engine installed 4.1 I (250.6 cid) Straight Six, 5.3 I (323.5 cid) Straight Eight

Top speed around 75 mph (120km/h) depending on model

The wooden body was too difficult for Chrysler's body provider to fabricate, & cynics suggest Chrysler boss Dave Wallace devised the Town & Country to keep the chosen external supplier in business - this was Pekin Wood Products of Arkansas (whose president happened to be certain Dave Wallace).

CHEVROLET AK PICKUP TRUCK!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1941 until 1942

Engine installed 3.5 I (216 cid) or 3.8 I (235.5 cis) Straight Six

Top speed was around 65 mph (105km/h) depending on engine & gearing.

One popular choice with country boys was the Chevy Pickup with a 6.17:1 rear axle married to the more powerful Load Master Six Engine - a meaty combination that carried a self-explanatory 'Stump Puller' nickname.

CADILLAC SERIES SIXTY-TWO!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Yea 1941 until 1958

Engine installed 5.7 I (346 cid) sidevalve V8 or 5.4 I (331 cid) OHV V8

Top speed was up to 95 mph (153km/h), depending on model.

During 1948 two fabulous custom-built Saoutchik Cadillac Sixty-Two drophead coupes were created in Paris costing $70,000 apiece (when the standard model sold for $2,837) - a black-and-violet beauty for a New York furrier & a glitzy white-and-violet number for Hollywood star Dolores del Rio.

BUICK SUPER!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1940 until 1958

Engine installed 4.3 I (263 cid) Straight Eight

Top speed approached 100 mph (161km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in around 11 secs

Ford & Buick shared a 50th birthday in 1953, but whilst Ford celebrated its Golden Anniversary with a year of glitzy special events, Buick's sober approach was to introduce power steering, 12 volt electrics & the new OHV V8 Fireball engines for its Super & Roadmaster cars.

BRISTOL 400!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1947 until 1950

Engine installed 1,971 cc Straight Six

Top speed of 82 mph (132km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 19.7 secs

Developed versions of the splendid prewar BMW 328 straight six engine would continue to power all Bristol cars until the company switched to Chrysler V8 engines in 1961.

AUSTIN A90 ATLANTIC!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1948 until 1952

Engine installed 2,660 cc Straight Four

A top speed of 92 mph (148km/h) was claimed, with a 0-60 mph (97km/h) time of 16.6 secs

The A90 was not replaced when it was discontinued, though the engine lived on in the classic Austin Healey 100 sports car & another Austin A90 appeared in 1954 - though this was the entirely different Westminster model.

ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY HURRICANE!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1945 until 1953

Engine installed 1,991 cc or 2,309 cc Straight Six

Top speed of 70 mph (120km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 29.7 secs (Hurricane 16)

Those driving Hurricanes on today's road often use cars with retro-fitted overdrive gearboxes, as the low-geared originals are not ideal for high-speed cruising on dual carriageways & motorways.

ALLARD J2/J2X!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1949 until 1954

Engine installed assorted American Ford V8s 3.6 I (220 cid) to 5.4 I (331 cid)

Top speed varied according to the engine, but was typically around 120 mph (193km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in 7.4 secs

One American driver who raced an Allard was Carroll Shelby, who subsequently used the formula of light British sports car body teamed with beefy American engine to create the iconic AC Cobra.

VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by Germany (later also manufactured in Brazil)

First manufactured in Year 1938

Engine installed 985 cc eventually uprated to 1,303 cc (four sizes in between) Flat Four

The early Type 1s could reach 71 mph (115km/h)

After World War II the Volkswagen factory was offered (free!) to American, British & French motor manufacturers. They all turned it down, Ford dismissing the car as 'not worth a damn' & Britain's Sir William Rootes describing the Beetle as 'too ugly & too noisy'... hindsight, anyone?

TALBOT-LAGO T150C SS!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by France

First manufactured in Year 1937 until 1939

Engine installed 3,966 cc Straight Six

Top speed around 115 mph (185km/h)

The Teardrop's competition potential was dramatically proved when a car straight from the showroom was placed third in the 1938 Le Mans 24 race - a huge achievement.

STUTZ DV32!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1930 until 1936

Engine installed 5.3 I (322 cid) Straight Eight

Super Bearcat version had a top speed over 100 mph (160km/h) while sedans reached 90 mph (145km/h)

Despite the switch to luxury cars from the mid-1920s, Stutz still produced racers good enough to give Bentley a run for the money at Le Mans in 1928 & perform with distinction on the American stockcar circuit.

STUTZ BEARCAT!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1914 until 1924

Engine installed 59 I (360.8 cid) T head Straight Four

The original Bearcat could reach 81 mph (130km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in around 29 secs

A Bearcat set a coast-to-coast record in 1916, traveling from San Francisco to New York in 11 days over terrible roads - this feat became known as the Cannonball Run, inspiring both cutlaw imitations & movies about outlaw imitations.

STUDEBAKER CHAMPION!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1939 until 1958

Engine installed 2.7 I (165 cid) Straight Six

Early models were capable of 78 mph (125km/h)

So good was the Straight Six engine first used in 1939 Champions that it was fitted to the wartime Studebaker M29 Weasel cargo/ personnel carrier & was still in use for the 1964 model year (after on OHV makeover in 1961).

ALFA ROMEO 6C 2500 SUPER SPORT!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by Italy

First manufactured in Year 1939 until 1951

Engine installed 2,443 cc Straight Six

Non-competition models reached a top speed of 103 mph (165km/h)

A rare handful of Competizione variants of the 6C 2500 were especially prepared for racing - one of which won the 1947 Mille Miglia, recording Alfa Romeo's last victory in Italy's famous road race.

STUDEBAKER LAND CRUISER!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1934 until 1936

Engine installed 4.0 I (230 cid) Straight Eight (President); 3.6 I (221 cid) Straight Eight (Commander); 3.4 I (205 cid) Straight Six (Dictator)

The President Land Cruiser could reach 90 mph (145km/h)

The centerpiece of Studebaker's display at the Chicago World's Fair of 1933-34 was a massive model Land Cruiser, painted yellow, that was 80ft (24m) long, 28ft (8.5m) tall & 30ft (9m) wide... typifying the imagination the company to trade out of bankruptcy.

STUDEBAKER PRESIDENT EIGHT!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1928 until 1933

Engine installed 5.5 I (337 cid), 4.0 I (250 cid) sidevalve Straight Eight

Up to 90 mph (145km/h) depending on body style

One of the Sudebaker model lines than ran alongside the President in the 1930s was the Dictator... a not altogether admirable choice of name at a time when Mussolini & Hitler were busy strutting their stuff in Europe.

SS JAGUAR 100!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1935 until 1940

Engine installed 2,563 cc or 3,485 cc OHV Straight Six

Top speed of 101 mph (163km/h); 0-60 mph (97km/h) in under 11 secs

Although the SS 100 bore the model name Jaguar, it was only in 1945 that SS cars officially became Jaguar Cars as the company was renamed after its popular pre-war model - a move dictated by the negative connotation of 'SS', which had become indelibly associated with Nazi horror.

RUXTON!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by USA

First manufactured in Year 1930

Engine installed 4.4 I (268 cis) Straight Eight

Top speed around 80 mph (130km/h)

The Ruxton was named after potential investor William V C Ruxton, but the plan backfired in spectacular fashion when he not only failed to put up any money but also sued, to make it clear that he had nothing to do with the car or the shambles surrounding its construction & demise.

ROLLS-ROYCE WRAITH!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1938 until 1939

Engine installed 4,257 cc Straight Six

Top speed of 85mph (137km/h)

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was never one to hide his light under a bushel, & the great wartime commander liked to be seen out & about around Deep Cut army camp in his Wraith (vanity registration number FLD 99), which had a rare touring limousine body by Park Ward.

ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM III!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1936 until 1939

Engine installed 7,338 cc OHV V12

Typical Limousine-bodied cars could do around 90mph (163km/h) & go from 6-60 mph (97km/h) in 17 secs.

Despite introducing The Pjantom III's highly successfully V12 in 1936, it would be 1998 before Rolls-Royce returned to this engine format with the delectable Silver Seraph.

ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER GHOST!!

Blog by Gmy.

Origin by UK

First manufactured in Year 1907 until 1926

Engine installed 7,036 cc or 7,428 cc Straight Six

Late models with lightweight bodies reached 85 mph (137km/h)

To take full advantage of the world's most important car-buying market, over 1,700 Silver Ghosts were produced at the Rolls-Royce company's American factory in Springfield, Massachusetts between 1921 & 1926.