So as we spear through some Brands Hatch curves in our frisky four-seater tin-tops, jostling for position as familiar car-faces fill our rear-view mirrors, we can imagine what those drivers must have felt half a century ago when roll angles were high, inside front wheels waved in the air and drifts were the natural way of cornering.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Compared with today\u2019s hot road cars, all taut sinews, clamped-to-the-road grip and power-steered virtual reality, these Sixties machines are an exercise in flow, mid-bend mobility, vast variations in steering weight and total driver immersion in that broad, sepia-tinted zone between grip and no grip. But different cars did very different things in that zone, illustrated by the five examples here.<\/p>\n
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All are road cars that wear their racing credentials with varying degrees of seriousness. Softest and most showroom-similar is the Ford Mustang, represented here in the correct notchback shape but with a mild version of the 4.7-litre V8 that powered the racing versions, and mere drum brakes behind those fierce imitation spinners. Most track-honed is the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA Stradale, the road version of the aluminium-panelled hot rod that tore European Championship honours away from the Lotus Cortina. We have one of those, too, in early pre-Aeroflow guise with aluminium panels and A-bracket rear suspension.<\/p>\n
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\u2018The nose darts into a corner as though following grooves in the track.\u2019<\/p>\n
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And at our size extremes we have a Jaguar Mk2 3.8, the oldest car here (1959) and featuring a light dusting of Coombs-style modifications to reflect one of the greatest entrants of the race versions. Its dimensional opposite is a Morris Mini Cooper S, here in ultra-rare, homologation-special 970cc guise and sporting some period sporting enhancements: check out those \u2018rose-petal\u2019 wheels, the Microcell bucket seat and more.<\/p>\n
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Let battle-fantasy commence\u2026<\/p>\n
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ALFA ROMEO GIULIA SPRINT GTA<\/h4>\n
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A lot of we car-enthusiast types like 105-series Alfa Giulias, be they GTs, GTVs or whatever. A GTA, however, is outside the experience of most of us. Replicas or tributes, to varying degrees of accuracy, are more common, while genuine GTA race cars are merely rare. But a proper Stradale road version is a precious find indeed \u2013 the more so given the past tendency for original Stradali to have become racers themselves over time.<\/p>\n
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That could have been the plan for this one, given that it had been lightly modified for a Tour Auto entry in the past. But it was structurally unmolested and came with its vital original, GTA-unique trim parts that are too often lost. \u2018So many original GTAs have been bastardised,\u2019 says Max Banks of Alfaholics, which has restored this example beautifully, \u2018so the decision was made to put it back to factory specification.\u2019 From which the only departures are a pair of more adventurous camshafts, helping towards an output of around 150bhp rather than the factory\u2019s claim of 115bhp, and Alfaholics\u2019 own limited-slip differential \u2013 which is a copy of the Autodelta racing original.<\/p>\n
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Ah yes, Autodelta. This was Alfa\u2019s competition arm, run by Carlo Chiti, which developed the GTA to attack the European Touring Car Championship. The \u2018A\u2019 part stood for Alleggerita (\u2018lighter\u2019), achieved to the tune of more than 200kg thanks mainly to simplified and lightened trim, no soundproofing, Perspex door and rear-side windows, magnesium wheels and, most importantly, Peralumen 25 aluminium skin panels, mainly riveted to steel inner panels of thinner-than-standard gauge. The driveshafts and even some of the bolts are rifle-drilled, trim strips are thinner, the upper rear suspension arm is aluminium; the list is huge, to the extent that few components are shared with the regular Sprint.<\/p>\n
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1570cc engine delivers 115bhp in road trim \u2013 racers had 150bhp<\/p>\n
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The engine gained larger Weber carburettors with 45mm instead of 40mm throttle butterflies, plus a new cylinder head with significantly bigger valves and two spark plugs set between each pair of them. That factory 115bhp sounds modest given that it took little to raise this to 150bhp for racing \u2013 as mirrored in the example we\u2019re playing with today, which is owned by Adam Burstow.<\/p>\n
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The GTA proved quick in its launch year, 1965, but the Cortinas prevailed. For 1966, Autodelta prepared an onslaught, and in the opening race at Monza, GTAs took the first seven places. Andrea de Adamich took the title at the season\u2019s end, and the Alfa GTA\u2019s place in motorsport history was assured.<\/p>\n
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Driving Adam\u2019s car is quite unlike driving any other Giulia Sprint derivative. You enter by pulling on a tiny aluminium door handle, then pull the door shut with a lightweight door-pull as you snuggle down into the prominently bolstered seat. The engine fires with the blattering snort typical of open-mouthed Weber DCOEs, hard-edged and overlaid with the clatter of tappets whacked by cam-lobes with a steep-ramped acceleration curve. It sounds rough but feels smooth, and the throttle response is electrifying.<\/p>\n
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A most direct interface between you and the road<\/p>\n
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Driving Adam\u2019s car is quite unlike driving any other Giulia Sprint derivative. You enter by pulling on a tiny aluminium door handle, then pull the door shut with a lightweight door-pull as you snuggle down into the prominently bolstered seat. The engine fires with the blattering snort typical of open-mouthed Weber DCOEs, hard-edged and overlaid with the clatter of tappets whacked by cam-lobes with a steep-ramped acceleration curve. It sounds rough but feels smooth, and the throttle response is electrifying.<\/p>\n
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Off I chunter to the Brands pitlane, low-mass gears chattering, suspension wriggling. As soon as I\u2019m out on the track it\u2019s clear that this is a short-geared, revvy machine but its minimal mass ensures it feels torquey too. But that low mass and the resulting lower centre of gravity aren\u2019t the only reasons why this feels unlike any other Sprint GT derivative. The steering\u2019s response is instant, the nose darting into a corner as though following grooves in the track, seemingly encountering no resistance from masses that I\u2019d expect to favour continued travel in a straight line.<\/p>\n
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Quadrifoglio Verde: since Ugo Sivocci affixed a four-leaf clover to his Alfa Romeo RL prior to winning the 1923 Targa Florio, this logo\u2019s been synonymous with Alfa\u2019s competition cars, from touring cars to F1<\/p>\n
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Then I apply the power, feeling the soft tail squat a little as it helps point the nose to the bend\u2019s exit, and wonder how it is that the minimal weight can be marshalled so effectively to fling this Alfa Romeo through the corners. Subtle changes in suspension geometry are why, bespoke front hubs the key to the fantastic steering feel and remarkable bite. This feels like a racing car for the road, which is exactly what it is.<\/p>\n
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\u2018The handling and steering are completely different from any other Sprint, including my racing one,\u2019 says owner Burstow, who planned to make this GTA a racing car before he realised how sacrilegious that would be. \u2018My Sprint is a back-of-pack car, so now that I\u2019m not going to race the GTA the next project will be making the Sprint a bit better. The GTA has a removable roll cage and mounts for racing seats, so I could still do the Tour Auto. It\u2019s like having a Sixties club racer rather than the full Autodelta works car.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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FORD MUSTANG V8<\/h4>\n
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Roy Pierpoint won the 1965 British Saloon Car Championship in a Mustang, one of several taking part that year. Some had been run as rally cars the previous year by Alan Mann Racing, and one even won the Tour de France to score the Mustang\u2019s first competition success anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n
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Alan Mann\u2019s team prepared Pierpoint\u2019s car for 1965, as well as cars for Mike Salmon and Sir Gawaine Baillie, while in 1966 Jackie Oliver scored well in his DR Racing example.<\/p>\n
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Ford\u2019s Pony Car proved to be a remarkably able competitor in the UK in race trim<\/p>\n
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That championship win was a bit controversial. Jack Brabham in another Mustang won the series final at Oulton Park, but was disqualified after his engine (unbeknown to Jack) was found illegal. The series gave points for class placings rather than overall positions, and after this final race and Jack\u2019s win it was Warwick Banks, in a Mini-Cooper 970S, who had scored the most points. But Banks\u2019 crown was snatched away before it had even been presented, because Brabham\u2019s disqualification gave class honours to Pierpoint and enough points to clinch the title.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.27-scaled.jpg” alt=”FORD MUSTANG engine” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.27″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
This Mustang\u2019s 200bhp is enough for the road, and easily tuned for the track<\/p>\n
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So the American high-fashion coup\u00e9 became the class of the British saloon-car field. Brawn had already proved a productive approach, as demonstrated by Jack Sears in his enormous racing Ford Galaxie, and the Mustang was a handier, wieldier version of a similar V8-powered idea. The fastest Mustang road cars of the time, before the Shelby-tuned Fastbacks arrived, were those with the 271bhp \u2018Hi-Po\u2019 version of the 4727cc small block \u2013 everything\u2019s relative \u2013 V8, and of course these cars had a manual transmission and disc front brakes.<\/p>\n
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Not the sharpest tool for track work, but still a handy tiller on the road<\/p>\n
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Most Mustang buyers, however, bought their cars for style rather than sporting intent. But even the cooking version we have here, a 1965 three-speed auto with 200bhp and all-drum brakes, looks keen. Three-eared spinners sit on conical hubcaps formed of myriad concentric circles. The steering wheel, its rim the same red as the rest of the interior, has fake holes on the three-arm hornpush that covers the wheel\u2019s spokes, suggesting the look of a Moto-Lita or a Momo. But instrumentation is sparse, an ornate horizontal-scale (but arc-needle) speedo flanked by two giant dials that prove to be no more than fuel and water-temperature gauges.<\/p>\n
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Owner Dougie Fuller loves it. \u2018I love the interior, the chrome\u2026 and I\u2019ve always loved old Fords. This is my first left-hand drive and American one, which I bought from California unseen on the internet, five years ago. When it turned up it was everything I expected, except it was too bright. Vermillion paint with a red interior was just too much.\u2019<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.24-scaled.jpg” alt=”FORD MUSTANG” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.24″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
First-gen Mustangs were European-sized<\/p>\n
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Dougie, a former panel-beater and sprayer, repainted it in black with his mate Richard, and now just enjoys ambling in it. \u2018My thing is to keep a car clean and nice. If it performs well, so much the better. Your drive has probably done it good.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On the road, the Mustang is pretty brisk when exploring the far reaches of a long accelerator travel, with an eager and quite violent kickdown. The engine never does much more than woofle \u2013 there\u2019s no Bullitt<\/em> emulation here \u2013 but the Mustang cruises happily, stops with more bite than expected provided I push the pedal hard, and handles with a pleasingly natural, fluent feel provided I don\u2019t rush the retro-looking, but radial, tyres. The steering is soft and springy, so I let it find its own way, but there\u2019s little slack in the system and before long the Mustang feels an entirely normal size. As it should; many modern European saloons are bigger.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-quote-bold” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018The Mustang is pretty brisk when exploring the far reaches of a long accelerator travel.\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n What this gentle-spec Mustang does not do, though, is racetracks. On the first approach to Paddock Hill Bend, downhill, tightening and off-camber, I\u2019m fast running out of hard surface as the nose washes wide. I manage to coax it back online, tiptoe round the Druids hairpin and flop into Bottom Bend, all body-roll and directional indecision. It needs firmer springs, yet-firmer dampers and modern rubber if it\u2019s to have a hope around here, but then it would have changed into a different sort of car: a car more like Roy Pierpoint\u2019s BSCC winner, perhaps.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.11-scaled.jpg” alt=”Wheel of the FORD MUSTANG V8″ title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.11″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Behind fake spinners lie surprisingly effective drum brakes.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n A Mustang is nothing if not versatile, and as a road machine Dougie\u2019s black beauty is utterly charming. For fantasising about following in Roy Pierpoint\u2019s wheeltracks, though, what you need is a Ford Mustang Hardtop Challenger High Performance V-8 four-speed, to give the full-fat version its full-fat name. Then you can really ride that pony properly\u2026<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Think of early big-league saloon-car racing in Britain, with the British Saloon Car Championship starting in 1958, and you\u2019ll probably think of Jaguars.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.28.jpg” alt=”Driving the MORRIS MINI-COOPER” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.28″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||14px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n John gets rather warm emulating his touring car heroes<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n From 1960, the staple small Jaguar saloon (relative to the MkVII\/VIII\/IX) came in Mk2 form with a wider rear track and, crucially, a 3.8-litre version of the XK twin-cam straight-six instead of the 3.4 litres that was on offer before.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.3-scaled.jpg” alt=”JAGUAR Mk2″ title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.3″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The oldest car here, this 1959 Mk2 has Coombs-style modifications<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n These were just two of the many differences between the Mk2 and its retrospectively tagged Mk1 predecessor, but between them they slashed lap times thanks to the extra pace and the vastly improved rear traction and grip.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The two main teams for 1960 were Tommy Sopwith\u2019s Equipe Endeavour, with drivers Jack Sears and Mike Parkes (the latter co-designing the Hillman Imp at the time and later to graduate to Formula One with Ferrari), and the outfit of John Coombs, noted Guildford-based Jaguar dealer and tuner who had Roy Salvadori and Graham Hill behind his steering wheels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.23-scaled.jpg” alt=”JAGUAR Mk2″ title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.23″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n How many times have you wished to hurl a Mk2\u2019s snout into such a corner?<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Sears, with his spectacular drifts, was one of the most successful Mk2 exponents, continuing in this vein through 1961 and 1962 before switching to fast Fords for 1963. For 1961 and 1962, the BSCC contenders were lightly modified Group Two specification, and in the Jaguars\u2019 final year of frontline competitiveness they came third, fourth, and fifth in the championship in the hands of Sears, Hill, and Parkes respectively.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n John Coombs capitalised on his team\u2019s successes by displaying the BUY 1 numberplate on a team car and offering the much-prized Coombs conversions for road cars. A genuine Coombs Jaguar was always rare, but it\u2019s a good template for a bit of retrospective sporting enhancement on a Mk2 today.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This is what we have here, which has been brought to Brands by Chris Logue of Racing Green Cars, where this dark blue 1959 example, nicely restored a while ago and holding up well in the bodywork, is up for sale (yours for \u00a339,995).<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.10-scaled.jpg” alt=”JAGUAR Mk2″ title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.10″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n With Coombs-esque upgrades, this Jag moves like the proverbial scalded feline…<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n So it has a louvred bonnet, reduced-size rear wheel spats with lips to match the front arches, triple HD6 SUs fed through a bespoke aluminium-and-mesh air filter curved to fit the inner-wing contours, and a straight-through exhaust system. The result should be approximately E-type power, claimed at the time to be 265bhp, although this was as much a \u2018gross\u2019 \u2013 that is, uninstalled \u2013 figure as the standard twin-carb 3.8\u2019s claimed 220bhp. Whatever this car\u2019s true power, it\u2019s fed to the road via a later all-synchromesh-and-overdrive gearbox and yet-later XJ6-size tyres on wide wire wheels.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The suspension, however, is standard, and its softness can\u2019t cope with the sudden suspension compression at the bottom of Paddock Hill where the fat front tyres clout the arches. This car would be much more effective on standard-sized tyres, which would better allow those graceful Jaguar drifts as the body takes up its considerable roll angles. As it is, I can never load it up enough to discover what ultimately happens to the balance, because the bodywork gets in the way first.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-quote-bold” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018It sounds fabulous, with the brass-band blare of a Jaguar six-pot\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n But it does sound good. Fabulous, actually, with the brass-band blare typical of a free-breathing Jaguar six-pot ringing through my ears as the pace rapidly builds (along with the haze of exhaust smoke that goes with a truly loose, free-running and richly imbibing old engine). It\u2019s possible to heel-and-toe in this car, something near-impossible in a standard Mk2 but vital for racing, and the all-synchro gearchange is sweet and easy.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n No contemporary Jaguar BSCC racing driver had that nicety; it arrived after the Mk2\u2019s racing sun had set. All-disc brakes rein in the Mk2\u2019s considerable mass with confidence.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.20-scaled.jpg” alt=”JAGUAR Mk2 engine” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.20″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Six-cylinder Jaguar engine made gross 220bhp<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Inside, the ambience is wood-and-leather Jaguar plushness seemingly unsuited to a racetrack environment, although the near-standard racers of the time had to retain most of their trim. The flat Moto-Lita steering wheel with its thin wooden rim feels good in the hands, though, helping me get the best from an original steering-box system that\u2019s rather better than proponents of a rack conversion would have you believe. That said, the Jaguar is the grandaddy of the saloon racers here, and feels it.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Inside, the ambience is wood-and-leather Jaguar plushness seemingly unsuited to a racetrack environment, although the near-standard racers of the time had to retain most of their trim. The flat Moto-Lita steering wheel with its thin wooden rim feels good in the hands, though, helping me get the best from an original steering-box system that\u2019s rather better than proponents of a rack conversion would have you believe. That said, the Jaguar is the grandaddy of the saloon racers here, and feels it.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.22-scaled.jpg” alt=”Steering wheel of the JAGUAR Mk2″ title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.22″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Luxurious trim had to be retained for the racetrack<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Against that, it was also the car among our five that began its racing career in a form closest to standard specification. As probably the fastest European production saloon of its time, it couldn\u2019t help but be a winner.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Here was a great idea. Ford launches low-cost family car of conveniently low weight, while simultaneously seeking to raise its performance profile among buyers. Lotus launches new Ford-based twin-cam engine, seen first in the Lotus 23 sports racer and then put in the production for the Elan. Lotus wants to build more engines, Ford wants to win races. Thus was conceived the Ford Consul Cortina Developed By Lotus.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.13-scaled.jpg” alt=”Lotus Cortina” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.13″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Lotus Cortina ahead of Alfa \u2013 it didn\u2019t stay this way for long in the Sixties<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n And indeed part-built by Lotus, which received lowly Cortina 1200 two-door De Luxes at its Cheshunt factory and made them into the cars that changed the face of saloon-car racing. Into the Ermine White bodyshells went that 1558cc, 105bhp twin-cam, a close-ratio gearbox, a bespoke rear axle with an aluminium differential nose, coil springs and location by radius arms and an A-bracket, a sporting interior with huggy seats, a comprehensive set of round dials and a three-spoke Lotus steering wheel. On the bodyshells went doors and bonnet with an aluminium skin, an entirely aluminium bootlid covering a relocated battery, and a flash of olive-green paint. Under them went wide wheels attached to lowered suspension with racier geometry. Job done.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.6-scaled.jpg” alt=”Steering wheel of the Lotus Cortina” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.6″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” custom_padding=”||2px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This A-bracket-equipped 1963 car has a more precise feel compared to leaf spring versions<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n You could buy a Lotus Cortina from your Ford dealer, and enjoy leaving much more exotic and expensive sports cars spluttering in your dust. If you did so, you would be especially interested in the fortunes of Team Lotus\u2019s cars, competing mainly in the BSCC, and the red-and-gold examples of Ford-backed Alan Mann Racing, competing mainly in the European Touring Car Championship.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Jim Clark took the former championship in 1964; the following year Sir John Whitmore won the ETCC, sometimes winning not just his class but the entire race, just as had Clark sometimes done the previous year as he fended off giant Galaxies.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Driving Kate Horne\u2019s ultra-original 1963 example reminds me how flexible fast saloons used to feel when worked hard on a track. Today\u2019s historic racing saloons are set up far more stiffly, the better to make use of their tyres\u2019 much greater grip, but period photographs of racing Cortinas show the usual impressive roll angles and, in the Team Lotus cars, inside front wheels dangling in the air. The Alan Mann cars didn\u2019t do that, however.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.5-scaled.jpg” alt=”Lotus Cortina back light” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.5″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n A view many \u2018serious\u2019 sports cars were left with back in the day…\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Mann says in his book, A Life of Chance<\/em>, that the Team Lotus cars were set up with a very stiff front anti-roll bar and a soft tail, better for tight British circuits where the inside front wheel could hover over the kerb and thus shorten the lap. His cars, by contrast, were set up to keep all their wheels on the ground for the longer, faster circuits prevalent in the ETCC, where stability in long bends was more important.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n It\u2019s also the case that, by 1965, Lotus Cortinas were using leaf springs and lower radius arms instead of the A-bracket, which had given better lateral location but caused problems with distorting differential cases and consequent oil loss. With a less positive rear end, it\u2019s especially useful to have all four wheels on the ground, and it\u2019s a fact that even roadgoing versions of the Lotus Cortina handle differently with the two rear suspension designs. With leaf springs, it\u2019s gung-ho throttle-steerability; with the A-bracket, the Cortina feels relatively more precise and planted.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.2-scaled.jpg” alt=”Lotus Cortina” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.2″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n …it was much the same on track, with Jack Sears and Jim Clarkat the helm<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n But it\u2019s still pretty soft and flexible once worked up towards track speeds, as I\u2019m finding over a few Brands laps. Kate\u2019s Cortina has the original ultra-close-ratio gearbox with a long-legged first gear, and it\u2019s just what I need on a track to get the best from this revvy twin-cam. Then, as each bend approaches, you brake, turn a little \u2013 the steering is springy but accurate \u2013 and use the power to fine-aim the nose towards the apex and on to the exit. This car has a very mobile, power-influenced balance, which is why it\u2019s great fun to drive and why the racers were brilliant to watch.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-quote-bold” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018The ultra-close-ratio gearbox is just what I need on a track to get the best from this revvy twin-cam.\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Kate and her father David set off to the Le Mans Classic the day after our test, using the Lotus Cortina as it should be used. \u2018We looked for three or four years before finding this one,\u2019 Kate says. \u2018The ones for sale tend to be race cars,\u2019 adds David, \u2018but we found this in Aberdeen and drove it back to Sussex. It had a repaint 25 years ago but as far as we know, it\u2019s had no welding. That said, it\u2019s bound to have had some at some point\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.15-scaled.jpg” alt=”Lotus Cortina engine” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.15″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Lotus engine gives 105bhp<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s in the same state as when we bought it,\u2019 Kate continues, \u2018and we\u2019ve decided to maintain it rather than restore it.\u2019 As for the mechanicals, it has Gaz rear dampers and Gaz-refurbished front struts, and will shortly get an engine rebuild as, even by Lotus twin-cam standards, it\u2019s a bit smoky. It got to Le Mans, though.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This is the Mini-Cooper combination that so nearly won the 1965 BSCC, but Roy Pierpoint\u2019s unexpected promotion to victory in the big-bangers\u2019 class at the final round left 1000cc-class winner Warwick Banks with fractionally too few points.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.21-scaled.jpg” alt=”MORRIS MINI-COOPER” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.21″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Despite the poor aerodynamics, the Mini was a successful racer<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n However, both Banks and team-mate John Rhodes were championship class winners in the dark green, Cooper Car Company-run Morris Minis, with their white roofs and white bonnet stripes, Rhodes taking 1300cc honours.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Intriguingly, the same cars, according to their numberplates at least, were raced by both drivers in their respective classes at various points in the season, as engines were swapped around. Banks\u2019s final class win that year was in GPH 1C, still around today and currently in 1300cc form, but it\u2019s as a 970 \u2013 enlarged to 999cc for racing \u2013 that the early Cooper S is the most intriguing.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.1-scaled.jpg” alt=”MORRIS MINI-COOPER” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n What Minis lacked in grunt, they made up for in cornering speed.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n It\u2019s also the rarest, with just 963 examples made from June 1964 even though the homologation (which technically required 1000 examples to be built) was certified in April. The engine used the biggest production A-series bore size, 70.6mm, with a short 61.9mm stroke, making it that rare thing, an oversquare A-series. The only other such engine was the earlier 1071S, with a 68.3mm stroke, which the 970S and 1275S together replaced.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The resultant space for big valves relative to cylinder capacity made the 970S potentially very powerful for its size as well as very revvy, but for road use with a mild camshaft it was pegged back to a still-useful 65bhp at 6500rpm. That the torque reaches its 55lb ft peak at just 3500rpm leads you to expect the roadgoing 970S to be less frantic than its reputation suggests, and so \u2013 short-legged gearing aside \u2013 it proves. As for ultimate pace, I can find no record of a 970S road test, nor any factory claims, so the figures in our table are informed estimates only.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-quote-bold” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018You simply arrive at a corner, brake and power through at full chat.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Robert Lancaster-Gaye\u2019s 1964 Morris in cheerful Surf Blue with an Old English White roof was restored by Fred and Tony Walters of Nippycars, shortly after the similar Almond Green 970S of Bryan Smart recently featured in these pages as an Epic Restoration (January 2014 issue). Again it required a full bare-shell rebuild, lots of new steel and a painstaking search for exactly the right parts.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In place of Bryan\u2019s evangelical adherence to factory-correct specification, however, Robert wanted correctness of a slightly different sort to overlay the factory-authentic starting point. \u2018Every car I ever owned in my youth was modified. And if I had owned a Cooper S back then, I would have done exactly what I have done to this.\u2019 Which is: small steering wheel on a lowered column, Microcell bucket driver\u2019s seat, open carburettor trumpets, lowered suspension, and Minilite-like \u2018rose petal\u2019 wheels shod with grippy, track-flavoured, 165\/70 R10 tyres.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.9.jpg” alt=”Steering wheel of the MORRIS MINI-COOPER” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.9″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The Mini\u2019s talkative steering makes every corner a hoot<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018I had heard about the 970S but had never appreciated what it was,\u2019 Robert continues. \u2018That homologation-special business, the way the racing versions revved to 10,000rpm\u2026 it\u2019s a glorious piece of history, and when I saw Bryan\u2019s, and the quality of work and detail that had gone into it, I simply had to have one.\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n It\u2019s a little jewel of a car, frisky and snorty and straining at the leash for a good time. Out on the track I won\u2019t even attempt to emulate a John Rhodes smoking powerslide, but it\u2019s instantly clear that the taut, grippy, micro-precise Mini feels a generation newer than any other car here. There\u2019s no allowance needed for age (of design or actual car), no feeling of forces overwhelming a willing but old-school chassis, nor even any significant body roll.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The engine revs keenly, if not quite as sweetly as the short stroke suggests it should, and its small capacity is less of a handicap on the blast up towards Druids than I expected.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.18-scaled.jpg” alt=”MORRIS MINI-COOPER engine” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.18″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Racing versions revved to a screaming 10,000rpm<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n It\u2019s a recently built engine and still a bit tight; once fully loosened it should be delightful. Despite a stiff action and a fuzzily defined gate, the gearlever finds its ratios exactly when you need them, while the stout brakes with amply sized front discs (unlike a regular Cooper\u2019s) provide a firm, solid pedal.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Best of all, though, you simply arrive at a corner, brake, and then power through at full chat, inertia seemingly non-existent as you hang on to that little steering wheel, torque-steer similarly absent because there isn\u2019t enough torque.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This Cooper S feels nailed to the track like\u2026 well, like a modern car. Except better, because it\u2019s smaller and its controls talk to you more garrulously. What a complete hoot\u2026<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”has-dropcap” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n So, which road car makes the best fist of making you feel like a track star? Which makes the minimum compromises for that dual role, and gives you maximum fun? Not the Mustang, obviously, at least not in our test car\u2019s form which, instead, makes it the best suited of all for a long cruise to, say, the Le Mans Classic (at which there were myriad Mustangs this year, marking the fast Ford\u2019s 50th anniversary). Nor the Jaguar, which is too heavy and unwieldy as was the way in its era. It looks great, though. And sounds it.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.12-scaled.jpg” alt=”Saloon Car Brawl” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.12″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The Lotus Cortina? It and the Alfa GTA were deadly rivals on the track, but ultimately the Alfa Romeo got the upper hand \u2013 as well it should, given its rarefied state of development and the cost of getting it there. The same is true today; if you think Lotus Cortinas have become expensive, try pricing a GTA Stradale, the rarest and most valuable of all GTAs. The Cortina is great fun, but the GTA is a truly special thing with the snortiest of twin-cams and a dynamic eagerness to blow a regular 105-series GT driver right away.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.16-scaled.jpg” alt=”Alfa Romeo” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.16″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The Alfa GTA is very special \u2013 but with a very special price<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-quote-bold” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018On the track it\u2019s in another league, the nippiest, fastest-cornering, most confidence-inspiring car here\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n For the purposes of this encounter, though, the Mini-Cooper S wins. On the track it\u2019s in another league, the nippiest, fastest-cornering, most confidence-inspiring car here. That tiny engine gives it a character different from the torquier and more numerous 1275S\u2019s, and it\u2019s just hilarious. Forget huge wheels and huge power; this is how a Mini should be. Messrs Banks, Rhodes, Hopkirk et al will approve, I\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Saloon-Car-Brawl.4-scaled.jpg” alt=”MORRIS MINI-COOPER” title_text=”Saloon Car Brawl.4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Mini offers thrills aplenty \u2013 without the Alfa\u2019s wallet-melting cost<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Engine 1570cc, 4cyl, dohc, 8 valves, two Weber 45 DCOE 14 carburettors. Power and torque 115bhp @ 6000rpm; 105lb ft at 3000rpm. Transmission: Five-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive. Steering: Worm and roller steering box. Suspension: Front: coil springs, double wishbones, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: live axle, coil springs, trailing arms, T-shaped upper arm, telescopic dampers. Brakes: Discs all round. Weight: 795kg (1750lb). Performance: Top speed: 125mph; 0-60mph: 8.2sec. Fuel consumption: 18mpg approx. Cost new: \u00a32897. Price range: \u00a370k-\u00a3160k.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/118546_giulia_gta1.jpg” alt=”Saloon Car Brawl” title_text=”118546_giulia_gta%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Suspension guru Harvey-Bailey \u2013 still operating independently to design suspension improvements for classic and modern cars; contact him on 07966 527853 \u2013 raced GTAs for private entrant Derek Morley in 1966 and the works Autodelta team 1967-68.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018They were successful largely because the twin-cam Escorts hadn\u2019t yet happened. Our problem was that we didn\u2019t have the power \u2013 the GTA wouldn\u2019t give much more than 160bhp because we couldn\u2019t go over 6500rpm without the cylinder liners distorting. When we downsized to 1300cc with a solid block of liners we could use far more revs and got 165bhp.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018In FIA races we couldn\u2019t move the fuel tank, so it, the battery and the driver were all on the left. There\u2019s a photograph of me at Snetterton on opposite lock with two wheels in the air. That never happened with the right-hand-drive Morley car.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018The cars were very light \u2013 they even had aluminium floors \u2013 and they could stop very quickly. Carlo Chiti was paranoid about steering at the rear axle, so the GTA had a sliding block to hold the axle in the centre. It tended to bind, which held the car up on two wheels.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018They steered nicely, though. The Morley car had a fair amount of roll but good traction despite that. It understeered a bit and there was never enough power to get the tail out. They won because they were well driven and kept going \u2013 and there were six or seven of them!\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Engine 4727cc, V8, pushrod ohv, 16 valves, Autolite two-barrel carburettor. Power and torque 200bhp @ 4400rpm; 282lb ft at 2400rpm. Transmission: Three-speed automatic gearbox, rear-wheel drive. Steering: Recirculating ball steering box. Suspension: Front: double wishbones, coil springs, anti-roll bar, telescopic dampers. Rear: live axle, leaf springs, telescopic dampers. Brakes: Drums all round. Weight: 1292kg (2848lb). Performance: Top speed: 116mph; 0-60mph: 9.1sec. Fuel consumption: 16mpg approx. Cost new: \u00a31922. Price range: \u00a35k-\u00a320k.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/LAT_Alan-Mann-65Boxing-Day-Brands-postponed-to-January-953-scaled.jpg” alt=”Mustang), 1st position, passes John Young (Ford Anglia), action.” title_text=”LAT_Alan Mann 65Boxing Day Brands postponed to January 953″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Or several, actually, but as a car-preparer and team entrant rather than a driver. Alan Mann\u2019s team raced Mustangs as well as Cortinas, Falcons and endurance-race sports cars, and today his son Henry races a Mustang under the banner of the team that his father reincarnated in 2004, initially with Alan driving a Mustang and Henry joining in later with a Lotus Cortina.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Nowadays Henry races his own Mustang, in which – on the car\u2019s first race outing – he and co-driver Mat Jackson won the inaugural Alan Mann Trophy race at Donington Park in 2012, held in memory of his father who had passed away earlier that year. The Mustang has given Henry a podium finish in every race it has entered apart from one, when the coil failed.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018I prefer racing the Mustang to the Cortina, because it suits my driving style better. But the steering is very heavy, so heavy that at one meeting it was hard to apply enough effort to catch a slide, which sent me into the tyre wall. So now we\u2019ve fitted a bigger steering wheel. The Mustang doesn\u2019t really want to turn. You have to provoke it, make it take a set, then slide through the corner.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Engine 3781cc, 6cyl, dohc, 12 valves, two SU HD6 carburettors. Power and torque 220bhp @ 5500rpm; 240lb ft @ 3000rpm. Transmission: Four-speed manual gearbox with overdrive, rear-wheel drive. Steering: Recirculating ball steering box. Suspension: Front: double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: live axle, cantilevered leaf springs, radius arms, Panhard rod, telescopic dampers. Brakes: Discs all round. Weight: 1525kg (3362lb). Performance: Top speed: 125mph; 0-60mph: 8.8sec. Fuel consumption: 16mpg approx. Cost new: \u00a31779. Price range: \u00a35k-\u00a340k.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/LAT_18Apr60-Goodwood-Jack-Sears-Mk2-Jaguar-scaled.jpg” alt=”Saloon Car Brawl” title_text=”LAT_18Apr60 Goodwood Jack Sears Mk2 Jaguar” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Jack won the inaugural BSCC in 1958, driving an Austin A105, then moved on to Jaguars with considerable success, driving for Tommy Sopwith\u2019s Equipe Endeavour team in some spectacularly close racing.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018I was lucky to be introduced to the 3.8 Mk2 by Tommy in 1959, after I\u2019d driven his 3.4 Mk1 in a couple of races, and he invited me to be Mike Parkes\u2019 team mate. The Mk2 had the same track width front and rear instead of the narrower rear track of the Mk1, and the extra engine size was a big help. It was an incredibly fast car for a four-seater saloon at the time. You could drive it out of the showroom, run it in a bit and do 125mph, when the average family car managed about 75mph.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018It handled very, very well and I did some quite good races in the wet. It was easy to do four-wheel drifts; nowadays no one drifts any more, but back then if you weren\u2019t drifting, you weren\u2019t going fast enough.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||3px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018Our cars had hotted-up engines with bigger SUs, but we kept the standard gearbox and overdrive. They were faster than standard, and would reach 140mph on Silverstone\u2019s Hangar Straight.\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Engine 1558cc, 4cyl, dohc, 8 valves, two Weber 40 DCOE carburettors. Power and Torque 105bhp @ 5500rpm; 108lb ft at 4000rpm. Transmission: Four-speed manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive. Steering: Recirculating ball steering box. Suspension: Front: MacPherson struts, track control arms, anti-roll bar. Rear: live axle, coil-spring\/damper units, radius arms and A-bracket. Brakes: Discs front, drums rear. Weight: From 826kg (1819lb). Performance: Top speed: 105mph, 0-60mph: 9.9sec. Fuel consumption: 22mpg approx. Cost new: \u00a31100. Price range: \u00a317k-\u00a345k.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Engine 970cc, 4cyl, pushrod ohv, eight valves, two SU HS2 carburettors. Power and torque 65bhp @ 6500rpm; 55lb ft at 3500rpm. Transmission: Four-speed manual gearbox, front-wheel drive. Steering: Rack and pinion. Suspension: Front: upper and lower transverse arms, triangulating tie-rods, rubber cone springs, telescopic dampers. Rear: trailing arms, rubber cone springs, telescopic dampers. Brakes: Discs front, drums rear. Weight: 635kg (1399lb). Performance (est): Top speed: 95mph; 0-60mph: 12.3sec. Fuel consumption: 32mpg approx. Cost new: \u00a3693. Price range: \u00a37k-\u00a325k.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/LAT_May68-Brands-John-Rhodes-Mini_Cooper-S-scaled.jpg” alt=”Saloon Car Brawl” title_text=”LAT_May68 Brands John Rhodes Mini_Cooper S” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Smokin\u2019 John Rhodes was the most spectacular of Mini racers, pitching the car into oversteer on the entry to every bend, showering onlookers with hot black particles from tyres pumped up to 55psi. From 1965 through to 1968 he and his works Cooper S were the BSCC class championship victors \u2013 but the class was the up-to-1300cc one.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018I never raced the 970S. Sheer ego, I suppose, but I was always in the 1275. It fitted like a glove, and felt very similar to a go-kart. It would slide beautifully, under full control.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018I preferred it when sliding, because that\u2019s when I felt under total control. I could pass most of the faster cars in the corners. I had total confidence in it.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018Daniel Richmond at Downton did the engines, with a 7400rpm rev limit, and even if our Minis weren\u2019t the fastest they were the most reliable.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018It wasn\u2019t at its best on faster tracks such as Silverstone, though, because its aerodynamics were like a brick. So we used to get two or three of them together, Paddy Hopkirk, John Fitzpatrick and me, and run bumper-to-bumper. We\u2019d instantly gain 10, 15, maybe 20mph; it was amazing.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018Spa was a nice circuit to do that, with its long straights.\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Saloon Car BrawlThe early days of the British Saloon Car Championship inspired some delightfully spicy road-going versionsWords JOHN SIMISTERPhotography RICHARD PARDONRace on Sunday, sell on Monday. It\u2019s a simple marketing concept but it has served a multitude of manufacturers well over the years. And for the real car enthusiast, the closer your Monday purchase is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"kschwarz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1075"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1694,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075\/revisions\/1694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}JAGUAR Mk2 3.8<\/h4>\n
LOTUS CORTINA<\/h4>\n
MORRIS MINI-COOPER 970S<\/h4>\n
1965 ALFA ROMEO GIULIA SPRINT GTA<\/h4>\n
I RACED ONE: Rhoddy Harvey-Bailey<\/h4>\n
1965 FORD MUSTANG CRUISE-O-MATIC<\/h4>\n
MY DAD AND I RACED ONE: Henry Mann<\/h4>\n
1959 JAGUAR MK2 3.8<\/h4>\n
I RACED ONE: Jack Sears<\/h4>\n
1963 LOTUS CORTINA<\/h4>\n
1964 MORRIS MINI-COOPER 970S<\/h4>\n
I RACED ONE: John Rhodes<\/h4>\n