Let’s talk sports cars! Over the past few decades, we’ve seen some epic vehicles come through, and some epic fails… These are Carlassic’s top five pick and we absolutely love them!
The Jag E-Type, first revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961, was a shock to the motoring press and public. It was heralded as the ‘most beautiful car ever made’ by Enzo Ferrari and made waves in the motoring world. Originally powered by a 3.8 litre, twin cam, overhead valve, straight 6 cylinder engine, it was in a league of it’s own. Followed by subsequent series with 4.2 litre versions and then the iconic 5.3 litre V12. It was discontinued in 1975 for the Jaguar XJ-S.
Lamborghini Countach LP400 Periscopo: First shown at the 1974 Geneva Motor Show, only 150 of these cars was ever made. Before being production ready, this 4.0 litre V12 engine car was tireless tested by legendary test driver Bob Wallace.
AC Cobra: Created in 1962, this car is almost unmatched in the number of replicas and models it has spawned. After a switch to a 4.7 litre V8 from a 7.5 litre, in a bid to make the Cobra competitive in the GT racing scene, a slightly smaller than original 7.0 litre block Ford engine was fitted to a revised chassis with replaced coil-sprung suspension. However, not all were made into racing cars, some were sold as road cars (the 427 Cobra S/Cs).
Ferrari Daytona (365 GTB/4) It has a front engine of 4.4-litre V12, which was inspired by the engine from its GT precursors, and has 352bhp. This allows it to do 0-60mph in 5.4 seconds and a max of 174mph
Sunbeam Alpine:
A good looking care with origins from an estate car, the first series in 1959 had a 1.5 liter engine that could hit 100mph and do 0-60mph in 13.6 seconds. The second series featured an 80bhp 1.6-litre engine, but the top edition was the series V (made 3 years after) which featured a 93bhp 1.7-litre engine.
