British Sports Cars of the 1950s and 60s Shire Library 801

Nobody built sports cars like British manufacturers in the 1950s and 1960s. There was something very special about the combination of low-slung open two-seater bodywork with a spartan interior, a slick sporting gearchange and a rorty exhaust note. This was wind-in-the-hair motoring, and it was affordable by the average young man - at least, until he got married and had a family. The names of MG and Triumph stood proudly out from the rest, but there were many others as well. Austin-Healeys and Jaguars were grander and faster, but they still embodied that almost indefinable fun factor. Then there were the bit-part players, who did their best to secure a place in the affections of the sports car buying public.

British sports cars were hugely popular overseas, especially in the USA. And tellingly, when Japanese manufacturer Mazda wanted to make a sports car in 1989, it sought inspiration from these very classics of the 1950s and 1960s. Today, the Mazda MX-5 is the world's best-selling sports car.