No need for ten cars that I’d want to keep stabled in Britishland; just five should do quite nicely, thank you. And as the distances aren’t vast, I don’t care about nonsense like fuel consumption (not that it’s ever been much of a consideration, come to think of it).
And all right-hand drive, of course.
1939 Alvis Speedster 25
More roomy (and much more powerful and reliable) than the MG T car models, the “25” had a 4.3-liter straight-six engine which provided 137bhp. Sufficient for the time, and sufficient for the Brit country roads I’d be driving on. Other candidates for this spot: the aforesaid MG TF from the T-class, Morgan Plus Four and Caterham Seven 420.
2009 Bristol Fighter
An actual British supercar, made to “compete” with the Gordon Murray-designed McLaren F1, the Fighter had a Dodge Viper V10 engine in a car which weighed half that of a Viper. Jeremy Clarkson once called driving it “stupendously suicidal”, and I can think of no higher praise. Other candidates: Jaguar E-type Series 2.
1975 Range Rover
After they’d worked out all the (many) niggles in the 1970-74 models, the 1975 model Range Rover was upgraded with creature comforts while keeping the lovely 3.5-liter V8 Buick/Rover engine. Also, this was the generation before all the horrible electronic nonsense arrived to bedevil Rover owners. Other candidates: none.
1960 Bentley S2 Continental
…with the “new” (for the time) Rolls-Royce V8 engine tweaked by Bentley engineers, it was (and still would be today) “sufficiently fast” — and I dare say, “sufficiently posh” too. Other candidates: none.
1968 Mini-Cooper S MkII
My “town car” for those quick little trips to the village pub or grocery store. Small, quick (1,275cc!), nimble, easy to park, easy to drive; I’d probably drive this little beauty about 90% of the time, and all the others the remaining 10% (assuming, of course, that the others were better-than-average in terms of reliability — high hopes, but there it is). Other candidates: none.
There’s no E-type, no MG, not even an Austin-Healey, because there’d be examples of all those in my European- and U.S. garages.
Yup, when it comes to my British garage, I’m backing Britain:
… albeit with some American engines. I love me my British cars, but there are limits.
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