Britain's influence on the world is so vast and expansive, that it's shocking what a small imprint they have on the automotive world these days. JDM and Domestic market cars have become the staple of so many garages in America.
When people talk about exotics, Italians, Swedes, and the odd German car are paramount topics of discussion. In the '90s though, British sports cars were flourishing with new and incredible models that demonstrated their innovation and knowledge. In truth, they were setting the bar higher and higher for all those around them, and their passion shows through in many of the cars made today worldwide.
The Brits aren't really making major waves these days apart from one major brand we'll start off with. Nevertheless, today we look back and pay homage to some of the greatest sports cars to come out of the UK in the 1990s.
15 McLaren F1
This entire piece could be all about this singular car. The F1 still claims the top speed of any naturally aspirated car. That's how incredible this car is. The styling looks modern, the seating is still uber unique and the racing record is unbelievable.
14 Lotus Carlton
In much the same way that the McLaren F1 set the world on fire in terms of its top speed, the Lotus Carlton did the same for sedans. Back in the early '90s, this people hauler could reach 177 miles per hour. That was good enough
13 TVR Cerbera
Easily one of the prettiest cars ever sold, the Cerbera started out with a solid Rover V8 powerplant, but that wasn't good enough for TVR, so they built their own bespoke V8 that produced more than 350 horsepower. For a full fiberglass car, it was more than ample.
12 Aston Martin DB7 GT
The DB7 was the first of the sleeker and sultry offerings from Aston Martin since the days of the DB6 back in the '60s and '70s. It is a truly stunning car and offered multiple engines and transmission packages culminating in this, the GT model shown here, with a V12 and a manual transmission.
11 Lotus Elise S1
The Lotus Elise S1 was the most stripped-down Elise you could buy short of a cup car. Its low horsepower didn't really harm it's performance because it was meant for slower, twistier roads and tracks. On such roads, it was a joy to drive at the limit.
10 Lotus Esprit S4
S4 stands for Series 4 indicating that the Esprit had built on previous iterations. It didn't lose some history though. The taillights were taken from an AE86. It was also given a V8 in '96, and went to war with the biggest supercars of the day, thanks to the knowledge gained during those first three series.
9 TVR Griffith
TVR wasn't a one-hit-wonder. The Griffith is well-known worldwide, thanks to the video game Gran Turismo. In a similar vein to the Cerbera, the later V8 given to the Griffith was more than capable of making your heart skip a beat. The shorter wheelbase also gave it turn-on-a-dime handling.
8 Ultima GTR
One of the first racecars for the road, the Ultima GTR put the world on notice that McLaren wasn't the only force to be reckoned with from the British Isles. Not only is it super lightweight, but it has a Corvette V8 behind the driver's head. A brilliant combination.
7 Marcos Mantis
The Mantis has been a staple of British culture since the '60s. It wouldn't be shocking at all though if you haven't heard of it, because it's come and gone over and over. And yet, this version from the late '90s is truly amazing. The styling is all its own, and with a wet weight of only 2,300 lbs, it would keep up with most cars made today.
6 Morgan Plus 8
Much like the Marcos, Morgan has been around for a long long time. Unlike Marcos, Morgan has managed to continually build nearly the same car the entire time. They made headlines when they finally changed the chassis after 83 years. You can read more about that below.
5 Caterham Super SEVEN
Caterham is well known for doing this same car over and over and over. They still build it today and have spun off multiple iterations since it was first released. The truth is that they got the whole idea from Lotus, to begin with!
4 Aston Martin V8 Vantage
One of my personal favorites, the V8 Vantage is all about over-indulgence. So much so that they twin-supercharged it. You read that right, two superchargers. It meant 550 horsepower in 1993. Of course, it needed that since it weighed nearly 2.5 tons.
3 Jaguar XJ220
Jaguar, we couldn't leave the list without talking about them and the XJ220 was excess in every way. The styling was long and lean, the doors were so long they became less functional, and what started out as a promise of a V12 power plant ended up with half that many cylinders.
2 Jaguar XJS V12
Jaguar did bring a V12 car to production around the same time as the XJ220 though, and it was this coupe and drop-top combination of cars. The XJS is considered kind of a basket case today as the wiring is suspect. But if you can find one in good working order, it can be incredibly rewarding to get behind the wheel.
1 Jaguar XKR
Jaguar learned some lessons from both the XJ220 and the XJS and brought them to the design table for the XKR. Built in harmony with Aston Martin and their DB7, the XKR was called "Supercharged Eroticism" by Car & Driver because it combined a sensual interior and a carnal powerplant into one excellent package.