Classic, British, and reliable, a combination that rarely crops up, most old sports cars qualifying for classic status flying the Union Jack are enough to have gearheads running for the hills. Are all the old Brits that bad?
Fortunately, the most common issue that blights anything remotely English is rust, even then, the cloth cap and scarf-toting brigade share this complaint with dozens of other brands the world over. Britain does, however, hold a certain reputation for gorgeous cars that aren't quite finished, Carroll Shelby came along and fixed at least two, more if you include Ford's GT40 racer. That leaves a surprising number of home-grown, properly engineered cars that with routine servicing can and will go as long as their owners have the craving for old-school pure driving machines. Undeterred and still craving some tally-ho British fun? Read on to find 10 classic sports cars that won't let you down
10 SS100 Jaguar
Swallow Sidecars 100, launched as far back as 1936 is a classic in the very sense of the word, an open-topped two-seater blessed with a simple but beautiful body that epitomizes the '30s. More commonly known as the SS100, later dropping the unfortunate branding association, SS cars later adopting the leaping cat, Jaguar as we know it was born.
The "100" part reflecting Jaguar's designed top speed thanks to a simple yet robust straight six 3.5-liter motor coupled with a revised head and twin SU carburetors, power output rising to 125 hp. Engine tweaks aside, the SS100 was a true back to basics sports car with little to go wrong.
9 Austin Healey 3000
Aside from the dreaded rust issues that plagued every European carmaker throughout the 1950/60s, the Austin-Healey's collaboration build process resulted in a decent drop-top sports car with a solid if lackluster straight six up-front. Produced between 1959-67, in both coupe and convertible guise, the bodywork was manufactured by Jensen Cars, with the oily bits sourced from BMC
Largely unchanged from the earlier 100-6 model, Austin-Healey 3000 spec cars boasted a more powerful 3-liter engine claimed to reach 60 mph in around 11-seconds, topping out at 117 mph. Simply built, and reliable, most ended up stateside.
8 Aston Martin Vantage
At 100+ years of age, Aston Martin is one of the automotive world's great survivors. With two world wars and seven bankruptcies to its name, it's nothing short of miraculous the brand is alive today, let alone with a back catalog of thunderous sports coupes. As good as the modern line-up is, you need to roll the clock back to the '70s and the original V8 Vantage to experience Aston as its best.
Penned by William Towns, the V8 appearing from 1977 onwards grew in both power and performance until its demise in 1989, powered throughout by Aston's home-grown 5.3-liter V8. Don't be fooled by the luxury GT coupe body, under the hood boasting 390 hp, enough to batter Ferrari’s Daytona on track.
7 Ford Escort Cosworth
Ford's Escort RS Cosworth is a shining example of everyday hatchback meets turbo-nutter performance. In one fell swoop, the blue oval changed gearheads' view of sports cars forever. Take away the OTT rear wing and badging, and you'd have one of the least obvious sleepers on the planet.
At the affordable end of going stupidly fast, the Cossie attracted the attention of thieves and the modding community, finding an example unfettled is akin to locating the holy grail. In untouched (or crashed) specification, Ford's 2-liter YBT turbo four pot punches out a reliable 224 hp, only the insane would risk durability for a few more horses.
6 Jensen Interceptor
More international than other British classics featured here, Jensen's Interceptor is a long distance high speed cruiser, boasting Italian looks and American muscle. Oddly, it was assembled in West Bromwich, where glamour is frequently replaced by rust, and this was arguably the Interceptor's Achilles heel.
Later in life, Jensen moved bodywork production in-house, subtly tweaking the Carrozzeria Touring/Vignale original into a brute of a British muscle car. Engines, remained the domain of Chrysler throughout production, growing to 7.2 liters at their peak with 250 hp a mere squeeze of the throttle away.
5 TVR Chimaera
TVR doesn't list user-friendly as one of the brand's selling points, instead concentrating its efforts on the biggest bang for your buck, with driver engagement a top priority. Any TVR is going to be a cacophony of noise, brutal acceleration, and tail out oversteer, just the way sports cars should be. At the Chimaera heart, the venerable Rover/Buick V8, reliably punching out up to 340 hp from a 5-liter displacement.
Zero safety features, anti-lock brakes, airbags, traction control were all omissions you'd expect on a sports car. This brings the added bonus of less to go wrong. Sure, TVR's have their gremlins, but with a simple transmission and drivetrain to worry about, the Chimaera is more dependable than the TVR badge suggests.
4 Triumph Spitfire
As much as we'd love the Triumph Spitfire to come with a Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 like its WWII namesake, gearheads are faced with a choice of more down to earth powertrains, each resulting in a very different driving experience. Form 1962-67 Mk I/IIs shipped with four-cylinder 1.2-liter engines, increasing to 1.3 liters for later Mk III/IV Spitfires, reaching a peak of 61 hp.
In the final production run from 1974 to 80, Triumph abandoned the Mk. designation, the last models adopting Spitfire 1500 nomenclature, referencing their larger, torquier engines topping out at 71 hp. Simply designed and built, the Spitfire is anything but a balls out thrill ride, sacrificing speeds for dependability.
3 Lotus Elise S1
Aluminum, glue, and an engine tucked out back, the Elise not only saved Lotus Cars from its own demise, but also went on to become the benchmark by which all other sports cars are judged. Small, light and supremely agile, even your granny could throw it around.
First launched in 1996, the Elise is a back to basics sports car in keeping with Colin Chapman's "simplify and add lightness", interiors stripped back to bare metal with just seats and basic dashboard. Sitting behind the cabin, Rover's K-Series 1.8-liter four-pot with a sprinkling of Lotus magic produced 118 hp.
2 Jaguar XJS
Before and after Jaguar revamped the ugly ducking that is the XJ-S one thing never changed, the near magical carpet like ride comfort that in either engine option makes this one of the greatest unsung sports cars ever made. Sure it lacked the XK-Es gorgeous looks, but in its own way the XJ-S is the better car.
As desirable as the V12 engine option is, we think the sweet spot arrived with Jaguar's 233 hp 4-liter AJ16 straight six from 1994 featuring coil-on-plug, improving engine reliability and efficiency. It might have taken 20+ years to perfect the XJ-S, but Jaguar got there in the end.
1 Sunbeam Tiger
Proudly boasting a made in Britain tag line, Sunbeam's Tiger roadster owes much of its existence to another, arguably more famous car engineer, Carroll Shelby once again taking credit for transforming another British sports car in to something better.
Rootes, Shelby, Miles, and Ford all had input in the Tiger's creation, the final prototype stuffed with 260 cu-in of Ford V8 power resulted in 164 hp and a top speed of 120 mph. Lazy V8 engines are known for their durability, with little else to go wrong, the Sunbeam Tiger is a classic daily driver you can depend on.