Porsche 356 History
The Porsche 356, introduced in 1950, put this renowned German automaker on the sports-car map. But even though the 356 was the first Porsche sports car, it was far from the first sporting Porsche.
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Author: Oren
1960 Pontiac Ventura
Visually, the 1960 Pontiac Ventura shared much with the rest of the Pontiac line. It was the second year of the the highly touted "Wide-Track" platform, introduced for 1959. As such, the styling was updated from the year before. While the basic platform was unchanged and everything above the beltline remained the same, the lower sheetmetal was new.
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1971 Plymouth Road Runner
Long-time Elvis fans and 1971 Road Runner hardtop coupe admirers share one important experience: Both groups have had to witness the object of their veneration grow from spare and hunky to showy and chunky.
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The MGB history
The MGB was remarkably long-lived, continuing without basic change through 18 years and over half a million units. Of course, its maker could hardly have imagined such longevity when launching the B in 1962 to replace the popular MGA, itself the first sports car to break 100,000 production. Yet even then, there was something in the B’s simple lines, stout mechanical heart, and rugged-yet-cheery character to suggest this MG would be a car for the ages.
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MGC and MGC GT
The MGC and GT had a short run, as they were the last to arrive at Britain's 1960s sports car party and the first ones ushered out the door. By the mid-Sixties, British Motor Corporation had too many sports models for the number it was selling, and set about reorganizing the ranks.
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1965-1976 Lancia Fulvia Coupe & Zagato
The 1965-1976 Lancia Fulvia Coupe and Zagato was the the last Lancia wholly designed by the old-line Italian automaker before it was acquired by Fiat, which then took increasing responsibility for engineering and styling of subsequent Lancias.
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Jaguar XK 140 History
So advanced and successful was the XK 120 that Jaguar didn’t need to replace it for a full six years, with the XK 140. This allowed the factory to get heavily involved in motorsports, producing the LeMans-winning C-type in 1951 and the wind-cheating D-type three years later.
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Jaguar XK 150 History
Some say the XK 150 proves that Jaguar's first postwar sports cars hung on too long. They may be right, but the 150 was also the most thoroughly developed of the early XKs, if arguably the least sporting. This final variation on the original XK 120 theme was Jaguar's response to recently introduced rivals such as the BMW 507 and Mercedes-Benz 300SL, which bettered the XK 140 in catering to American demands for more comfort and refinement.
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The Lancia Stratos Story
By any standard, the Lancia Stratos was a big success both in and out of competition. Developed as a homologation special for European rallying, it became a cult car after production ceased and is now highly prized as the “modern classic” it is.
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Jaguar E-type history
In the world of ’60s sports cars, this is where sex appeal came for lessons. Ferraris were provocative. Jaguar’s E-type -- XK-E in America -- was positively suggestive. An awed Road & Track subtitled its test report, “The greatest crumpet collector known to man.”
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