Boulder's June 28 Coffee and Classics provided some surprises, including this 1931 Bentley, which stalwarts of the marque would consider a "real Bentley", designed by engineer William O. Bentley and built by his firm before its bankruptcy and takeover by Rolls-Royce after the summer of that same year.
One reason Bentley fans were so loyal was the Bentleys proved themselves in road racing, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, '27, '29 and '30. The cars were big and burly, leading Ettore Bugatti to compare these British competitors to trucks...
But there was some innovative engineering behind those tall radiators, and a crowd gathered when the owner opened the bonnet...
This turned out to be one of four 4.5 liter four-cylinder Bentleys modified to receive the 8.0 liter inline six. Like the fours, the Bentley sixes featured a single overhead cam, with 4 valves and twin spark plugs per cylinder. Ironically, the 4.5 liter four originally in this car had been developed from the 6.5 liter six.
This 1938 SS Jaguar 1.5 liter got plenty of attention for its immaculate condition and traditional styling.
It was also a reminder that Jaguars were not always notable for power. This one was powered by a 1.5 liter Standard engine from the company that bought Triumph after World War 2.
The famous XK engine was hatched during an air raid over the Coventry Jaguar factory, when founder William Lyons, on the rooftop with engineers William Heynes and Walter Hassan, brainstormed engine concepts with his team. After the war, the "SS" letters on Jaguar badges were deleted. They had originally stood for Swallow Sidecar (the company started making sidecars for motorcycles), but after the war those initials had unpleasant associations.
This race-modified MG TC was designed in the same period as the '38 Jag, appearing pre-war as the TB. Though the TC was the first MG to be imported in noticeable numbers Stateside, all TCs were right-hand drive.
Because the organizers weren't able to get cars parked in chronological order, we'll take a break like this napping pup, to consider the lines of Jaguar's XK150 (1957-'61), the third roadster from the Coventry firm with the twin-cam XK inline six.
There were coupes, too, like this XK150. Jaguar pioneered 4-wheel disc brakes on their race cars in 1953, and on production cars in 1957 with the XK150.
Jaguar followed the XK150 in April of 1961 with the E-Type, known in the US as the XKE. Thin-shell bucket seats are a sign that this is an early Series 1, originally supplied with 3.8 liter engine and non-synchro first gear on the 4 speed gearbox.
The alloy center instrument panel shown below changed to vinyl when the 4.2 liter engine came along for the 1965 model year...
The Series 3 E-Type came along a decade after the original, in April 1971, with a new 5.3 liter V12, but the same inboard disc brakes and independent rear suspension as the Series 1 and 2, so sturdy they were used by hot rodders. A photo of that rear end assembly is under that silver Jag, parked next to an MG TD (1949-'53) and a Triumph TR4-A (1965-'68).
Out of chronological order but not out of style, we find an Austin-Healey 100M, first seen as an eye-catching prototype Healey Hundred at the '52 Earls Court show, and adopted for production from specialist maker Healey by BMC starting in 1953. Body design by Gerry Coker still gets attention. Engine was a 2.6 liter inline four...
Replaced by a 2.6 liter inline 6 in the 100-6, and a 3 liter version in the blue and green examples below. By the end of the 3000 line in 1967, there were amenities like wind-up windows and wood dash panels, but still a bit of cowl shake from chassis flex.
This visitor seemed to approve of those Healeys as much as the photographer did...
Yeah, we know the focus here is on British stuff, not Porsches. But the Golden Retriever came out of the Scottish Highlands over a century and a half ago, so those Porsches are just background scenery...
This '67 MGB-GT shows off Pininfarina's redesign of the original roadster introduced in late '62 as a sort of sports wagon hatchback coupe. This one has received a Ford Zetec twin-cam engine transplant.
The 2nd-generation Lotus Elise below brings us into the 21st century. Produced from 2002-'10, the 2nd generation featured a fiberglass body over a bonded-aluminum chassis like the early Elise, but in the US version, substituted a 1.8 liter Toyota twin-cam four for the original Rover K-Series. The Elise was the first Lotus designed on a computer, but managed to look like fun anyway.
Maybe as much fun as AC's Ace from 1954-'63, built from a prototype by John Tojeiro with a tubular chassis and 4-wheel independent suspension to go with AC's old SOHC 2-liter six and a Bristol six option after 1956. This car became famous as the chassis and body for the AC Shelby Cobra...
But this example has been owned by the same guy since 1962, the year Shelby built his first Cobra. For this owner, the car was not an investment, but evidence of some deeper dedication. We just managed to capture it on the way out, but it's our nominee for best of show.
Photo Credits:
All photos are by the author, except for the shot of the Jaguar E-Type differential and rear suspension assembly, taken at the Revs Institute by Paul Anderson.
