CLASSIC MARVEL

Cars made in the Sixties had an irresistible appeal. Miura, E-type, Cobra, Mustang, Corvette and 911; they all had sexual aggression merged with raw power. And it is not only the exotic two-door cars I’m talking about. Check out Jaguar’s Mk2 saloon, Merc’s monster 6.3 and BMW’S delightful 3,0-litre. Any petrolhead with a sense of adventure and decent driving skills will understand. I’d rather drive one of these classics than a modern German saloon.

With unrealistically high prices for the two-door classics, I set out to find a fourdoor muscle car; something hairy chested with a decent turn of speed and good looks. I searched for two years, test drove plenty, and looked online for something different, something special, and I found it.

I, too, was surprised by what I settled on; a Jaguar XJ6 Series 1. It’s the short-wheelbase version with a 4,2-litre twin-cam motor, uprated brakes, and three carburettors in an original sordid colour called Willow Green. The Jag dashes to three-digit speeds in a flash and, on a wet, twisty lane, it sticks to the road. I cannot help but laugh when dropping to third or even second to floor it through the corners, its twin-cam roaring away with a throaty bark.

If you’ve never driven a classic hairy-chested car, you’re missing out. Of course, you’ll be terrified; it is raw compared with modern cars’ quiet, clinical, precise and perfect drives, but in those you don’t feel the machine interacting with the road. GIDEON VOS By email

[Superb choice, Gideon. I love the purity of the original XJ design and all that chrome. That car will only increase in value – editor.]