1960 MOTOR SHOW
Overshadowed in the history books by the iconic event a year earlier, there were still lots of surprises at the 1960 show, which bristled with optimism for the new decade
There was plenty to look forward to, but the 428,000 visitors who bounded joyfully into the 1960 Earls Court show were aware that it was going to have its work cut out to match the sheer excitement of its immediate predecessor.
In 1959, the triple whammy of the BMC Mini, Ford Anglia and Triumph Herald was an automotive high point. With all respect, 1960 debutante the Standard Vanguard Luxury Six was not going to end up covered in dents where besotted admirers had jumped on it like a sacrificial altar. Even if Standard did announce the car as being ‘a sensational Six for ’61’, yours for £1021.2.6, including purchase tax.
But, hey, who cared, when we were twisting into a new decade? The British motor industry was booming and punters were craving the annual fix of gleaming new cars that they knew would be awaiting them at the show, doors unlocked and with lots of brochures waiting to be thrust into their hands.
Our wonderful photograph really gives an insight into the show’s atmosphere which, judging by the number of earnest-looking men in suits and the lack of young carobsessed short-trousered urchins, was taken during a quiet moment on Press Day. Look at the litter, though!
That looks like a TV camera by the AC stand on the lower left of the picture where the gentleman in a white coat appears to be transfixed by the cars on offer – a four-seater Greyhound, an Ace sports car and an Aceca coupé. ‘Blimey, I’ve been polishing cars all day, guv, but I couldn’t afford one of those in a million years,’ he may well be saying.
Let’s go further into the picture, beginning with the Bentley brigade. Those with enough money to buy a fleet of Standard Vignales could instead spend much of it on a drinks cabinet-equipped behemoth from Crewe, with prices ranging from £5944-£8522. An S2 saloon and no fewer than three Continentals are on display, with HJ Mulliner and Park Ward bodywork. We love the desk with its Bakelite telephone, presumably for sir to phone his bank.
Vauxhall has nothing new here, because its pretty FB and excellent PB Cresta are not due for another year. This didn’t stop a very nice selection of F-type Victors and PA Crestas, billed as ‘The New ’61 Vauxhalls. For the age of elegance. For superlative motoring… For you.’
A two-tone Victor deluxe like the car on the left side of the stand would have cost £795, compared with £1014 for a Cresta similar to that seen revolving. Also on view are a Velox, the slightly less luxurious Cresta derivative and, behind the Bentley sign, an £858 Victor estate.
Time to elbow past all those ace motoring correspondents, to gawp at the display on the Aston Martin stand, where the DB4 is offered in coupé and convertible forms, the latter removing £4534 from your 1960 savings account.
Jaguar had taken Daimler over earlier in 1960, so no longer were there any gold-leafed Docker extravagances on its stand. Instead, here are an SP250 (a model introduced in 1959) and a Majestic Major limousine, suggesting that Jaguar wants to keep its new acquisition’s identity. Jaguar itself occupies the neighbouring area, but again there isn’t really anything new on offer. Roll on the E-type, which would make its debut a year later.
Chevrolet is one of several American manufacturers here, hoping to break out of its niche market in the UK. The right side of the picture offers a harem of various Hillman Minxes, extolled by Rootes as ‘a better car because it’s better built’. Being the only Hillman on offer (apart from the van-derived Husky) the Minx theme has been pushed to its very limits with a whole stand to fill, so saloon, convertible and Easidrive automatic are all here.
Like Rootes, BMC has separate stands for all of its marque names – Austin, Morris, MG, Morris, Riley and Wolseley. New arrivals are confined to estate versions of the Mini and BMC Farina Austin Cambridge and Morris Oxfords. Little does BMC know that one of its glamour-girl models will be part of a huge political scandal – the Profumo Affair – a couple of years later. Step forward, Mandy Rice-Davies.
Another glamorous but eminently unsuccessful new model at the show is the Lea-Francis Lynx, intended to revive the legendary marque name. The Earls Court car is finished in mauve with gold fittings, which may explain why only three of the Fordpowered cars were ever produced. Lea-Francis certainly couldn’t blame this on there being too many other new models at the Motor Show!
‘The motor industry was booming and punters were craving their annual fix of new cars’ GET ‘EM WHILE THEY’RE HOT A legend in his own bus timetable, Nick has been writing about cars for decades. He even wrote for the very first issue of CCW, back in May 1990.