The sports cars of 1962

1962 brought the MGB, Triumph Spitfire, Lotus Elan and a revised Austin-Healey. Here’s how to choose yours

The basic formula for the British sports car was well-established by the early 1960s, but the London Motor Show of 1962 saw a new height in the genre – in fact, many argue the idea has never been executed so well as in the four cars introduced at that show.

The numbers are certainly in the MGB’s corner – having replaced the successful but old-fashioned MGA, the MGB became the most successful sports car of all time until the Mazda MX-5 came along (which owed plenty to the class of 1962). Striking a similar course, with mechanicals straight out of a saloon, was Triumph’s Spitfire. Both cars would be shipped in the truckload overseas.

Across the floor at Earls court, Colin Chapman was unveiling what many regard to be the best road car Lotus ever built – possibly the best sports car of all time. The basic roadster recipe was still there, but the Elan added lightness and performance that was ahead of its mainstream rivals, yet it was still easy to maintain, relatively cheap to buy and unintimidating to drive.

Austin-Healey appreciated the need to keep the 3000 up to speed and unveiled the updated ‘BJ7’ model. Gone were the more masochistic features of previous big ‘Healeys; the 3000 now had wind-up windows, and a roof that didn’t take an architectural degree to put up.

Though none of these cars were in outright competition, they are considered the high-water mark of British sport cars by many, and are all intensely sought-after. Here’s how to separate the honest deals from the tarted-up fakers.