VIC NORMAN’S ALL-TIME FAMOUS FIVE

AC COBRA

“I bought one of the first coil-sprung cars. I’d seen one at a motor show and had fallen in love with it. I picked it up from the AC factory in Thames Ditton in Surrey. It was a fantastic car. It’s hard to believe, but I replaced it with a Superspeed Ford Escort V6. That was a cracking car but not one of the special ones.”

FERRARI 250 SWB

“I had to sell a car to pay the kids’ school fees and it was either the 250 SWB or the 250 GTO. The latter was really a racing car on the road, so we kept the SWB and used to go around France in it, taking part in various fun races. It had everything that the 250 GTO had but was more practical.”

FERRARI 275GTB/4

“This was an amazing car and I wish I’d kept it. It was one of very few alloy-bodied cars made and — I think — the only right-hand-drive one [with such a body]. It used to be Mike Parkes’ car when he was a Ferrari grand prix driver. It is such a beautiful car.”

JAGUAR D-TYPE

“This was a really special car that we used to drive on the road and take abroad with a plank in the back so that it could get on and off the ferries without scraping on the ground. It was an ex-ecurie Ecosse car (registered MWS 302). I eventually swapped it for a Maserati 250F.”

PORSCHE 911 2.7 RS TOURING

“This was a bit like the Alpine in that I bought it because a mate said that it was a magic car. The friend was Alain de Cadenet, who had a lightweight version. It was the fastest A-to-b car you could get. It was difficult to get hold of and cost more than a Ferrari Daytona at the time.”