Welcome
There’s so much more to a grand tourer than the ability to devour distances with ease; it must do so in great style
Easy access power and torque, wieldy handling, long-legged cruising ability, roomy and cosseting enough to deliver you to your hotel high up in the Swiss Alps or down on an Italian lakeshore in smooth, unruffled comfort – these are the defining characteristics of a true grand tourer. But there’s more to it than that.
A well-engineered and powerful saloon fits the spec, but the best grand tourers also ooze rakish glamour that delivers the whole package in a stylish flourish, and from the Ford Capri 3.0S to Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the Seventies served up a rich choice of options. For a wide range of budgets these cars pampered their drivers with a decadence that was at odds with the harsh realities of a troubled decade. Irresponsible? Not really. Like glam rock, they were a welcome escape without any unhealthy consequences.
As Sam Dawson points out after driving six diverse choices in the big test, their ownership of the grand touring role was subsequently challenged by the real-world abilities of a new breed of family saloons and hatchbacks, though none of those truly shimmered with sufficient glamour to convince our emotions. After poring over the options, and flirting with the Avanti II and Ferrari 250 GTE elsewhere in the issue, my mood of today has me longing for the Alvis Speed 25 from Nigel Boothman’s road trip on page 78.
If grand tourers are all a bit too velvet jacket and flared trousers for you, there’s plenty of unruly metal in this issue, from the Triumph TR7 rally car that’s had as many comebacks as owners, to the searingly outrageous Lamborghini Diablo VT that we put lucky reader Matthew Burrup in for the day.
Are you drawn to stylish cars designed for swift but civilised progress or machines that set your pants on fire? My E-type is closer to the former, though it recently came close to doing the latter, as you can read in my Our Cars update.
Enjoy the issue.