TVR

• Blackpool-based TVR is an independent automaker specializing in lightweight coupes and roadsters with four- or six-cylinder engines under the hood. Its first production sports car was the 1958 Grantura two-seat coupe, hand-built at the Blackpool factory. It featured many components from other vehicles. Its brakes came from an Austin-Healey, the suspension from the Volkswagen Beetle and the rear axle from the British Motor Corporation. It body was glass-reinforced plastic. TVR offered six four-cylinder engine options from different automakers: a 1,172 cc Ford Sidevalve, 997 cc Ford 105E, 1,489 cc BMC B-Series, 1,588 cc BMC B-Series, 1,098 cc Coventry Climax and the 1,216 cc Coventry Climax. The Coventry Climax versions allowed the TVR to reach 0 to 60 mph in 9.9 seconds. It had a top speed of 114 mph.
  
  

Morgan

• Headquartered in Malvern, Morgan has a long history of handmade sports cars. Starting in 1949, Morgan began to use Vanguard 1.8-liter engines to power its Morgan "Plus Four" roadsters, and then moved to a 68-horsepower, 2,080 cc Vanguard engine. By 1954, Morgan switched to Triumph engines, using a 90-horsepower, 1,991 cc engine from a Triumph TR2. For the 1959 Plus Four models, Morgan added all-wheel, 11-inch disc brakes. The 1955 models were lightweight at just 1,850 lbs., with a steel body placed on a wood frame. A four-speed manual transmission with a final rear axle ratio of 3.73-to-1 complemented the engine. Only 4,584 units left the factory during the Plus Four's 1950 to 1969 production run.
  
  

Bristol

• Bristol originated as an aircraft company in Bristol, United Kingdom, in 1947. Its two most popular sports cars were Models 403 and 404. The 1953-to-1955 Model 403 featured quad headlamps, a body inspired by prewar BMW styling and a 100-horsepower, 2-liter, BMW in-line, six-cylinder engine. It achieved a top speed of about 80 mph. Bristol only built 281 units. The Model 404 followed the 403, and came with a 105-horsepower, 2-liter straight-six. It was capable of reaching 110 mph. The Model 404 sat on a 96.3-inch wheelbase and was considerably heavier than the TVRs and Morgans, with a curbside weight of 2,380 lbs.
  
  

Ginetta

• Ginetta began automaking operations in 1958 in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, with early versions patterned after the prewar British Wolseley Hornets. Ginetta's first production car was the G2 roadster, produced as a kit car on a tubular frame to avoid excessive British taxes. A 36-horsepower, 1.2-liter Ford engine powered the Ginetta G2. A three-speed manual transmission matched the engine. It was tiny, with a wheelbase of just 88 inches, and an overall body length of 122 inches. Its top speed was 70 mph. Ginetta produced only 100 units for 1958.