Magnificent
Machines: the Golden Age of the British sports car
A BBCFour programme that really captured the free spirit and
sense of fun with owning a sports car in the fifties and sixties.
The programme
was transmitted on BBCFour on Monday 8th October 2012 at 9pm
and covered how iconic British marques like Jaguar and
MG helped to democratise speed and motoring glamour. More
< click for the programme
It was a
well made programme with good archive footage and a well informed
narrative with a variety of edited clips from interviews with
motoring journalists like Quentin Willson and Simon Taylor.
A wonderful hour of nostalgia for many MG enthusiasts.
Posted: 121012
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You
may have missed a BBC Four programme that really
captured the free spirit and sense of fun with owning
a sports car in the fifties and sixties. See it
now on the
|
Paul
Hudson in the Daily Telegraph says the "one-hour
documentary film, The Golden Age of the British
Sports Car, investigates how British manufacturers
hit upon a formula for distinctively small, stylish
and quick two-seater sports cars that could be mass
produced - and which would go on to take the world
by storm.
Brought to life with rare colour footage from the
British Motor Industry Heritage Collection, Pathe
and BBC archives, the film also reveals how the
sports car fuelled middle class hedonism and a passion
for thrill-seeking which was in sharp contrast to
the austerity years after the Second World War.
It was a golden era, borne out of the need for export
dollars, with up to 90 per cent of all British sports
cars sold abroad, mostly to the USA. But they also
captured the imagination of the British public,
from the pioneering MG T series to the curvaceous
Austin Healey 100 and - arguably the most beautiful
car ever made - the Jaguar E-type.
Motoring historian Graham Robson, broadcaster Quentin
Willson and motoring journalists Simon Taylor, Giles
Chapman and Zog Ziegler reveal how these exciting
cars were developed from humdrum saloons. Interviewees
include E-type test driver Norman Dewis, Sir Stirling
Moss and rally co-driver Ann Wisdom. First hand
testimony of sports car owners and drivers such
as rallying legend Ann Riley (Pat Moss’ co-driver)
and the Wheatley family (who have owned their Healey
100 since the 1950s) delves into the timeless appeal
of these cars." More |
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