Specialist Sports Cars, a book review

Noted author, kit car promoter, and enthusiast Peter J. Filby was well known in the 1980's UK automotive press, having published magazines such as the fantastic but short-lived, "Alternative Cars", as well as a number of books on subjects like the BMC Mini and TVR.

"Specialist Sports Cars" is a title your author has wanted to own for a long time. Sadly, it has been out of print for decades so it looked like a longshot. On a whim I decided to see if a copy could be found online, second hand. As luck would have it, a very reasonably priced "Review Copy" was available. The copy obtained is in very good condition and includes a printed "Review" from Motorbooks International, Filby's American distributor. In some ways, a hardcover, "not for retail" copy is actually an interesting find in its own right. 

On the inner fold of the book jacket, an intro reads: 
"In no other country in the world is there to be found a wider variety of makes and models of car than in Britain. And, outstanding for their individuality against a background of mass-production uniformity, are the extraordinary range of limited-production sports cars which are the subject of this book". 

120 models from 37 different marques are featured. Some were produced in the hundreds, while others never achieved more than single figures. All of the subjects are road cars, ranging from the exotic Elva/BMWGT, to the ever popular Mini-sprint conversion, and from the TVR Tuscan V8 (a beast capable of 170mph, costing thousands of pounds) to inexpensive, 'do it yourself' kit assemblies based on readily available donors such as VW Bug, MGB, and Mini. A wide array of makes and types are represented. 

Also included are details and photographs of very obscure cars, such as the Ginetta G2D, the mid-engine Gilbern T11, as well as Healey and Lotus Elan prototypes. The period covered extends from 1947 to 1974, with basic histories and technical details, supplemented by previously unpublished, insider information about the personalities behind the projects and the reasons why so many of these promising cars failed to stay in production.

 

The book was among the first to focus solely on these rare and unusual cars, filling in an important gap in automobile history. It is a "Time Capsule" from the dawn of, what your author refers to as, "The Golden Age" of specialty cars from 1975 - 1985. Despite my having a fair degree of knowledge on the subject, there were still new discoveries to be found. Filby's casual writing style and his unique perspective on the industry's history, gained through direct involvement, make this a really pleasurable read.

Anyone interested in the UK Kit and Specialist Car scene should have a copy of this book, if you can find one. 

Details 

Publisher : David & Charles; y First printing edition (January 1, 1974)
Language : English
Hardcover : 112 pages
ISBN-10 : 0715364170
ISBN-13 : 978-0715364178

Models and Marques

The ADD Nova.
The Broadspeed GT.
The Costin Amigo.
The Cox GTM.
The Deep Sanderson Series.
The Diva Series.
The Elva Series.
The Fairthorpe Series.
The Falcon Series.
The Ford GT40 & GT70.
The Futura.
The Gilbern Series.
The Ginetta Series.
The GSM Delta.
The Healey Prototypes.
The Heron Europa.
The Lola Series.
The Lotus Series.
The Marcos Series.

The McLaren M6GT.
The Mini Jem.
The Minisprint.
The Morgan Plus-Four-Plus.
The Ogle Series.
The Piper Series.
The ‘Probe’ Series.
The Reliant Sabres.
The Rochdale Olympics.
The Siva Series.
The SLR Morgans.
The Tornado Series.
The Trident Series.
The Turner Series.
The TVR Series.
The TVR Trident, Tina & SM.
The Unipower GT.
The WSM Series. 

Filby's "TVR - Success Against the Odds" is a highly
regarded book on the beasts from Blackpool,
hard to find but worth the effort

The book came in quite decent considering it was printed in 1974

The Adam's Probe Series of cars is
included with some very hard to find info

Ogle is among the Marques included

The Gilbern T11 is an obscure subject

The Ford GT40 is covered

The Cox GTM is among the cars covered