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These British classic cars are highly revered in the automotive world, yet they aren't as amazing as people believe they are.
Britain's car industry might be a shadow of its former self, but that just means there are more classic cars to choose from. However, don't be too quick to dive in with a heart-over-head decision. Even the biggest names have gotten things badly wrong on numerous occasions.
On a more down-to earth mass-produced note, anything bearing the hallmarks of British Leyland interference, classic status should be avoided. In its heyday, the UK's equivalent of General Motors very nearly killed Jaguar, Rover, and countless others, through low quality production and build. Further up the chain, premium brands reliant on famous names reliant on past glories, dropped the ball. Anyone who cares to remember Triumphs back catalog of great sports cars would have been shocked by the appallingly bad Triumph Stag.
There are tons of British classic cars to consider, and not all of them are as good as journalists would have you believe. Sifting through a myriad of classic luxury cars, off-roaders, and sports cars many of them falling way short of awesomeness.
Related: 10 Classic British Cars That Make Great Projects
Small British sports cars once ruled the roost at home and overseas. Sadly for the MG Midget, budgets didn't permit development much beyond minor cosmetics tweaks that made it uglier. While smaller is often better in a two-seater sports car, that doesn't extend to MG's choice of A-Series engines.
In its final update in 1974, MG tweaked the Midget to meet U.S. safety and emissions regulations. Visually uglier black rubber bumpers made worse by a taller ride height spoiled the MG's charm. However, tackling emissions levels was a trickier proposition. The last MGs despite a larger 1.5-liter displacement produced less power.
The Range Rover is a luxury off-road icon known the world over. However, turn the clock back to 1970, when Land Rover first floated the idea of a more up-market 4x4, and you'd be surprised just how sparse the Range Rover Classic actually was. Luxury clearly had a different meaning in '70s Britain, think removable hose-down rubber mats, and that's your lot.
Sublime off-roading is where the Range Rover truly excels, thanks to a ladder style chassis and independent suspension all-round. Under the hood, Rover V8 engines produced were detuned to 127 hp. More power normally would be a good thing. In the Range Rover, going faster is accompanied by alarming levels of body roll. Good off-road, but on a road at speed, we'll pass.
RELATED: Here's What We Love About The 1970 Range Rover
Rolls-Royce and Pininfarina's two of the most famous automotive names ever. The Rolls-Royce Camargue very existence proves world-class engineering combined with Italian flair doesn't guarantee success. Ridiculously overpriced at its launch, Rolls-Royce struggled to find 530 buyers.
Aesthetics played a huge part in the Camargues lack of success, but so too did the drivetrain. Under the hood, Rolls-Royce's standard 6.75-liter V8 engine cranked out the best guess of 260 hp, Rolls when pushed on details merely stating "adequate." The Camargue might well be a Rolls-Royce, but it's a regular in any top ten of the worst cars among journalists.
Unveiled in 1955, the Mk.1 was Jaguar's first production sedan to use unitary construction. However, Jaguar's efforts to bolster handling were undone by the controversial decision of a narrow rear-track. The difference of 4.5-inches is believed to have contributed to the Mk.1's low speed understeer characteristic.
Wayward handling issues aren't the Jaguar's worst failing. Designed primarily for U.S. market makes the launch car's 2.4-liter straight six an odd choice. Underpowered by Jaguar standards, the Mk. 1 struggled to break into triple figures, topping out at 101 mph.
The TVR wedge era is where the UK carmaker first got serious about performance. Unveiled in 1984, the Tasmin promised scintillating performance that TVR wasn't quite ready to deliver. Gearheads craving the infamous burble of a lazy Rover V8 needed to look elsewhere.
In the Tasmin 280i, TVR gave gearheads a lightweight tubular chassis clad in a wedge-shaped fiberglass body with weight kept down to 2368 lbs. All the weight-saving tricks in the world couldn't make up for the Ford V6 Colognes dismal 160 hp output. At best the Tasmin would struggle against a hot hatch, needing 8.2-seconds to reach 60 mph.
RELATED: Here's What We Love About The Forgotten TVR Wedges
The Reliant Scimitar GTE unofficial ride of choice, HRH Princess Anne has owned eight of these quirky coupes. Dating back to 1964, the GTE evolved overtime until production ended in 1986. However, throughout production one thing never changed, its engine. Under the hood, Ford Cologne V6s grew in size and power output, culminating in a final production specification of 2.8-liter and 145 hp.
Two things stood in the way of greater success. Firstly, the Reliant name more commonly associated with the three-wheeled Reliant Robin. More worrying was an apparent lack of quality control; GTEs are known for faulty fuel lines and pump installations resulting in catastrophic fires.
Savior of Aston Martin under Ford ownership, the DB7 ranks highly as one of Aston Martin's best looking cars to date. The DB7, however, is haunted by the specter of another of Ford's premium brands, namely Jaguar. Under the DB7's gorgeous body lays the running gear and underpinnings of Jaguar's dated XJ-S.
The DB7 initially used a supercharged Jaguar straight-six engine kicking out 335 hp, resulting in a top speed of 165 mph. Unfortunately for Aston Martin, shortly after the DB7s launch, Jaguar rolled out the technically superior and cheaper XK8 highlighting the Aston's weakness.
Small, cheap, and fun to drive are the most popular answers why gearheads love the Austin Mini. We beg to differ. A ground-breaking front-engined, front-wheel drive city car that admittedly scoured considerable sales success. The Mini, however, is anything but perfect. Take the tardis-like interior designed to seat four, it's a little too claustrophobic.
Under, the Austin did at least provide gearheads with a choice of engines. All variants of the BMC A-series inline four-cylinder, the most potent, putting down 57 hp in Cooper S specification. The Mini despite Alec Issigonis genius packaging, is one of the most nostalgically overrated cars of all time. Good in its day, but woefully outdated now.
RELATED: The Original Mini: A Detailed Look At The 1960 Austin Mini
Jaguar's XJ220 from world-beating supercar to white-elephant lasted two years in production. The story of how Jaguar engineers created and then decimated gearheads' hopes of a V12-engined supercar crammed with race-proven technology is well known. Technical changes aside, the XJ220 was a masterpiece of engineering.
Unfortunately, dropping to a smaller turbocharged engine wasn't the only compromise. The mid-mounted V6 motorsport-derived engine putting down 542 hp, although potent faced an uphill struggle against the Jaguar's bulk. In a straight line, few cars can live with the XJ220. However, through a fast-flowing complex of corners, it's another story.
For Lotus, cornering fast is almost taken for granted. The mid-engined Esprit is one of the best handling cars of all time. The Esprit was Lotus' entry ticket to the supercar club dominated by Porsche and Ferrari. Unlike its exotic rivals, the Esprit was hampered by a four-cylinder 2.0-liter engine putting down 160 hp.
Exotic looks and a sharp mid-engined chassis couldn't disguise the Esprit S1's lack of performance. Weight saving helped, but with so little horsepower, the Esprit was desperately slow by comparison. Over time, Lotus improved on the Esprit's power deficit with the S3's turbocharged engines.
Raised in a car-obsessed environment from an early age ensured a keen interest in anything car-related. first and foremost an F1 fan, but also an avid follower of other motorsports. Professional background working closely with a well established UK based Supercar manufacturer in recent years.