A to Z of Sports Cars, 1945-1990More than 850 firm built sports cars between 1945 and 1990. They came from every corner of the world. Not just the obvious places such as Britain, the USA, Italy, Germany, France and Japan, or the likely places like Switzerland, Scandinavia, Spain and Australia, but from some unlikely places too, including Brazil, Uruguay, Egypt, the Philippines and Israel. This was a period in which the sports car evolved from MG TC to Ferrari F40. In this book the cars of great marques like Ferrari, MG and Jaguar are described alongside the creations of one-man bands and kit-car makers, landmark designs alongside the projects which limped from crisis to oblivion. More than 1,000 photographs in b&w and color illustrate the extraordinary variety of sports cars that have been offered to the public. |
Common terms and phrases
2-litre 2+2 coupé Abarth Alfa Romeo American Aston Martin automatic transmission backbone chassis basic became Bugatti built cabriolet Chevrolet Chrysler claimed Cobra coil springs competition components convertible copy Corvette coupé disc brakes dohc double wishbones engine options Ferrari Fiat fibreglass body five-speed gearbox Ford Cortina Ford V8 four wheels four-cylinder four-seat four-speed front disc brakes GT car independent suspension introduced Jaguar kit car Lamborghini Lamborghini Countach late litre live rear axle Lotus Lotus Seven maker marque Maserati Mercedes-Benz mid-engined MkII monocoque motor offered Panhard Pininfarina Porsche Prod production prototype racing rear suspension Renault road car Roadster running gear saloon seconds small numbers sohc sold space frame sports car sports-racer springs and double Spyder standard styling successful supercar top speed torsion bars Triumph Turbo turbocharged turn key two-seat V8 engine VW Beetle wheelbase wishbone front suspension Zagato