It’s the unrelenting pull of some of the best-looking (and now, most expensive) motorcars ever manufactured going tyre-to-tyre on track flat out, that look as at home oversteering coming out of the chicane as they do parked up and gleaming in Casino Square in Monaco. The headline GTOs, Cobras and E-types aren’t the whole story, though. Here are five sports GTs we think you should be looking out for and not necessarily just on track…
Ferrari 250 SWB/C
We know we just said the GTOs aren’t the whole story. Admittedly a 250 SWB isn’t exactly Z-list, but these competition-prepped cars are something special. The clue is in “/C” in the name, serving as a race-ready high-performance prologue to the Bizzarrini-bodied GTO madness that was to come. Running a lightweight chassis and more powerful “Testa Rossa” engine, the SEFAC SWB/Cs were suitably equipped to knock seven shades of snot out of the Brits at the time. Never mind the performance, they might be some of the prettiest cars at the Revival. Don’t miss them battling it out in the Kinrara Trophy.
TVR Griffith 400
The wait is nearly over for the return of TVR at Revival 2017. Less than 24 hours to go until a new breed of traditional British sportscar is born! What’s all the hype about though? Watch the old Griffith 400 ripping around the motor circuit and you’ll get a sense of why this comparatively diminutive British brand has endured, and why its fans and defenders are so steadfast in their love and loyalty. It certainly put on an incredible performance earlier in the year at 75MM in the Graham Hill Trophy and hopefully, it’s returning to Revival on the same such form. There’s a 200 up for grabs in the Bonhams sale, too, if you fancy it. We’ll certainly be on the lookout for this rabid shrink-wrapped E-type-muncher over the Revival weekend.
Lister Jaguar Coupe
If the Griffith is a bit of a hot rod Union Jack answer to the Cobra, the Lister Jaguar Le Mans Coupe is a bespoke Costin-bodied exotic. If you’ve seen our film on it, you’ll know it’s being prepared by one Patrick Blakeney-Edwards and therefore know it’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the TT. This unique beauty has thrown punches in recent years but fallen on ill fortune. We’re rooting for it this year.
Sunbeam Lister Tiger Le Mans Coupe
Behold a Sunbeam Lister Tiger Le Mans Coupe sitting next to a lightweight E-type and you could be forgiven for dismissing it as a bit of a hack or a hot rod. Indeed, the origins of this machine aren’t so astride of that description. The Tiger is essentially a coupe version of the Alpine Roadster while also packing some Shelby-sourced V8 punch (and design nouse). Combine that with some slippery Lister bodywork and you have a veritable motorsport patchwork quilt that could land a punch or two on the chops of the king-size Egyptian cotton duvet that is the Lightweight E-type. There are two racing in the TT, with one of them benefitting from the dab hand of triple-BTCC Champion Matt Neil at the controls. Don’t miss them in action on Sunday!
TVR…???
Curveball. One you won’t want to miss, at that. The next chapter in the history of TVR is making its debut at Revival this weekend so while you should endeavour to catch the Griff battling in the TT, you really really need to come take a look at the new TVR – on show of course, for the first time, alongside a varied and spectacular display of its ancestry.
Photography by Drew Gibson
Revival
Revival 2017
2017
