The Market; all post-war cars and bikes for sale

The story of the Swallow Doretti sports car of 1954 & 1955 is a fascinating footnote in the history of the British sports-car revolution. The first piece of this interesting mosaic comes with the industrial conglomerate TI, also known as Tube Investments. Abingdon-based Tube Investments was founded in 1919 with the merger of several seamless..

Perhaps one of the most famous and successful competition motorcycles of all time, the Norton Manx debuted in 1947. The evocative name celebrated motorcycling’s most grueling event, the Isle of Man TT, in which a Norton had competed every year since 1907. The first model to evoke this great event was the Manx Grand Prix, which itself was a varia..

Jaguar’s revolutionary E-Type set the automotive world on fire when it debuted at the Geneva Auto Salon in 1961. Not only was the car clothed in a stunning body, but it featured cutting-edge technology reserved for the world’s most exclusive sports cars. The E-Type shared much of its specification with the world-beating D-Type, including a twin-..

By 1960, Jaguar’s XK-150 sports car was beginning to show its age, and Jaguar was gearing up to make a big splash with its replacement. The XK series traced its roots back to 1948 with the XK-120, and the time had come for a radical new car that would recapture the magic that Jaguar’s reputation was founded upon. Company boss Sir William Lyons r..

From its earliest days as S.S. Cars, luxurious and sporty saloon cars have sustained Jaguar through its highs and lows. In the mid-1950s, Jaguar was savoring the accomplishments of the XK sports cars and world-beating C-Type and D-Type sports racers. They even enjoyed surprising success with the massive MkVII and MkIX in British Saloon Car racin..

In 1957, Jaguar released the final and most advanced version of the XK-series of sports cars. The XK150 featured the most significant changes made since the XK120 appeared in 1949. The chassis was very similar to the outgoing 140, with independent front suspension, Salisbury rear axle, and rack and pinion steering. New for the 150, however, was ..

Following hot on the heels of Jaguar’s sensational XK120, the XK140 debuted in 1955 featuring a number of improvements designed to address customer complaints with the 120. Thankfully, Jaguar was able to retain the arresting good looks of the original design, while allowing for more room and better-balanced handling. The XK140’s larger full-widt..

Over the years, Jaguar developed quite a knack at unveiling their latest and greatest sports cars to stunned audiences. It happened in the early 1990s with the spectacular XJ220 supercar. Before that, the E-Type set the world alight with its staggeringly beautiful lines and exotic construction. However, it was at the 1948 London Motor Show where..

The BMW of today, with its tech-laden super-sedans, hybrid sports cars, and ultra-luxury SUVs would probably not exist if it weren’t for an Italian refrigeration company named Isothermos. This incongruous connection began in 1942 when Isothermos was purchased by a young engineer and heir to an industrial fortune, Renzo Rivolta. With a passion fo..

Virtually since the day Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford established Bamford & Martin in a South Kensington workshop, the company would experience wild swings of sporting success and brushes with financial ruin. Their Aston Martin cars (named in honor of Martin’s victory at the Aston Clinton Hillclimb) would prove to be very popular with wea..