The mighty Mini. While I owned a MKI in my youth, I never really appreciated this marvelous package of engineering until I began the illustration. From the hydrolastic suspension to the transverse mounted motor and gearbox, the Austin Mini-Cooper was quite a revolutionary little car and what would turn out to be, one of the British motorcar industry’s best selling and most iconic vehicles. Not to mention, fun to drive.
The Swallow Doretti was the brainchild of a coach-builder named Eric Sanders and California Tubing Company boss Arthur Andersen. Following a visit by Eric Sanders to California in July of 1952 both men felt that, as was to be demonstrated by the Austin Healey 100 and Triumph TR2, there was a market for sports cars in the USA and at home (at the right price).
The Triumph Stag started as a styling experiment cut and shaped from a 1963–4 Triumph 2000 pre-production saloon, which had been styled by Michelotti, and loaned to him by Harry Webster, Director of Engineering at Triumph.
The TR7 was and possibly still is one of the most under appreciated and undervalued British sports cars, even though it was, in fact, the best selling single model of any of the LBCs.
The MG Midget Series “TC” could be considered the car that started the post-war sports car boom in the United States. The light, nimble MG cars that service men and women returning from England had been exposed to were vastly different from the big, heavy American cars prevalent in the day. Not only were the smaller, they were fun to drive. Soon exporters were bringing in the first of the post war MGS and enthusiasts were buying them up as quickly as they arrived.
The TC was a natural for the sports racing of the day and had a ubiquitous presence at hill climbs, road races, and rallies across America. There seems to be no less enthusiasm for the TC today as back in the day as these inonic British sports cars remain wildly popular with collectors and hobbyests across the country
Well, it took me long enough to complete the Healey series (about 6 months) but I’m wrapping things up with the addition of the BT7, BN7, and BJ7 prints. You…
Thanks to NAMGAR (North American MGA Registry) for the great article on my cutaway artwork. And a huge “thank you” to Tom Aczel from Australia for bring my work to…
Ralph Zbarsky’s MGB GT “Mabel” gets the full treatment with a thank-you illustration for Ralph for getting things started with my very first decal replication assignment…
Commissioned more than a decade ago by a Michigan friend who was pals with the great Jim Hall, this remains one of my favorite pieces. The original was executed in…
