For 1961, these sections were extended to cover some 200 miles, and the high-speed, dramatic rallying that we know and love today came to Britain.
Sweden’s Erik Carlsson won in a Saab 96 again that year, then for a third time in 1962 (another 100 miles of special stages included), and looked a safe bet for 1963.
Sure enough, through almost ceaseless rain and ankle-deep mud on the rocky, rutted forest tracks, the Scandis’ skills shone again – but this time the win went to the Volvo PV444 of Tom Trana (seen left applying a nice bit of opposite lock).
He made Bournemouth from Blackpool with a 47-minute advantage over Harry Källström’s Volkswagen 1500 S and Carlsson’s 96 for an all-Swedish podium.
How American cars used to be more common in the UK
American cars used to be far more easily available in the UK than they are today, and many of them in right-hand drive, thanks to manufacturer-supported concessionaires.
In 1963, we surveyed all of Detroit’s offerings, from the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Imperial, Lincoln, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Pontiac, Rambler and Studebaker brands.
The 48 models spanned ‘sedans’, ‘station wagons’, convertibles and ‘coops’; enormous to enormouser; 85bhp straight six to 340bhp V8 (although almost all were V8s); and from £1569 (£27,385 in today’s money) to £4862 (£84,860).
Dartford crossing opens
We often complain that Britain takes too long to get things built nowadays, but the tunnel between Dartford and Thurrock took 25 years. There was a world war, mind… Work resumed in 1959 and was completed by 1963, at a cost of £13m (£227m today).
It was designed to take two million vehicles between Kent and Essex annually (at a toll of 2s 6d for a car, or £2.18 today). But by 1970 it was carrying four times this figure, leading to the opening of a second tunnel in 1980, before completion of the M25 led to a giant bridge being added in 1991.