When naming the greatest automaking nations, it’s impossible to leave Britain off the list. British automakers have made a huge contribution to automotive history, giving us iconic sports cars such as the record-breaking McLaren F1, the Aston Martin DB5 that James Bond used, and the gorgeous Jaguar E-Type, to name a few.
Britain is home to car brands known and loved across the globe, including Land Rover, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley. However, there are many other little-known British car brands that make amazing sports cars that most gearheads have never heard of. This list looks at ten little-known British sports cars that deserve more recognition.
10 Ultima Evo
The Evo is a limited production sports car built by Ultima Sports in Leicestershire, England. Introduced in 2015, the Evo was the replacement for the Ultima GTR and was meant to be one of the fastest British cars ever made. Interestingly, the Evo is one of the few sports cars that can be bought as a kit car, making it perfect for gearheads who love to get their hands dirty.
Buyers can choose between three different engines, all derivatives of GM’s LS-based small-block V8 engine. The most powerful of the three is a 6.8-liter supercharged V8 pumping out a crazy 1,020 horsepower and 920 pound-feet of torque, paired with a Porsche-sourced six-speed manual transmission.
9 TVR Sagaris
Some gearheads may find this hard to believe, but TVR is one of the oldest British automakers. Since 1946, TVR has been manufacturing lightweight sports cars with massive engines. Unfortunately, TVR has always been known for quality issues, so it built the Sagaris to prove that it could do much better. Introduced in 2005, the Sagaris was so well-engineered that Jeremy Clarkson called it “the best TVR ever made.”
Powering the Sagaris is a 4.0-liter TVR Speed Six engine producing 406 horsepower and 349 pound-feet of torque, giving it a 0-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 185 mph.
8 Noble M600
Noble Automotive was established just two decades ago, but it has already produced one of the quickest British sports cars ever — the M600. Debuted in 2010, the M600 is a hand-built sports car that comes in three specifications — a fiberglass version, a carbon-fiber version, or a Targa-top version.
The M600 comes with a 4.4-liter twin-turbo Volvo V8 engine producing up to 650 horsepower, making it super fast. Since its introduction, the M600 has received a lot of praise from gearheads and motoring journalists, especially on the British motoring TV show Top Gear where it recorded a faster lap time than the Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Zonda F Roadster.
7 Austin-Healey 3000
Few will recognize the Austin-Healey 3000 today, but it was one of the most desirable sports cars of the 50s and 60s. The 3000 was introduced in the late 50s to celebrate the adoption of a 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine producing 150 horsepower — impressive at the time.
The thing most people loved the most about the 3000 was its gorgeous design. It had a sleek convertible body built by Jensen Motors – the same company responsible for the Jensen Interceptor. People also loved its firm ride, heavy steering, and luxury features such as a walnut dashboard and wind-up windows.
6 Ronart Lightning
Ronart is a small British automaker that produces bespoke retro sports cars. In 1999, Ronart debuted a concept car at the London International Motor Show. Dubbed the Lightning, the concept had an elegant design inspired by the legendary Jaguar XJ13 from the 60s.
However, while the Jag is powered by a monstrous V12, the Lightning comes with a more modern and reliable V8 borrowed from the Ford Mustang SVT Cobra. The standard engine produces 320 horsepower, but buyers can opt for a supercharged version with 500 horsepower on tap.
5 Caparo T1
Before Caparo Vehicle Technologies went out of business in 2019, it gave us one of the most bewildering sports cars ever — the T1. Looking at the T1, it’s hard to believe that it is road legal — it looks like a fully functional Formula One racing car.
At the heart of the T1 is a 3.5-liter all-aluminum naturally aspirated V8 cranking out 575 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, or up to 700 horsepower when using special methanol fuel. However, the most impressive thing about the T1 is how light it is — it weighs just 1,036 pounds, making it one of the lightest sports cars ever.
4 Zenos E10
In 2012, two former Lotus and Caterham bosses joined forces and established Zenos Cars with one goal — to make ultralight high-performance sports cars that were cheap to buy and run. The first car built under the Zenos brand was the E10, a mid-engined rear-wheel-drive sports car that offers ridiculous value for money.
The E10 is powered by a burly 2.0-liter turbocharged Ford EcoBoost four-cylinder engine delivering 250 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. This is enough to propel the 1,587-pound car to 60 mph in four seconds and on to a 145-mph top speed.
3 Bristol Fighter
For more than half a century, Bristol has used the same formula when making its cars — build a large, luxurious, sporty long-distance tourer and equip it with a Chrysler V8. The Fighter mostly stuck with that formula when it came out in 2004.
The Fighter was supposed to be Bristol’s launchpad into the 21st century, and it even had a futuristic design with gullwing doors to appeal to the younger generation. Under the hood, the Fighter didn’t use a Chrysler V8 though, this time they went with an 8.3-liter V10 based on the engine in the Dodge Ram SRT-10 pickup and the Dodge Viper but modified to produce 525 horses.
2 Jensen SV-8
When the name ‘Jensen’ is mentioned, most gearheads immediately think of the fantastic Interceptor from the 60s. However, there are other sports cars bearing the Jensen name, and the 2001 SV-8 is one of them.
The SV-8 project came to life after the Department of Trade and Industry and the Liverpool City Council made a £10 million investment to boost the Merseyside economy. Three hundred cars were initially planned, but only 20 ever left the factory before production was halted in 2002. The SV-8 had a Mustang-sourced 4.6-liter V8 producing 325 horsepower, giving it a top speed of 160 mph.
1 Arash AF8 Cassini
Arash Motor Company has recorded less than 80 sales since its founding in 1999, but that doesn’t mean that its cars are terrible. In fact, some of its vehicles are criminally underrated in the market, especially the AF8 Cassini supercar.
The AF8 is built to be fast and comes with a GM-sourced 7.0-liter LS7 V8 engine sending 550 horsepower to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. Buyers can expect all the niceties typical of modern supercars, including carbon fiber and leather trim, a heated windscreen, bi-xenon headlights, a touchscreen multimedia system, and a titanium exhaust.
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