Sunday 10th September 2017

British GTs: Market Watch

Britain does a fine line in continental cruisers, and here's the PH pick of the best!

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There are those who will delight in pointing out that the GT in GT cars is actually short for 'Gran Turismo', and that such a nomenclature would seem to indicate an Italian connection. This may be true but, damn it all, surely everyone knows that the finest and most proper recent GT cars have hailed from Britain?

See, there's a GT for nearly every budget

Such machines are, we romantically suppose, imbued with the sweat, toil and passion of the designers who drew them, as well as the specialists who built them and the enthusiasts who yearned after them. After all, was it not the British who invented the Grand Tour? No, wait - not that Grand Tour. I mean the original Grand Tour. You know, the one on which rather well off young men fresh from Oxbridge would trot off to discover the charms and art and culture of Europe and beyond, before settling down to the inevitability of married life and a career spent in a bank/operating theatre/law court/the House of Lords.

Yes, it was, and for that reason the British grand touring car, distinct from the common sports car or irrelevant supercar or loutish hot hatchback, is surely to be considered the very pinnacle of motoring sophistication. You could argue that the initials 'GT' have been debased over the years by various over-commercialised motor racing activities and the plastering of them over far too many lacklustre family cars, and I would not disagree with you. But to be behind the wheel of a proper GT, with a flexible, powerful and - above all - refined engine, and a layout that provides effortless performance and a decent range, seated in a luxurious interior that wants for nothing, with enough room for a small gathering of loved ones and luggage, is to enjoy one of the very finest motoring pleasures that man can achieve.

Here we've given some of the finest British GT cars the Market Watch treatment. We've taken prices from our PH classifieds section, and we've found some very reasonable second-hand examples starting from as little as £12,000, the price of a new Vauxhall Adam...

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Introduction
Aston Martin DB9
Bentley Continental GT
Jaguar XK
Rolls-Royce Wraith

 

[Murphy16]

Quite similar to an article in this months 'Modern Classics'. Inspiration maybe?

[Big GT]

The article in Modern Classics rates the XKR as the stand out car and I would agree, Jag made a world beater GT/Sports coupe at the time and I don't think many came close while it was in production.
Strong engine and great chassis, probably the only negative is the interior on some - very 'golf club Jag' and only Auto Box but a beautiful capable car.

[Robert-nszl1]

Owned a Bentley Conti, and was nice but didn't get the heart rate up. Drove an XKR and liked it, but again not special enough. Surely the DB9 or Vanquish win the crown of the British GTs? V12 always more special, great looks, bespoke interior etc

[Hammerhead]

Loved my 5.0 XK Portfolio. I'd have another tomorrow (if Mrs Hammerhead had the 'sensible' car instead of me!)

It was a great GT car but also quite happy blatting through the twistie stuff. Totally reliable, too.

[Futse]

Beautiful car, great pic. Very nice!!

[MegaCat]

Another lover of the XKR. We had two convertibles and did 2 trips to the Alps & Dolomites, the NW 500 and many other great trips. For 2 people it is ideal, loads of luggage room, fast, comfortable, great noise, roof down up & down Alpine passes, handles really well (especially on Conti 5/6's).

If they still made them I'd have gone for a third! Totally reliable, and it makes you smile every drive. I cannot think of a better GT car.

[C7 JFW]

Quite a wide array of images that go with those vehicles, which is strange considering their designed purpose.

I'd pick the Aston.

[andyps]

I'm on the lookout for an XK 5.0 convertible to replace my XK8, just need to find the right one. I would love a DB9 but have to be realistic about the running costs as it will be a main car and pretty much daily driver so don't think it is realistic.

[j4r4lly]

I really like the XK's/XK8's and came very close to buying one. In the end I went for an Aston V8V as it was that bit more special to drive and (arguably) looks even better. It's also available with a manual 6-speed 'box too. I guess it's less of a GT than the other cars but for 2 people there is plenty of room and the boot is very usable. We've done several long weekends away covering 700+ miles each time and it's not been too terrible on fuel averaging 24mpg overall.
The other major factor was the depreciation that Jag's unfortunately suffer. Spending big spondoolies on a car is a hard one to get past the other half and the Aston seemed to be a safer place to put the cash, even if it does cost more to run
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[osborn911]

Replaced 911 Turbo with an xk. Did not match the Porsche on most measures but a lovely looking lollaping car which at 120,000 miles gave me no problems. A lorry drove into the back and the insurance company gave me a Bentley whilst it was repaired. After 2 days gave it back. Most unexciting car I have ever driven. Only thing which brough a smile to my face was the steering wheel which moved out of the way when you opened the door. Gave me a db9 to replace it. Liked it so much bought an 04 db9. Full Aston service history but the head gasket went due to blocked radiator. Appears never been checked but still love it. Added bonus that People smile at you which never happened in the Porsche.

[Siy]

Disagree - I had a Conti GTC to waft around in - beautiful place to be. Perhaps not the most exciting drive, after all it is very heavy, but totally capable! Gets my vote anyway...