Autocar road testers just canât wait for is Britainâs Best Driverâs Car, or Handling Day for short â a road and track gathering of the most exciting driverâs cars for testing to the limit. Has been since 1989.
Back in the â60s, the equivalent was surely the Foreign Car Test Day, held at Silverstone by Total Oilsâ PR team â a kaleidoscope of Italian, German, French, American, Japanese and Eastern European metal at a time when the UK market was dominated by British products.
Our first report came in 1963, when Alfa Romeoâs new flagship saloon was the star of the show.
âSo smooth and quiet is the 2600âs [straight six] that one has to keep a watchful eye on the rev counter. The ride comfort and road behaviour might suggest an advanced form of independent suspension but, in fact, it has a live axle with coil springs.â
Meanwhile, its 2600 Sprint coupĂ© sibling âhandles extraordinary well, although one is almost on oneâs ear when cornering really fastâ.
Also standing out was the new Mercedes-Benz 230 SL, âwhich we feel will prove to be an extremely agile and comfortable car whether on good or bad road surfacesâ.
The Abarth 1000 TC, a heated-up Fiat 600, âastonished drivers, not only by its speed of up to 100 down the straights but also its prodigious roadholding, without a trace of the familiar rear-engine oversteerâ.
And Ford pleasantly surprised us with its vast Galaxie 500 XL coupĂ©: âIt heeled over well when cornering fast but handled consistently with slight understeer. Its 300bhp and smooth automatic changes hustled it round and one soon became used to its very light power steering.â
The one big letdown was actually a Ferrari: Maranello sent a 250 GT but wouldnât let us drive it. Torture!
Alfa again stole our hearts in 1964, this time with two new Giulias.
âCompact, shapely, pleasing from all aspects, the Sprint GT coupĂ© has performance and handling in keeping. On the thin edge of adhesion, it remained completely docile and predictable, giving the greatest confidence to the driver.
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âThe 112bhp Giulia TZ is much more of a racing coupĂ©, with light aluminium body and sawn-off rear end. For one inexperienced in its handling, high-speed cornering needed more care and thought than with the Sprint GT, but this was partly a case of going faster, too.â
We also loved meeting the 1800 Ti member of BMWâs Neue Klasse: âThe handling is exceptionally sure and responsive, with superb tyre adhesion. The steering, very accurate and responsive, may seem a little heavier than is fashionable but is none the worse for that.â
To 1965, and âthe Giulia Super is one of the few saloons that one can really enjoy on a race circuit. Like all Alfas, it rolls steeply if hurried through corners but maintains neutral steering characteristics and grips like a leech without squeal. It is a remarkable exposition of what can be managed with a live rear axle.
âThe Giulia GTC somehow feels much more than just a beheaded Sprint GT. There seems to be much more grip in the corners than there ought to be. When really trying, the outside rear suspension seemed to be hitting the bump stops.â
Ford also impressed, yet not with the Mustang (âenterprising cornering felt rather insecure; was reasonable on a circuit but must be a pig in narrow lanes or in the wetâ) but rather the German Taunus 20M: âIt has a very smooth and willing V6 that revs right up to almost 80 in third. Handling was extremely good with hardly any roll and good neutral characteristics that helped set it up accurately for the corners.â
And tuner Ruddspeedâs Volvo 131 was âa revelation in how extensive modification can transform a car into a fast pseudo-GT. The handling was superb, with precise steering and well-damped springs.â
Guess what stood out in 1966? Yes, correct: âUltra-wide wheels give the Giulia Sprint GTA superb adhesion and finely balanced handling, and this racer made the right kind of blood-stirring noises all day long.â
Come 1967, the Mercedes 250 SE, Mercedes 250 SL and BMW 2000 CS coupés all won heaps of praise, but most noteworthy was the arrival of Audi, with the Super 90 saloon.
âOne of the safest cars there. Hard cornering involved winding on lots of lock to counteract its excessive understeer. A fast, comfortable and unprovokable car.â Sound familiar?
Regrettably, we didnât get to try the extremely expensive Iso Grifo Lusso, because another journalist had stuffed it into a concrete wallâŠ
It appears the final running was in 1968, when Alfa was at last beaten to the top spot (even though the 1750 Veloce Spider was âexhilarating all the timeâ), the punch coming from Fiat. âNone of our testers could find the limit of the [124 Sâs] adhesion: cornering power seemed limitless.â
Thereâs no need for rose-tinted lenses when looking back at the â60s.
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