Modernised classics: finding the best retro sports car for the 21st century

Jensen Interceptor R

Price £200,000; 0-60mph 4.5sec; Top speed Over 167mph; Kerb weight 1775kg (est); Engine 6162cc, V8, petrol; Power 429bhp at 6600rpm; Torque 424lb ft at 3800rpm; Gearbox 4-speed automatic

Also consider... Ferrari FF (£227,142)

Maranello’s 651bhp four-seat breadvan costs similar money to the Jensen from new but can shed up to £50,000 within a year.

Spydercars Zetec Elan

Lotus’ flyweight Elan offers a sublime steer, but rust can ravage its steel backbone. That malaise has created a demand that Spydercars has served for 30 years with its replacement chassis.

The Peterborough company’s spaceframe adds about 40 per cent stiffness – plus better servicing accessibility, safety and repairability – without increasing weight.

To all of this, Spydercars adds performance, reliability and economy with its Zetec conversions, most of which are Elan +2s like this 76,000-mile development car. It doesn’t represent a workshop-fresh finish but does, crucially, let us experience the car’s dynamics.

The race-tuned 2.0-litre, 16-valve Ford Zetec four-pot echoes the Elan’s original, Cortina-derived 1.6 twin-cam but increases power and torque by half.

Rear struts are dropped in favour of custom all-round double wishbones, and CV joints replace the springy Rotoflex couplings.

Happily, the engine exhibits startling similarities to the original. Following a purposeful-sounding idle, it pulls from 2000rpm and hits its stride at 4000rpm, when an entertaining, raucous raspiness erupts.

There are pops and bangs on the overrun and heel-and-toeing is a cinch. The five-speed Ford gearbox is almost as satisfying as the Elan’s original click-clack four-speed unit and far slicker than the later five-speeder. Fifth provides easy high-speed cruising, when the exhaust hushes nicely.

The small, thick Moto-Lita steering wheel and 2.2-turn rack feel settled, while the ride is good (some low-speed shudders aside) and the car feels planted in the dry. But the original’s big-diameter, thin-rimmed helm, and the delicacy it transmitted, are missing.

Spydercars reckons combining a slower rack and higher-profile tyres with a bigger wheel would recreate that lightness. It’s also easy to overwhelm the 185mm-wide rear tyres in the wet, and the Wilwood brakes want for more feel.

But value is on the Zetec Elan’s side, with this example here on sale for £25,000. Prefer a ‘new’ one? Donors cost from just £2000 (you’ll retain little more than the glassfibre shell), and Spydercars charges £45,240 for a scratch build, including a respray and new leather and walnut interior, making the evocative, charming little Elan easily our most affordable choice.

Spydercars Zetec Elan

Price £47,240; 0-60mph 6.0sec; Top speed 130mph; Kerb weight 950kg (est); Engine 4 cyls, 1998cc, petrol; Power 190bhp; Torque 160lb ft; Gearbox 5-speed manual

Also consider... Lotus Evora +2 (£54,980)

Like the original Elan +2, Hethel’s latest 2+2 rides and handles beautifully. The Zetec Elan’s drivetrain is more entertaining, though.

Frontline Developments MG Abingdon Edition

Only one car here goes for the baby-and-bathwater approach, adopting as it does a new bodyshell, chassis, engine and transmission. That it’s the bechromed Mk1 MGB is a surprise.

No less surprising is the shockingly stark disconnect between the aesthetics of Frontline’s MG Abingdon Edition and its performance; the 999kg roadster is claimed to hit 60mph in 3.8sec.

This it does via the unlikely installation of the Mk2 Mazda 6’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder enigne, hiked from 167bhp to 304bhp via upgraded internals and management systems.

The seam-welded steel monocoque body and chassis are new, produced for Abingdon-based Frontline by British Motor Heritage, the licensee for pre-1982 MG parts. That makes it OEM equipment, helping to meet the required provenance to make this, officially, a 1964 car.

Front suspension is still by double wishbones, but the live rear axle has been replaced by a bespoke six-link set-up and there is an adjustable coilover at each corner.

The Abingdon Edition really looks the part. Its wheelbase matches that of the original and its extra 18mm of track isn’t obvious. Given contemporary production processes, you’d hope for tighter panel fit – although this is the inaugural build – but the cabin’s quality is more consistent, with tidy switchgear, ample soft leather and custom-fitted low-back seats.

The car tremors at idle like the mini-rod it is. Take-up is sometimes bitey, but there’s a fantastic warbling howl as speed shoots up and an addictive bark when blipping, though heel-and-toeing isn’t practicable.

Tractability really impresses above 2000rpm, and six snickety gears allow quick shifts and a serene 2500rpm at 70mph in top.

Electric steering from EZ is a revelation. It is fluid, responsive, ideally weighted and feelsome and helps to exploit the little roadster’s tight body control and keen turn-in.

It would be a hoot on track, but with the current suspension settings it’s too animated for subsiding A-roads.

At nearly £100k, this is one expensive MG, but Frontline’s 2.0-litre, 238bhp ‘LE50’ MGB GT costs £78,000 on average, after options (many of which are standard fit here), although most of those are sold.

Refine the ride and shore up the panel fit and there are many reasons to snare one of the 25 Abingdon Editions.

Frontline developments MG Abingdon Edition

Price £95,874; 0-60mph 3.8sec; Top speed 160mph (est); Kerb weight 999kg; Engine 4 cyls, 2488cc, petrol; Power 304bhp at 6800rpm; Torque 240lb ft at 4800rpm; Gearbox 6-speed manual

Also consider... Jaguar F-type R coupé (£85,000)

Frontline says its car is quicker to 60mph than the supercharged V8 Jag. It would be a hilarious drag race to watch.

Eagle E-Type Series 1 4.2 Roadster

More famous for its homegrown Speedster and Low Drag GT specials, East Sussex-based Eagle’s meat and drink is restoring and sympathetically upgrading E-types.

In contrast to the Frontline Developments MGB, the Jag’s original body, bones and heart are retained; Eagle sources tidy E-types and gives them a bumper-to-bumper refresh outside and in.

From there, four specification levels are offered, from £13,200 to £98,400, variously focusing on general usability, handling, performance or all three, though specs can be mixed and matched.

Our example is a Series 1 4.2 Roadster in ‘Sport’ spec, valued at £245,000. Engine tweaks include a high-flow air filter, electronic ignition, modernised fuelling, stainless manifolds and a sports exhaust.

The all-round independent suspension’s architecture is rebuilt with custom parts such as new radius arms and adjustable Koni dampers, and the geometry is revised.

From afar, the shape is as beguiling as ever: long, narrow, lithe. Up close, there’s no need for Vaselined lenses; chrome gleams, shutlines are consistent and the cabin quality matches that of today’s blue-riband car makers, yet, stereo aside, it looks, feels and is absolutely authentic.

A bright, tappety chunter begins when the engine fires and remains throughout, while the trumpeting exhaust starts low and loud and only gets louder, blaring as the engine meets its screaming 5000rpm red line.

The four-speed manual gearbox (a five-speeder is optional) shifts quickly above second and has a sweet, mechanical feel. Conservatively rated at the original’s 265bhp, the E-type feels swift, but no more than that in today’s company.

Eagle does offer a fuel injection conversion, but triple SU carbs render it redundant. This is already a responsive, well mannered powertrain that feels entirely up to track use. Instead, we’d look towards the 4.7-litre upgrade that packs an additional 81bhp.

Eagle E-Type Series 1 4.2 Roadster

Price £245,000; 0-60mph 6.5sec; Top speed 150mph; Kerb weight 1339kg; Engine 6 cyls, 4235cc, petrol; Power 265bhp at 5400rpm; Torque 238lb ft at 3800rpm; Gearbox 4-speed manual

Also consider... Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Final Edition Roadster (£199,500)

Another charismatic, long-nosed sports roadster, the SLS might dust the E-type for pace but can’t touch it for class.

PS Autoart Retro Touring R

The Porsche 911 fussbudgets may squint at Essex-based PS Autoart’s Retro Touring R. Its stocky proportions indicate a 964-series Porsche 911, but its details recall earlier, classic versions.

The 964’s plastic fantastic bumpers and skirts are absent; in their place, slivers of rubber are bordered by slimline brightwork that also adorns the lights, mirrors and glasshouse.

The truth is, this is not a modernised classic 911, but a loosely backdated 964 (specifically a Carrera 4) of the Singer genre. Diehards might cruelly refer to it as a mongrel; others will say it is simply stunning.

Of the bodywork, only the doors and roof are original; the rest is neatly fabricated in steel, aluminium or GRP. Inside, there’s high-quality leather everywhere (even on the roll cage) and bespoke aluminium switchgear.

Mechanical upgrades come largely from the car’s original manufacturer, granting a sizeable head start against our other contenders. Besides trading on Zuffenhausen’s engineering clout, that also allows servicing by any Porsche specialist and lends PS Autoart the confidence to sell with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty.

This car’s air-cooled 3.6-litre flat six has been enlarged to 3.8 litres and fitted with 993 RS-spec cams, cylinder barrels and pistons. Fresh from the production line, its low-rev unruliness needs to be tuned out, and its buyer’s choice of loud, bassy exhaust wouldn’t be ours. But what a powertrain.

Torque delivery is super-smooth, with a little kick at 4000rpm, beyond which a deep scream soundtracks properly eye-widening pace up to 7000rpm. The five-speed manual gearbox is slick and the brakes are strong and progressive.

The power-assisted steering has an equally glossy feel that’s peppered with gentle kickback and characteristic front-end bobbing, while turn-in is appropriately nippy.

Gripes? While the ride is more supple than that of a stock 964, West Sussex’s rippled asphalt unearthed an unsettling vertical reactiveness at speed that deviates from this car’s ‘touring’ remit.

Tweaking the adjustable Bilsteins (on the to-do list for this car) might lessen that trait, but you’re stuck with the 964’s seriously offset driving position.

Overall, though, the Retro Touring R presents a strong package. It’s quick, fun, characterful, luxurious and extremely solid. Not to mention very, very covetable.

PS Autoart Retro Touring R

Price £200,000 (approx); 0-60mph 4.9sec; Top speed 170mph; Kerb weight 1290kg; Engine Flat 6, 3800cc, petrol; Power 300bhp at 6200rpm; Torque 295lb ft at 4800rpm; Gearbox 5-speed manual

Also consider... McLaren 650S (£195,250)

Hit the track and the 650S will blow you away. But on the road and at legal speeds, the Porsche might produce the bigger grin.

The verdict

Between these five modernised classics, the cat has been skinned every which way. But they are all absolutely usable, mixing with modern traffic at a trot.