Show of British Dreams

The Show of Dreams was an all British antique and classic car show which we attended in mid-July in Hudson, NH. Funds raised benefited several area charities. The day was rain-free — perfect weather for an outdoor show of this type, as most car enthusiasts agree.

One of the most distinctive small British sports cars is the two-seat open MG which began production in the mid-1920s. The line also included saloons (British equivalent of sedans) and coupés. The story goes that these well known initials were selected by Cecil Kimber an employee of William Morris who owned Morris Garages.  Two of the most popular MG colors were British racing green (BRG) and red. BRG is the green international motor racing color of the UK. 

The British Austin-Healey Sprite, introduced in 1958, was known in the UK as the Frogeye and in the U.S. as the Bugeye. Its headlights were prominently mounted on top of the hood. The designers had planned for the headlights to retract with the lenses facing up when not in use. However, due to cost cutting, the flip-up mechanism wasn't added and the headlights were fixed in a permanent upright position giving the car its distinctive feature and nicknames.

Jaguar is a recognized name for a high end luxury car, but the original business was founded in 1922 with a less elegant name, the Swallow Sidecar Company (S.S. Cars). The company made motorcycle side cars before developing bodies for passenger cars. The name was changed to "Jaguar" in 1945.

Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers (GT)  founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The firm became associated with luxury grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with fictional spy James Bond who used a DB5 model in the 1964 film, Goldfinger. The GT is a performance/luxury automobile used for high-speed or long-distance driving. The term derives from the Italian gran turismo or grand tour, which described autos cars that could make long-distance journeys in comfort and style. 

It's easy to recognize a Rolls Royce. The British car company and later aero-engine manufacturing company was founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Sir Frederick Henry Royce in 1906. In 2015, Rolls Royce announced the production of its first-ever SUV. According to RR management, "the new SUV will set new luxury standards among cars of this segment." Indeed, it will do that.

There's no mistaking the styling of a Lotus. The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. in 1952 by engineers Colin Chapman and Colin Dare, both graduates of University College, London. The four letters in the middle of the logo are the initials of company founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman. In its starting days, Lotus sold cars geared to privateer racers. Early road cars could be bought as kits to save on purchase taxes, but the kit car era ended in the late 1960s/early 1970s, 

These emblems show the variety of cars featured cars at this show. In addition to those mentioned above, there were many that we were unfamiliar with as well.

One thing so many of these sports cars had in common — tight cramped interiors.