The Swallow Doretti lasted barely a year, yet Hagerty UK counts about 200 survivors from the 276 built. That kind of staying power links these seven British sports cars. Most came from small teams, and each has a shape or a story that still makes people stop and look.
Some came from tiny workshops, including one in a Welsh mining valley. Others came from Lotus and Aston Martin. All seven, however, have a detail that owners love to point out.
1. 1954–1955 Swallow Doretti
The Swallow Doretti borrowed its engine and running gear from the Triumph TR2. Even so, the rest of the car was far fancier. Frank Rainbow, who had worked at Bristol Aircraft, designed it for Tube Investments. As a result, it rode on a frame of Reynolds 531 chrome-moly tubing under an aluminium body.
That quality cost money. According to Hagerty UK’s buyer’s guide, the Swallow Doretti sold for £1,158 in Britain when a TR2 cost £887. The Motor found a genuine 100 mph with overdrive in 1954. Then, in February 1955, production stopped suddenly after other carmakers complained about Tube Investments competing with its own customers.
2. 1966 Gilbern Genie
Gilbern built its cars in Wales, on the old site of the Red Ash Colliery near Pontypridd. According to Classic & Sports Car, the Genie made the firm’s first Earls Court appearance in 1966. It paired a glassfibre four-seat body with a square-tube steel chassis.
Power came from Ford’s 3-litre V6. In its November 1968 road test, Motor Sport quoted 141 net bhp and priced the car at £1,447 as a kit or £1,917 built. The tester liked the cornering, with little body roll and a neutral balance. He also called the Genie “a very fast car from A to B and on to C,” though he hated the gear change.
3. 1967–1974 Lotus Elan Plus 2
Lotus launched the Elan Plus 2 in 1967 to move upmarket. It was bigger in every dimension than the two-seat Elan, with room for two small rear passengers. It was also the first Lotus not offered as a kit for home assembly, according to Hagerty UK.
Colin Chapman drove one himself. His own 1972 car covered its first 6,600 miles with him, then spent years in the Lotus museum. Meanwhile, the LotusElan.net owners’ reference lists the Type 50 launch as September 1967, with the big-valve +2S/130 arriving in February 1971. Production ended in December 1974.
4. 1994–2004 Aston Martin DB7
The DB7 began life as a design meant for Jaguar. Ian Callum shaped it, and when Jaguar chose the XK8 instead, Aston Martin took the car. It debuted at the 1993 Geneva show, and deliveries began in 1994.
Two engines followed. First came a supercharged 3.2-litre six with 335 bhp, and later a 420-bhp V12. Auto Express counts 2,461 six-cylinder cars and 4,100 V12s, and it calls the DB7 “the car that saved Aston Martin.” Today, its guide puts good six-cylinder coupes from about £18,000.
5. 2003 Noble M12 GTO-3R
The Noble M12 looked like a modest coupe, but the numbers said otherwise. At the start of 2003 it gained a 2,968cc V6 with twin water-cooled Garrett T25 turbochargers. The GTO-3R version made 352 bhp and drove through a six-speed Getrag manual.
Its body was glass-reinforced plastic over a steel spaceframe, according to Conceptcarz. That kept the GTO-3 near 1,050 kg. Most cars were built in South Africa. In fact, US dealer RK Motors says roughly 220 GTO-3Rs went to America as component cars for final assembly there.
6. 2000 Lotus 340R
The 340R started as a concept at the 1998 Birmingham Motor Show. Two years later, Lotus built it on the Elise’s aluminium tub. It had no roof and no doors, so drivers climbed straight in over the side.
Lotus announced a run of 340 cars, and the whole batch sold out before the first one left the line. According to Silodrome, its 1.8-litre Rover K-Series made 177 bhp in a car weighing 701 kg. It ran 0–62 mph in 4.4 seconds.
7. 2000–2001 Lotus Exige Series 1
Lotus unveiled the first Exige in April 2000 at Brands Hatch, during the opening round of its Elise race series. It was a fixed-roof Elise with a Kamm tail. Its high-revving 1.8-litre K-Series made 177 hp at 7,800 rpm.
The Series 1 lasted only one year. PistonHeads says Lotus built just over 600, and it puts unmodified UK examples still running in 2024 at under 100. Clean cars now sell from around £40,000, well above the £30,020 one cost new.
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