This post was originally published on Autocar
The Foreign Car Test in the ’60s was the equivalent to our Britain’s Best Driver’s car contest
Autocar road testers just can’t wait for is Britain’s Best Driver’s Car, or Handling Day for short – a road and track gathering of the most exciting driver’s cars for testing to the limit. Has been since 1989.
Back in the ’60s, the equivalent was surely the Foreign Car Test Day, held at Silverstone by Total Oils’ PR team – 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 Romeo’s new flagship saloon was the star of the show.
“So smooth and quiet is the 2600’s [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.”
Meanwhile, its 2600 Sprint coupé sibling “handles extraordinary well, although one is almost on one’s ear when cornering really fast”.
Also standing out was the new Mercedes-Benz 230 SL, “which we feel will prove to be an extremely agile and comfortable car whether on good or bad road surfaces”.
The Abarth 1000 TC, a heated-up Fiat 600, “astonished 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 oversteer”.
And Ford pleasantly surprised us with its vast Galaxie 500 XL coupé: “It 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.”
The one big letdown was actually a Ferrari: Maranello sent a 250 GT but wouldn’t let us drive it. Torture!
Alfa again stole our hearts in 1964, this time with two new Giulias.
“Compact, shapely, pleasing from all aspects, the Sprint GT coupé 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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“The 112bhp Giulia TZ is much more of a racing coupé, 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.”
We also loved meeting the 1800 Ti member of BMW’s Neue Klasse: “The 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.”
To 1965, and “the 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.
“The 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.”
Ford also impressed, yet not with the Mustang (“enterprising cornering felt rather insecure; was reasonable on a circuit but must be a pig in narrow lanes or in the wet”) but rather the German Taunus 20M: “It 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.”
And tuner Ruddspeed’s Volvo 131 was “a 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.”
Guess what stood out in 1966? Yes, correct: “Ultra-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.”
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.
“One of the safest cars there. Hard cornering involved winding on lots of lock to counteract its excessive understeer. A fast, comfortable and unprovokable car.” Sound familiar?
Regrettably, we didn’t get to try the extremely expensive Iso Grifo Lusso, because another journalist had stuffed it into a concrete wall…
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 “exhilarating all the time”), the punch coming from Fiat. “None of our testers could find the limit of the [124 S’s] adhesion: cornering power seemed limitless.”
There’s no need for rose-tinted lenses when looking back at the ’60s.