Foreign Collectors at Keenland

The Collector Foreign class at the annual Keenland Concours d'Elegance is exactly that, foreign collector cars manufactured through 1972. A popular example is this 1958 Porsche 356 Speedster which, when it was introduced four years earlier, became an instant success.

While it may look like most other Austin-Martin 100 cars that still exist, this 1956 factory built 100M is based on the models that were raced at LeMans. It possesses 20 percent more power than the standard model. Only about 185 of the 640 that were built remain.

This 1954 Jaguar XK-120 Roadster was actually one of the last of these successful cars to be built. And it is a perfect example of the line. In 2008 it was named National Champion by the Jaguar Club of North America when it received three perfect scores.

Here is a 1938 MGA Tickford Drophead Coupe. Only about half of the 250 of these cars that were built are still around and of those just a handful, such as this one, still have their original MGJP engine.

Perhaps the car that changed the European sports car landscape the most was this 1959 Lotus Elite S-1 Type 14. To keep the car light it was built as a monocoque shell made entirely of fiberglass. While this kept the weight down to just 1350 pounds, it made for a rather fragile car.

Most people are familiar with AC motors mostly as the company that helped Carroll Shelby make and market the Cobra. But the company has been around for a long time as is evidenced by this 1936 AC Coupe. This car is unrestored and has only 16,259 original miles.

Finally here is an example of a 1972 Jaguar XJ 6. This was the last year of this model which also happened to be the last Jaguar designed by company founder Sir William Lyons.