Classic Sports Cars At the Cincinnati Concours

Sports cars have long fascinated people. It's little wonder as the quest for speed in a vehicle is almost as old as automobiles themselves. A true sports car is one that is specifically designed, both mechanically and aesthetically, for performance. Where muscle cars were built for pure power, sports cars add in handling, breaking, aerodynamics, power to weight ratio, and anything else that will allow the car to go faster down the road while being an absolute blast to drive. Though hampered by the rain that kept both cars and spectators away, the 45th Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance held in Ault Park featured a nice selection of sport classics.

A very rarely seen sports classic is this 1954 Cunningham C2 coupe. Briggs Cunningham was a famed sailor and race car driver and team owner who turned his experience into a quest to win the famed 24 Hours of LeMans. To do so he had to homologate his car and so there are road versions. The 20 C3 models built served that purpose. The car uses an upgraded version of the Chrysler Hemi FirePower V8 engine.

This 1957 Ford Thunderbird represents the last year of the first generation of the T-Bird and the last two seater Ford would sell until 1982. Just over 53,000 of the first generation T-Birds were sold, including one to my adoptive mother. This particular car has been in the same family since new. It runs on a 312 cubic inch V8 that generates 245 horse power.

Not all sports cars are power heavy. This 1960 Triumph TR3A has a small 2.1 liter inline four cylinder engine that generates a mere 100 horse power. But the car is so light and the handling is so snug that it can zip through the curvy roads often found in the English countryside. The TR3 models were made between 1955 and 1962.

Georges Irat was a French automobile manufacturer who began building cars in 1921. It primarily focused on small sports models until it shuttered in 1953. This 1935 6CV convertible was one of only 54 ever made. These cars were all hand made and sported aluminum bodies to help make them light. These cars were unique in that they featured front wheel drive and had their engines turned 180 degrees from what was considered standard. That engine was an 1100 cc in line four cylinder "Ruby" that generated 37 horse power.