Post War European Luxury On Display In Ault Park

 Following World War II much of Europe was in shambles. The major automobile manufacturing countries had been rocked the most. Germany was all but leveled and had been divided in two. England had been devastated by bombings and Italy had suffered major damage from the Allied push up from North Africa. Italy was fairly quick to recover, though as is evidenced by this 1948 Lancia Aprilla Spider Pininfarina Speciale. This is one of the last of these cars produced and was discovered in pieces as part of an estate sale in 2005. It has a 1.5 liter over head valve Tipo 99 V4 engine that generates 49 horse power.

Fifteen years after the war the Italian car industry was back in shape. This 1960 Alfa Romeo 2000 Touring is a perfect example. Only 3443 examples of this style spider (convertible) were built and this is number 1417 and has been in the same family since 1966. The car has a 2.0 L dual overhead cam four cylinder engine that pushed out 113 horse power.

In England the industrial battle cry was to export or perish. The economy couldn't support the domestic auto industry so companies like Jaguar looked overseas and found a willing market in America. This 1959 XK 150S fixed head coupe (hard top to Americans) was the very first S type built with engine number 001.The engine is a 3.8 L DOVC inline six cylinder that creates 365 horse power. This car was restored for the CEO and president of the Ford Motor Company.

Here is a 1951 Jaguar Mark V 3.5. 10,500 of these were built between 1948 and 1951. With a 3.5 L straight six cylinder engine these cars became popular in road rallies and saloon racing (no that doesn't have anything to do with stopping at bars).

This is a 1957 Jaguar XK 140 fixed head coupe. It is one of 2798 built between 1954 and 1957. This model was the first Jaguar sports car to be offered with an automatic transmission. It has a 3.4 L DOHC straight six cylinder engine that puts out 210 horse power.