1969 triumph vitesse mkii £12,495

What have I done? I have just spent about six times that which I’ve yet previously spent on a car, on a vehicle that has twice as many cylinders as I’m used to, will consume about double the amount of

Losing Fisher & Ludlow (which had made monocoque bodies for the Standard 8 and 10) to the British Motor Corporation led Standard-Triumph to choose separate-chassis construction for its next small car.

We sample the Spitfire that exemplifies courage and true friendship

ASKING £44,995 PRICE

James Walshe explains how to buy Standard-Triumph’s clever little sportscar superstar

The V8 Vantage remains an automotive icon two decades on from its launch – still riotous to drive but now tantalisingly affordable