Opinion: Small is beautiful

So there I was, sipping my evening cuppa, looking out at the cricket ground, wondering how we could send England packing, back to the pavilion. When out of the blue dropped a message: the India-UK Free Trade Agreement was on! What? How? Where? My mind raced, cricket on pause.

Right in front, square-dead and centre, in IMAX 70mm, all the legendary British sports car brands. Triumphs, Austin-Healeys, Rileys, MGs, Jaguars, Minis and, of course, fast Fords. Imagine how accessible these would be. Duties for many will go from 110 percent to 50, 30 and finally 10 percent in five years. Can you imagine that? The best cars the UK has to offer, at only 10 percent duty in the next few years. And this includes more expensive, larger cars, too. Aston Martins, McLarens, Bentleys, Range Rovers and Rolls-Royces, price reductions on which could be substantial.

But alas, as I emerge from my stupor, reality strikes. The sun no longer shines on the British auto empire. Triumph no longer makes cars; there’s no Austin-Healey, no Riley and no Allard. MG is now owned by the Chinese and makes commuters, the Cyberster EV apart. And Lotus, also Chinese-owned, wants to move to EVs. There is no clarity on the sports cars that are made in Hethel, UK. Even worse, Jaguar wants to transform from a fierce Amazonian jungle killer to a fashion-conscious pussycat. Sure, BMW-owned Mini is still alive and kicking, and Ford still makes a Focus ST, but apart from these, what’s tragic is that the multitude of British sports car makers have all dissolved or disappeared. Poof!

But hold on. There is hope. A few small-volume British carmakers still exist. And if regulations don’t get in the way, there could be some real gems here. Caterham, for one, the spiritual successor to Lotus, still makes Lotus Super 7-based open-wheeled sports cars. There’s a bunch you can choose from, with engine options from 84hp to 210hp. And since Caterham has achieved European Community Small Series Type Approval (ECSSTA), certification should, in theory, be possible.

Then, there’s the Ariel Motor Company with the brilliant off-road Nomad and the Atom – another set of four-wheel motorcycles, good enough to make any petrolhead swoon. And, of course, Morgan, which was looking at India years ago. The three-wheeled Super 3 is unique and scores top marks as a fun-to-drive car regularly. Then, there’s the 255hp Morgan Plus Four that comes with a BMW petrol engine, and finally, the Supersport that gets a BMW B58 turbo inline-6 that produces 338hp. And since the Super 3 and Morgan Plus Four can be bought in the US, these cars could make it here as well. Can’t wait to see how things pan out.

Imagine being able to import a Morgan or a Caterham. What a treat!

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