Curving edges , bulging arches , shiny chrome – if Martians had landed on Earth in the first half of the sixties they would not have believed their eyes ( if they had any ).

Here they stood ( if they stood ), just having exited their spaceships in the city centres of the major cities in the world , initially to find themselves surrounded by the straight lines and colourless concrete of brutalist architecture at its zenith . And yet , circling those stern edifices were many examples of the fast , stylish and shapely two-seated vehicle that Earth ’ s inhabitants called the Gran Turismo , as the Martians would soon learn . And as they zapped to Goodwood , Silverstone , Monza , Spa and the Nürburgring , they would quickly find out that some of those humans raced them in the International Championship for GT Manufacturers .

Today , the cars that were part of this curvy and vividly coloured anomaly within the straight-lined aesthetics of the day compete in the Masters Gentlemen Drivers series and the International Trophy here at The Classic . Although they now date some six decades back , the popularity of these cars is as boundless as it ’ s always been , proven by the fact that as early as July this race was oversubscribed by ten cars …

Leading the big guns at the sharp end of the grid are a collection of grunty GTs of either British or American ilk – and in several cases they combine a British-American heritage . Such is definitely the case for the two designs that will probably deliver the outright winner from their ranks . The Shelby Cobra – be it in its original shape or as its Daytona Coupé derivative – started out as the AC Ace from Bristol before Texan Carroll Shelby got his hands on it to shoehorn a Ford V8 under the bonnet amongst a host of other performance improvements .

Odds-on favourites for the win are Daytona Cobra duo Julian Thomas and Calum Lockie who not only are the reigning champions but have won every round bar one in which they have competed this year . They will be run close by Roy Alderslade and his preparer , BTCC champion Andrew Jordan , with Irishmen Michael Cullen and Paddy Shovlin also bringing a Daytona Cobra , next to a swathe of regular Cobras .

Hoping to show the Cobras up is the TVR Griffith , the hybrid that was born when Long Island Ford dealer Jack Griffith hijacked Blackpool ’ s finest to build a Shelby beater . Mike Whitaker is a dark horse for pole – he ’ s done it before – but do not rule out John Davison , who won at Brands , and the quick combination of John Spiers and Nigel Greensall . A true British icon will take on the Cobras and the Griffiths , hoping to repeat what Lee Mowle and Phil Keen managed at the Red Bull Ring earlier this year – trounce the Cobras and Griffiths to win in their Jaguar E-type . Some fifteen Jags , led by that superquick Mowle / Keen pairing , will aim to do exactly that at The Classic . Additional variety is provided by the GT350 , Shelby ’ s Fastback-shaped GT version of the Ford Mustang , and Chris Beighton ’ s thundering Sunbeam Tiger .

Adding pace by losing the pounds are the cars in the CLP class for GTP cars up to 3000cc . The Lotus Elan is the car of choice in this category , as close to 20 examples are entered – prepped well , they are capable of running many of the Cobras and E-types close , and when piloted by an ace driver , they can be seen leading quite a few of those . Especially look out for BTCC race winner Sam Tordoff and his father John , quick brothers Nick and Eddie Powell , Andrew Haddon , Shaun Balfe , and Martin Stretton sharing Martin Angle ’ s car . We may even see Dario Franchitti jump into one … However , the

THE CLASSIC - SILVERSTONE SOUVENIR PROGRAMME 2022 | Page 81

INTERNATIONAL TROPHY FOR CLASSIC GT CARS ( PRE ‘ 66 )

Curving edges , bulging arches , shiny chrome – if Martians had landed on Earth in the first half of the sixties they would not have believed their eyes ( if they had any ).