And now for something completely different.

This strange beast is a Daimler SP250. It was produced by the Daimler company (owned by Jaguar) in 1963 as an attempt to grab some of the American market for British sports cars. Yes, I know it’s ugly, but there is something about its looks that fascinates. That ridiculous grille, for instance – is it really just a huge, cheesy grin?

Underneath the fiberglass body there lurks a hemispherical head V8 designed specifically for this car. So it performed well and was often used in competition. But it failed in its primary task, never really catching on in the States. By 1968 production had almost ceased and the SP250 was confined to history as a quirky but interesting aberration of a normally-conservative marque.

If nothing else, the design is brave. It was as though the company wanted something that built upon the tradition of the open sports car but introduced new elements like the pointed wings at the rear. And the result is a car so homely that I, for one, can’t help but like it.