‘We’re really down to the pamphlet of a rule book that existed in the ’70s. Provided the car keeps its basic silhouette above the halfway line, it’s eligible’
Dave Smith, deputy driver representative for Modsports
There was a time when there was a huge appetite for watching cars which differed greatly in their technical philosophy compete against each other. These were races in which lightweight machines with outlandish, track-skimming, glass fibre bodies were pitted against rumbling muscle cars, and very often beat them. In the UK in the 1970s, this was so popular it was even televised, when most domestic motor racing was not. The category was known as Special Saloons.
Like many things from the ’70s, such as flared trousers and The Wombles, Special Saloons died a death, though in the race series’ case it was a long and lingering demise. The types of cars it catered for appeared over the following years in a number of one-circuit series, while various championships for similar cars came and went.
Since 2012, though, there has been a resurgence of interest in these machines in the shape of the Classic Sports Car Club’s Special Saloon and Modsports series. This is a little bit different from a regular historic series, in that while it welcomes the old warhorses of yesteryear, new builds are also allowed to enter, just so long as the base vehicle is a pre-1993 production car. Key is that the cars should be built in the spirit of Special Saloons, and indeed Modsports – a similar 1970’s category, but for sportscars.
‘That is our dilemma,’ says Dave Smith, deputy driver representative for the series and a leading light in the Special Saloon scene. ‘If we were too strict on period, we wouldn’t get the grids to put on a good show.’
Modern engine
Consequently, there is even room for cars with newer engines to compete.
‘We brought in what we call modern engine classes,’ Smith adds. ‘So, if you had to replace your engine it was fine, rather than lose the car from the series because the original engine
