52 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 8 APRIL 2 020
2020
Polestar 1
Whether or not Polestar has just become the first
Chinese brand present here depends on both your
v ie w of mo de r n MG a nd w he t he r y ou lo ok mor e t o
Polestar’s headquarters in Gothenburg or factory
in Luqiao. The brand has an odd heritage, starting
as a Swedish Touring Car Championship team,
being bought by Volvo and then transformed into a
maker of luxury electrified cars by Geely of China.
2019
Cupra Ateca
2016
DS 3
2009
Infiniti G37, EX and FX
Despite being launched in the same year as Lexus,
1989, Ni s s a n’s lu x u r y m a rque d id n’t a r r i v e i n t he
UK until September 2009, when the first Infiniti
de a le r sh ip w a s op e ne d i n R e a d i n g. It a r r i v e d w it h
a full line-up: the G37 saloon, coupé and cabriolet
alongside a pair of SUVs, the EX and FX. Latterly,
big hopes were placed on the Mercedes A-Class-
based Q30 family hatchback, but this f lopped,
le a d i n g I n f i n it i t o pu l l out of Eu r op e l a s t y e a r.
2009
Te s l a Ro a d s te r
2000
Smart City Coupé
The origins of Smart stretch back to 1982, when a
stylish two-seat city car was dreamed up by the CEO
of Swiss watchmaker Swatch. A deal for production
was signed with Volkswagen in 1991, but it started
h av i n g doub t s a nd s o t e r m i n at e d t he c ont r a c t i n
- S w at c h t he n si g ne d up w it h Da i m le r, w h ic h
brought the Smart City Coupé to market in 1998.
L H D mo de l s w e r e s old i n t he U K f r om O c t ob e r
2000, before RHD cars arrived 12 months later.
1995
Daewoo Nexia
and Espero
1960
Saab 96
1967
Mazda 110S
1967
Honda S800
Honda had already achieved genuine success in
this land by the time its first car arrived in January
1967; its excellent motorcycles had been available
here since 1961. Honda’s first four-wheeled
m a c h i ne t o b e i mp or t e d w a s t he S80 0 s p or t s c a r,
which undercut Britain’s own Triumph Spitfire
on pr ic e. T he Japa ne s e f i r m fol low e d t h i s up w it h
a series of economical two-door saloons, before
its big break came with the original Civic in 1973.
1967
Lamborghini
400GT
1965
Toyot a Co ro n a
The first notable Japanese entry came that October,
from Toyota. It made its debut with the (now
rather unfortunately named) Corona in its third-ge ne r at ion s a lo on a nd e s t at e for m s. A r ou nd 10 0
were sold in the first year. Toyota had 85 dealers
signed up by the end of 1967, and real success came
shortly after with the arrival of the smaller Corolla.
1965
Daihatsu Compagno
The first of the Japanese companies, whose
excellence would play a key role in the large-scale
demise of our manufacturing sector, was not awell-known one. Daihatsu’s Compagno two-door
saloon was sold from one London dealership,
beginning in early 1965. However, at £280 more
t h a n t he A u s t i n M i n i , it m a n a ge d t o s e l l a n
embarrassing six examples over five years.
1965
The Audi
T he h i s t or y of A ud i i s r at he r c ompl ic at e d. It w a s
e s t a bl i she d i n 1910 but me r ge d w it h DK W, Hor c h
a nd Wa nde r e r i n 1932 t o for m A ut o Un ion. T h i s
company resumed after the war and was bought by
Daimler-Benz in 1959 but, due to the diminishing
popularity of its two-stroke products, it was soon
off loaded to the Volkswagen Group. Wolfsburg
pr omp t l y r e l au nc he d t he h i s t or ic A ud i f i r m , it s
first car being a reworked DKW advertised simply
as the Audi. Just 32 examples were sold in 1965; a
far cry from the 160,000 or so premium cars today.
1960
Maserati
3500GT