Donald Healey's 8C Triumph Dolomite (Jonathan Wood, 2017)

One of Britain’s legendary sports cars of the 1930s, the Triumph Dolomite was mechanically and stylistically inspired by Alfa Romeo’s exquisite Touring-bodied 8C 2300 model. The brainchild of Britain’s best-known rally driver and Triumph executive Donald Healey, above, and motoring journalist Tommy Wisdom, this delectable, costly 100mph open two-seater has been the subject of speculation and rumour since the day of its announcement. Even the exact number of Dolomites built became a matter of controversy. The car was also believed to have been the subject of legal action by Alfa Romeo, in view of its similarity to the Italian firm’s immortal ‘2.3.’ Two Dolomites survive and their owners, Jonathan Turner and Tim Whitworth, commissioned the award-winning motoring historian Jonathan Wood to produce the first definitive history of this rarest of British sports cars. The result is a book that answers many questions; the truth of Alfa Romeo’s apparent legal challenge is finally exposed, although some aspects of the Dolomite story remain shrouded in mystery. Drawing on contemporary accounts, eye-witness statements and corporate recollections, Wood’s painstaking research is complemented by rare archive images and specially-commissioned photography of the surviving cars. The Foreword is contributed by Donald Healey’s grandson, Peter Healey.