This superbly illustrated book brings together more than fifty of the most significant British cars designed between the early twentieth century and the present.

Each model – starting with the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost of 1907, famed for its exemplary reliability, and concluding with the Jaguar XK180 of 1998, a breathtakingly attractive concept car – is a milestone of British motoring heritage.

Beginning with an introduction that charts the often tortuous story of the British car industry and the development of its legendary marques, the book goes on to describe each car's history, design and performance. Accompanying the lively commentary on each model are exquisite images by one of the world's foremost car photographers, including exterior shots taken from different angles and close ups of the interior and engine and other design details. Also featured are biographies of the influential designers of the last century, a full technical glossary and a directory of museums and other collections worldwide where the cars may be seen.

Author and journalist Richard Heseltine writes with a focus on classic and contemporary performance cars and motor sport history. A former staff member of Classic & Sports Car and Motor Sport magazines, he is the author of books on subjects as diverse as small-series British sports cars, Italian coachbuilding, Ferrari design history, and a biography of racing driver and team principal Graham Warner. Richard lives in Shropshire, where he attends to a coachbuilt Italian classic of his own – a 1966 Moretti 850 Sportiva.

Michel Zumbrunn, whose studio is based in Zurich, is one of the world’s most celebrated car photographers. He was one of the founding freelance photographers of French car magazine Automobiles Classiques, for which he continues to work today, alongside many other magazines in Europe and Japan.

Richard Heseltine is an author and journalist specializing in classic and contemporary sports and racing cars. As a former features editor of Motor Sport magazine and senior staff writer on Classic & Sports Car magazine, he had the opportunity to drive many of the cars featured in this book. His work has appeared in more than forty publications across Europe and the United States, including Octane, Autocar, Autosport and The Guardian. His book Italian Auto Legends, with photographs by Michel Zumbrunn, was published by Merrell in 2006.

Michel Zumbrunn is one of the world's most celebrated car photographers. He was one of the founding freelance photographers of French car magazine Automobiles Classiques, for which he continues to work today, alongside many other magazines in Europe and Japan. His books Auto Legends, with text by Robert Cumberford, and Italian Auto Legends, with text by Richard Heseltine, are also published by Merrell.