BIG IDEAS SMALL PACKAGE

THREE HOT FOUR-POT CARS THAT ROSE ABOVE THEIR SIZE IN THE SIXTIES

- WORDS DAVE MORLEY

Unless you already have a Seniors card in your pocket, you could be forgiven for thinking that large, powerful, full-sized cars have always been the default setting for an Australian performance car. But if you are of a certain age, you'll know that the big, V8 family-car-with-stripes thing only really happened in the later '60s and '70s in this country.

So, you're wondering, what were the go-to hotties before the full-sized V8s became the dominant species? Well, it was stuff like this trio. In fact, pictured here is a very tasty selection of what passed for the best performance cars of their era, and not just in Australia. Oh sure, you could always rush out and buy a Ferrari or Lamborghini or even a Porsche 911, but if you were living in the real world and working with a sensible budget, then cars like the Mini Cooper S, Ford Cortina Mk1 GT and Renault R8 Gordini were your hot-poop gadgets.

How hot? Well, two of the three actually won the Bathurst classic (the Cooper S and the Cortina, both in dominant fashion) while the R8 did race at Bathurst in the mid '60s, but not in Gordini form. But don't let that put you off, because while it may not have set circuits alight here, the R8 Gordini was a stellar rally car, posting plenty of wins across the globe.

Yep, you could do worse than own any of this trio back in the day. Or now, for that matter.

1967 RENAULT R8 GORDINI