THE list of might-have-beens and brave efforts in British automotive history is long, but one car that certainly deserved a better crack of the whip was the neat little Swallow Doretti that hit the streets in 1954. The Doretti came about after William Lyons sold his Swallow sidecar business to Tube Investments during the Second World War. The car was produced using Triumph TR2 parts and a tough tubular frame, using an inner skin of steel and a hand-built aluminium body. This double skinning meant that the car has heavier when compared to the TR2 and performance was not quite up to the high standard buyers expected although it could top 100mph. It was only produced for around a year and and around 270 examples were produced. It is a testament to the hand-built excellence of this car that around 170 examples are still roadworthy, many in first class condition. The Swallow Coachbuilding Company, based at Walsall Airport in the West Midlands, developed a design penned by coach-builder Eric Saunders, who, following a visit to California in July of 1952 felt that there was a market for sports cars in the USA, at the right price. The engine of the Doretti was mounted further back in the car making it even more intrusive into the cockpit and making use of the TR2 splined drive shaft. The relocation of the engine enabled a virtual 50/50 weight distribution. An overdrive-fitted version tested in the British media in 1954 accelerated to 60mph in 12.3 seconds with a fuel consumption of 27.9 mpg. The body was designed by F. G. Rainbow, formerly of the Bristol Aircraft Company with an Italian influence which showed through with a Ferrari-like grille and a rear reminiscent of an Austin Healey. Although the interior of the car was dated it was was built to an extremely high standard having an up-market appeal as was the price tag at £1,102 compared with the TR2 at the time at £910. The name of the car came from a lady named Dorothy Dean who was Triumph's distributor for Southern California and by all accounts had film-star looks. It all looked good for the Doretti but its accommodation, poor boot space and higher price went against it. In the USA racer Max Balchowsky fitted Buick V-8s into several Dorettis. The cars were fast, and he offered a conversion, but the extra power power overwhelmed the front suspension and the brakes. Production stopped in 1955 when the parent company TI changed policy. Allegedly, pressure from the British motor industry, most notably Jaguar itself, led to the cessation of production of the Doretti. It is thought that the directors of TI were convinced that continued production of the Doretti sports car placed the TI in direct competition with their customers for raw materials, creating a serious conflict of interest. It was a great shame that this promising car went under. With a little more development under the bonnet with something slightly more powerful than the 1,991cc Triumph engine and a quick waft of the style stick over the interior it could have been a legend. | 
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