Has anyone suggested the Triumph Vitesse yet? I think (though I have never driven one) they are the canine's conkers, they sound fantastic and with a separate chassis relatively long-lived. I do know that you can fit the crank from a 2.5 to get a BIG engine.
I'd love one to be honest but I never seem to see any on the road, let alone, for sale.
WTC , you make some compelling points, the thing is I still think those are all modern cars and it seems only yesterday I was being paid to drive examples of all of them.