Now revised for 2019, we take a close look. But just want constitutes a British car?

In short order, we decided that British-owned firms – Bristol, Morgan, Austin – were a shoe-in. And so were firms that, like Bentley and Rolls-Royce, have always operated within these shores, but now have foreign owners.

That was the easy part, and one which in a very short but noisy discussion formed the lion’s share of the top 100 shortlist. We sought the very best and turned over a few surprises. The Megane Renaultsport 225 raised many eyebrows when it was included. It was the first complete car delivered by British engineering firm Ricardo, which developed the chassis, braking, steering, styling and engine upgrades.

And although it polled relatively few votes in the survey, it is perhaps the Megane that sums up the British car industry best: using the innovations of the world’s most talented engineers to make cars the very best they can be. We doubt you’ll agree with all the choices, but you can be sure they won’t be boring: