1960 Austin-Healey Sprite

While we've had an early "bugeye" Austin-Healey Sprite on these pages before, that one was all dolled up with a roll bar, racing stripe, and alloy wheels.

This Colorado Red example still retains the factory wire wheels and the front bumper, plus it sports a natty-looking pair of driving lights.

Photographed with a Canon EOS R and a 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens in May of 2026.

1960 Austin-Healey 3000

In the beginning there was the Austin-Healey 100. A two-seat sports car thus named by its designer, Donald Healey, for the fact that its 2,660cc inline four could push it to the then-magical velocity of one hundred miles per hour. When Austin quit making the big, undersquare 2.5L four (sourced, like most of the rest of the 100's mechanicals, from the A90 Atlantic), Healey had to find a replacement powerplant.

He settled on BMC's C-series inline six, a 2,639cc lump that required stretching the wheelbase two inches, with the resulting car being dubbed the Austin-Healey 100-6.

For the 1960 model year, the car received disc brakes up front and a new 3.0L engine (actually 2,912cc, but who's counting?) that resulted in the Austin-Healey 3000, like the one in the photos.

Breathing through a brace of SU carbs and sporting a then-racy 9.1:1 compression ratio, the big Healey's three liter OHV inline six put out a claimed 124 horsepower and could power the car through the quarter mile in a couple ticks over 17 seconds on its way to a maximum speed of 115mph.

This one was photographed in March of 2025 using an Olympus OM-D E-M5 and a Panasonic Leica 12-60mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens.  

1960 Chevrolet Bel Air

Starting in the 1959 model year, the Bel Air was demoted from its top spot in the Chevrolet lineup by the Impala. The old hierarchy of "150, 210, Bel Air" was replaced with "Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala", which were most easily distinguished by how elaborate the external chrome decor was. The longitudinal spears on the rear fenders quickly distinguish this faded Royal Blue 1960 Bel Air from its plebeian Biscayne sibling.

For 1960 the Bel Air could be had as a hardtop Sport Sedan or Sport Coupe, as well as a pillared sedan and coupe. The base motor was the Turbo-Fire 283 cubic inch V-8 with a two-barrel carb and 8.25:1 compression ratio, rated at 170 horsepower. You could also opt for the Hi-Thrift inline six, as well as more high-performance options like a Super Turbo-Fire 283 making 230 ponies and two versions of the 348 cubic inch Turbo-Thrust big block, putting out either 250 or 280 horsepower. Three- and four-speed manual gearboxes were on offer, as well as the Turboglide or Powerglide automatics.

The one in the picture was snapped with a Nikon D1X and 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens in July of 2015.

1960 Ford Thunderbird Convertible

"Longer! Lower! Wider!" were the hype words in Detroit in the late Fifties and the all-new second generation of Ford Thunderbird that debuted for 1958 lived up to the hype. The new four-seater T-bird stretched a full two feet longer nose-to-tail than the outgoing '57 two-seater.

It was also four inches wider than the previous car, and only an inch taller, despite having a much roomier interior. This was made possible by being the first Thunderbird to utilize unibody construction, with the driveline tucked up into the chassis by means of a large tunnel running between the seats.

The wheelbase grew commensurately, by almost a foot. Where the two-seater 'Birds had a 102" wheelbase (identical to the Corvette's), the new one measured 113" between the axles. Suspension was coil springs and unequal length A-arms up front and a live axle mounted to coil-sprung trailing arms in the rear.

Also keeping pace with the current trends in Detroit, the new Thunderbird sported a snout with quad headlamps.

The car could be had as a hardtop coupe or a convertible, like the Raven Black 1960 example in the photo. The base engine was the 352 cubic inch Thunderbird Special FE big block V-8. With a four-barrel carburetor, dual exhausts, and a 10.2:1 compression ratio, this motor was rated at 300 SAE gross horsepower, and could be backed with a column-shifted three-speed manual (with an optional automatic overdrive 4th gear) or a three-speed Cruise-O-Matic.

Optionally for 1960 was Ford's 430 cubic inch MEL (Mercury Edsel Lincoln) big block, making 350 horsepower. It was only offered with the Cruise-O-Matic.

The rear suspension was simplified to a conventional leaf spring setup for the '60 model year as well.

Motor Life's test 1960 Thunderbird convertible, with the 352 and slushbox, ran to sixty in 9.1 seconds and returned between 10 and 14 miles per gallon.

This one was photographed using a Sony a700 and 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 zoom lens in May of 2025.

1960 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe

1960 was the second model year for the second generation of Chevrolet's Impala, now its own model line rather than a special edition Bel Air. It could be had as a pillared sedan, a hardtop sedan, a five-door wagon, a convertible, or hardtop Sport Coupe like the one in the picture.

This second generation Impala shared its basic body shell and X-shaped frame with other B-body General Motors offerings from Buick, Olds, and Pontiac, although its 119" wheelbase was shorter than its closest kin, like the Catalina and LeSabre.

The '60 Impala Sport Coupe came with an almost bewildering array of driveline options based around OHV inline-sixes, and small-block and big-block V-8s. The bottom of the motor hierarchy was the 235 cubic inch Hi-Thrift inline six, which made 135 horsepower and could be had with three- or four-speed manual transmissions or the two-speed Powerglide automatic. 

Next up was the Turbo-Fire 283 OHV V-8, in either low-compression, 2-barrel 180hp form or as the Super Turbo-Fire, with a 9.5:1 compression ratio, 4-barrel carb, and 230 ponies. Big block options were the 4-barrel Turbo-Thrust 348 cube big-block rated at 250 horsepower, or the Super Turbo-Thrust, which sported triple deuces on a free-flowing intake manifold and was rated at 280 horsepower. The two performance V-8 options came with close-ratio synchromesh 4-speeds rather than the overdrive 4-speed manuals of the lesser power plants, or else a 3-speed manual or 2-speed Powerglide. 

This Roman Red and Ermine White two-tone '60 Sport Coupe would have been the swoopiest thing in the Chevy catalog that year that wasn't a Corvette.

When Motor Life magazine tested a 1969 Impala Sport Coupe they noted its rich options list and the way it would cruise quietly and comfortably at seventy for as long as the petrol held out. They also pointed out that the $2,597 base price ($28,200 adjusted for inflation) was pushing Chevy out of the bottom end of the market, making the recent introduction of the cheap, compact Corvair a sensible addition to the lineup.

With the 250 horsepower Turbo-Thrust big block V-8, the 3,840 pound test car managed to get to sixty from a standstill in 10.7 seconds and returned 12 to 17 miles per gallon over the course of testing.

The car in the photos was snapped with a Nikon Coolpix P7000 in Alliance, Ohio back in July of 2015.

1960 Chevrolet Corvette

1960 was the last model year for the old rounded tail on the first generation of Corvettes. The big identifying tell-tales for the model year are the fewer, heavier chrome "teeth" in the grille and the inset taillamps.

For '60, Corvette buyers had a choice of five different flavors of the Turbo Fire 283 cubic inch small block V-8. The base motor had a single 4-barrel carb, hydraulic lifters, 9.5:1 compression, and was rated at 230 SAE gross horsepower. Alternatively you could get the same motor with dual quads and 245 horsepower. Top of the heap of the lower-compression, juice lifter motors came with Ramjet Fuel Injection and put out 275 ponies.

If you didn't mind noisy valves that needed occasional lash adjustment, and a lumpy idle, there was a solid-lifter, Duntov-cammed, 270-horse 283 V-8 on the menu with dual 4-barrels, and if you wanted all that plus didn't mind shopping for premium gas, you could get the 11.0:1 compression fuelie motor rated at 315 SAE gross horsepower. Both of the high output motors came with aluminum radiators for weight savings.

Motor Trend tested a '60 Corvette with the 270-horse motor and 4-speed transmission and recorded a zero to sixty time of 8.4 seconds and a 16.1 quarter mile elapsed time at 89 mph through the traps.

This French Blue one with Ermine White coves was photographed in November of 2020 using an iPhone 7 Plus.