If you’re a fan of European cars — specifically, but not exclusively Italians — you’ll know the name Giovanni Michelotti. He was responsible for styling numerous iconic Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia and Alfa Romeo models through the 1940s, 50s and 60s. But also on his client list was Britain’s Standard Triumph, for whom he designed almost all new models from the late 1950s onwards. His pen is responsible for the beautiful design of the GT6 on offer here today, commission number KC12015, which puts it on the production line towards the end of Mark I model run that ended circa September 1968. You can find this rather tidy, 62,084 mile Jasmine Yellow example on eBay with the bidding at $10,351 and reserve not yet met.

The current owner purchased the car in 2014, and embarked on a quest to sort issues. British car specialist Motorcar Garage in New Jersey was contracted to do the work, and from the description, it looks like it was quite a comprehensive refresh. Things like spark plugs and ignition system, fuel hose and filter, new starter and battery, new coolant and heater hoses, and new carburetor linkage rod are among many things in the engine bay that were given due attention. These are all common sense maintenance items, especially if the car was purchased without much knowledge of previous service history. From the photo, I would say things under hood look ship-shape.

The theme of tidy and ship-shape continues on the inside of this GT6, with the only caveat being the way in which the description was written. The seller says: “The interior appears to have been complete [sic] replaced. Seats, carpets, head liner, dash, door panels.” This doesn’t sound to me as if the seller undertook this restoration himself. So was the car like this since 2014 when he brought it home? Or was the car partially restored when he bought it and then he finished it? If you’re like me — and I’m sure you are — the use of language in a car description is just as important as the car itself. Considering the price of entry though, I suppose we can overlook some of it given that the most important thing is the car appears to be road ready and from the pictures, quite nice. It does have overdrive and man, those Smith gauges… beautiful!

The GT6 was dubbed the ‘poor man’s XKE’ presumably for its good looks, decent performance and affordable price. However, the Mark I was at a slight disadvantage compared to later iterations due to its swing-arm rear axles, carried over directly from the Spitfire and Herald. In case you were wondering, lift throttle oversteer is a real thing and with its nose-heavy bias, the first generation GT6 was prone to demonstrate real-world lessons in physics. Thanks to feedback from US customers, later versions received rear suspension tweaks to help with that tendency. Suffice it to say, I’d limit this nice-looking, rust-free example to cruising and restrained sporty driving since Armco can (and will) reshape those great GT6 lines.