The Swallow Doretti is the only post-war car built under the Swallow name owned by the Swallow Coachbuilding company, which was sold by Jaguar to Tubing investments following World War 2. The car was designed to fill in a place between the MG TD and Triumph TR2s and the significantly more refined, but much more expensive Jaguar. The American partner in the project was a company called Cal Sales that specialized in selling cars, as well as producing accessories for many of the European cars that were becoming popular in the United States. The name Doretti was derived from Dorothy Dean, who managed Cal Sales in the US and was chosen as it sounded more Italian than Dorothy. Although based on TR2 mechanicals, the Doretti is longer and a bit wider than the TR2, creating a wonderfully stable car with excellent handling. Though it was a bit heavier than the TR2, it was still very sporting and was also capable of reaching 100 miles per hour. It is believed that production ceased in 1955 under pressure from Jaguar as they had used the Swallow name until after World War 2, and the new car directly competed with their sporting offerings. This example is an early car, being the 39th built, and was first registered in Hawaii. After changing hands multiple times, it was restored by the previous owner, Ray Bragassa, who acquired it after it had been partially disassembled and stored for 24 years. Although not in original colours, it is generally well restored and is mechanically very solid, complete with the original Cal Sales Doretti alloy valve cover. When I purchased this car out of California, I was actually in the United Kingdom and, right after buying it, I attended the NEC Motor Show in Birmingham where I had the opportunity to meet several of the members of the Swallow Doretti club and see some of their beautiful cars.