After World War II, postwar U.S. prosperity created a huge market for British bikes and BSA had been a beneficiary. Competition sold bikes, and BSA's off-road and oval track successes with its 500cc single Gold Star kept the firm in the magazine headlines. One of the most publicized races in the country was the Catalina Grand Prix, run on an island course on Catalina off the coast of Southern California. A Gold Star won the 1952 event, leading to a Catalina Gold Star Scrambler being introduced in 1956. The timing was perfect because BSA won the 1956 event after the model had already been introduced.

Catalina was tight, but the great point-to-point desert races of the day required more power and torque. To contest these, BSA created the 650cc A10 Spitfire Scrambler in 1959. This was an out-and-out racer with no lights or other road equipment. It had a lightweight frame, high compression pistons, full race cams and a close-ratio gearbox.

The bike seen here is a 1960 model. These bikes were bench jobs and less than 300 were built each year. The paint is in the original Sapphire Blue shade with chrome panels as new. This BSA represents one of the last of the great British factory racers on the eve of the decline of the British motorcycle industry.