What are the 10 "coolest" cars ever made?
Discussion
As (mostly I suspect) middle-aged men, we are probably a poor barometer of "cool" but just for fun and with some brief reasons, what in your opinion are the 10 "coolest" cars ever made?
Avoiding anything too obscure or pre-war, as my knowledge is lacking and any modern Ferrari/Lamborghini/Porsche, as they're great cars but too brash/ubiquitous to be cool IMHO, here are my nominations in roughly chronological order.
Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing - very modern-looking for the 1950s and arguably the first "supercar" (if a front-engined car can be a supercar).
S1 Jaguar E-Type FHC - some don't like how it looks but I think they're gorgeous, particularly in FHC form and it must have made a huge impact when it came out in the early 1960s (before my time) but unlike the Gullwing it was somewhat attainable and fast too. There have been some great Jaguars since but Jaguar never quite recaptured the magic of the original E-Type IMHO.
Austin/Morris Mini Cooper S - a cultural icon. Small, light, simple, cheap, practical and fun to drive (although the Beetle/2CV/Renault 4/Fiat 500 have some merit here too and were arguably more commercially successful) but the Mini was a racing/rallying "hero" too.
1965 Ford Mustang - arguably there were better/more rare muscle/"pony" cars and it wasn't the first but probably popularised the genre and made it accessible to more people than any other.
Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto (the original "boat-tailed" one) - La Dolce Vita in automotive form.
Ferrari 246 Dino - one of the prettiest and least brash Ferraris ever made and the notion of a more accessible "entry-level" Ferrari was a very appealing one.
Lamborghini Miura SV - this may have "technically" been the first supercar, one of the most beautiful-looking and sounding cars ever made and has an elegance/class that modern.supercars lack.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage (the 1980s one) - my favourite brand and forget the DB5, this was by far the coolest "Bond" car. A gentleman's "muscle" car and pretty quick for its day too. A friend's dad had a black one in the 90s, which he sold to fund a failed business venture. Looking at values of these now, keeping the Aston would have been the wiser investment.
Lancia Delta Integrale Evo - I could have picked from several other Lancias but as a huge fan of the Group A rally era, it was a toss up between this and an original Audi quattro. The Audi was the pioneer but the Integrale bettered it and was the King of rally in the late 80s/early 90s and despite its humble origins seemed more exotic somehow.
BMW Z8 - BMW have made some amazing cars but too brash or conservative at times to be truly cool with a few exceptions, the Z8 being one of these. It has an "M" engine but isn't an M car, has bespoke switchgear and is a little difficult to pigeonhole but in this case, the BMW is the classier/more elegant/rarer choice than the equivalent Mercedes (SL).
Just missing the cut would be the Citroen SM and VW Type 2 bus for me.
Avoiding anything too obscure or pre-war, as my knowledge is lacking and any modern Ferrari/Lamborghini/Porsche, as they're great cars but too brash/ubiquitous to be cool IMHO, here are my nominations in roughly chronological order.
Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing - very modern-looking for the 1950s and arguably the first "supercar" (if a front-engined car can be a supercar).
S1 Jaguar E-Type FHC - some don't like how it looks but I think they're gorgeous, particularly in FHC form and it must have made a huge impact when it came out in the early 1960s (before my time) but unlike the Gullwing it was somewhat attainable and fast too. There have been some great Jaguars since but Jaguar never quite recaptured the magic of the original E-Type IMHO.
Austin/Morris Mini Cooper S - a cultural icon. Small, light, simple, cheap, practical and fun to drive (although the Beetle/2CV/Renault 4/Fiat 500 have some merit here too and were arguably more commercially successful) but the Mini was a racing/rallying "hero" too.
1965 Ford Mustang - arguably there were better/more rare muscle/"pony" cars and it wasn't the first but probably popularised the genre and made it accessible to more people than any other.
Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto (the original "boat-tailed" one) - La Dolce Vita in automotive form.
Ferrari 246 Dino - one of the prettiest and least brash Ferraris ever made and the notion of a more accessible "entry-level" Ferrari was a very appealing one.
Lamborghini Miura SV - this may have "technically" been the first supercar, one of the most beautiful-looking and sounding cars ever made and has an elegance/class that modern.supercars lack.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage (the 1980s one) - my favourite brand and forget the DB5, this was by far the coolest "Bond" car. A gentleman's "muscle" car and pretty quick for its day too. A friend's dad had a black one in the 90s, which he sold to fund a failed business venture. Looking at values of these now, keeping the Aston would have been the wiser investment.
Lancia Delta Integrale Evo - I could have picked from several other Lancias but as a huge fan of the Group A rally era, it was a toss up between this and an original Audi quattro. The Audi was the pioneer but the Integrale bettered it and was the King of rally in the late 80s/early 90s and despite its humble origins seemed more exotic somehow.
BMW Z8 - BMW have made some amazing cars but too brash or conservative at times to be truly cool with a few exceptions, the Z8 being one of these. It has an "M" engine but isn't an M car, has bespoke switchgear and is a little difficult to pigeonhole but in this case, the BMW is the classier/more elegant/rarer choice than the equivalent Mercedes (SL).
Just missing the cut would be the Citroen SM and VW Type 2 bus for me.
Edited by white_goodman on Tuesday 3rd September 20:32
Merc 450 said:
I'm lucky enough to have owned all my top 3.
My current car Jaguar F Type p450 R 5.0 supercharged
TVR Cerbera 4.2
Ford Mustang 2017 5.0 GT
TVR and Mustang were race red Jag is caldera red even brighter in the sun.
Nice. amongst modernish cars, those are probably 3 of the best, especially the Jag. Possibly a 911 is better in some respects but just seems like the "boring", predictable choice in comparison. Got overtaken by a first gen R8 on the motorway the other day and it had been a while since I had seen one. Sounded lovely. Went home and looked on A/T and you can get a decent 1st gen V8 or an early V8 Vantage for around 30k. Why would you buy a boring 996/997 for the same money?My current car Jaguar F Type p450 R 5.0 supercharged
TVR Cerbera 4.2
Ford Mustang 2017 5.0 GT
TVR and Mustang were race red Jag is caldera red even brighter in the sun.
'cool'
For me that means lusted after, ground breaking, poster worthy cars. Cars that leave a legacy.
They, also they'd have to be reasonably (or lottery) man/boy maths attainable at the time. To a 5 year old as well as a 30 year old.
Corvette
Lotus Carlton
Sierra Cosworth
205 GTI
Countach (how many posters on walls..)
Diablo
Dodge Challenger
F40
Ford Mustang
F355
For me that means lusted after, ground breaking, poster worthy cars. Cars that leave a legacy.
They, also they'd have to be reasonably (or lottery) man/boy maths attainable at the time. To a 5 year old as well as a 30 year old.
Corvette
Lotus Carlton
Sierra Cosworth
205 GTI
Countach (how many posters on walls..)
Diablo
Dodge Challenger
F40
Ford Mustang
F355
Here’s my top 10. Ask me the same question tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll give a different answer.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
I really like Peugeot’s current design language and it’s great to see a manufacturer still making a good looking saloon.
8
9
10
I never understood the Panda 4x4 until I drove through Tuscany. I include the original Panda too.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
It's goung to be a subjective subject this because it will all depend upon your definition of "cool"
For me, it has to be a car that has made an impact culuturally, be it to the general public in person, or via film/tv, so having said that, my list would be
1: Aston Martin DB5 - Arguably one of the most famous movie cars ever
2: Volvo P1800 coupe - Tha Saint, the original not the remake with Ian Ogilvy
3: Mustang GT390 - need i say more?
4: Datsun 120Y - first reliable car available to the everyday person
5: Miura - *sings* On days like these
6: Countach - who can forget the two women in tight cat suits in Canonball Run
7: Audi Quattro - yes i know Jenson beat them to mass production with 4 wheel drive but to the man on the street, Audi's quattro is it
9: Mitsubishi Eclipse - What? Car Paul Walker drove in the original Fast & Furious to meet Dom Toretto, influenced a whole generation of impressionable young people
10: ZZ Top's 34 Ford Eliminator - those videos captured a whole generation
That's my take on it and out of that list i've owned one and would own maybe 2 if i had the money but to me, they made an impact on society and are therefore "cool"
For me, it has to be a car that has made an impact culuturally, be it to the general public in person, or via film/tv, so having said that, my list would be
1: Aston Martin DB5 - Arguably one of the most famous movie cars ever
2: Volvo P1800 coupe - Tha Saint, the original not the remake with Ian Ogilvy
3: Mustang GT390 - need i say more?
4: Datsun 120Y - first reliable car available to the everyday person
5: Miura - *sings* On days like these
6: Countach - who can forget the two women in tight cat suits in Canonball Run
7: Audi Quattro - yes i know Jenson beat them to mass production with 4 wheel drive but to the man on the street, Audi's quattro is it
9: Mitsubishi Eclipse - What? Car Paul Walker drove in the original Fast & Furious to meet Dom Toretto, influenced a whole generation of impressionable young people
10: ZZ Top's 34 Ford Eliminator - those videos captured a whole generation
That's my take on it and out of that list i've owned one and would own maybe 2 if i had the money but to me, they made an impact on society and are therefore "cool"
Spudgunassassin said:
Here’s my top 10. Ask me the same question tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll give a different answer.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 I really like Peugeot’s current design language and it’s great to see a manufacturer still making a good looking saloon.
8
9
10 I never understood the Panda 4x4 until I drove through Tuscany. I include the original Panda too.
What is that Aston?1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
fflump said:
Spudgunassassin said:
Here’s my top 10. Ask me the same question tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll give a different answer.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 I really like Peugeot’s current design language and it’s great to see a manufacturer still making a good looking saloon.
8
9
10 I never understood the Panda 4x4 until I drove through Tuscany. I include the original Panda too.
What is that Aston?1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
fflump said:
Spudgunassassin said:
Here’s my top 10. Ask me the same question tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll give a different answer.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 I really like Peugeot’s current design language and it’s great to see a manufacturer still making a good looking saloon.
8
9
10 I never understood the Panda 4x4 until I drove through Tuscany. I include the original Panda too.
What is that Aston?1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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