Quintessential cars of the '70s | Six of the Best
Life really does begin at 50 - check out these classics for proof...
Alpine A110, 1973, 29k, £76,995
While the '70s might be more famously remembered as the decade that style forgot - and, from an automotive perspective, a time of huge industrial strife in this country - that didn’t prevent some incredible cars from being made. The clothes might have been weird, but so many cars looked spectacular: this is the age of the supercar wedge and the chic European hatchback, silhouettes that would endure for decades. The Alpine A110 was actually a car of the '60s, but through constant evolution and improvement it remained desirable - not to say competitive - into the '70s. Here’s the first winner of the World Rally Championship, don’t forget, back in 1973. This one hails from the same year, restored and upgraded in recent years to become something very special indeed. Which means it costs new A110 money, but for raw thrills original is best.
Porsche 911 RSR tribute, 1973, £265,000
Speaking of which, there isn’t much to offer up unadulterated classic sports car fun like a Porsche 911. While plans were well underway during the '70s for the rear-engined two-door to be replaced by the 928, the enduring popularity of the 911 - along with some well-chosen updates - kept it soldiering on. And on. These days, there isn’t really any such thing as a cheap classic 911, because the style, the durability and parts support keep them going strong. But this one, an RSR homage built by Tuthill with a 3.0-litre engine and a host of race-ready parts, would never have been affordable. It will always be utterly awesome, though, on road or track and everywhere in between. Put it this way, too: the cost is only as much as the latest GT3 special edition…
BMW 3.0 CSL, 1972, 565 miles, PH Auctions
How on earth to follow a 911 like that? Easy: with probably the best BMW CSL you’ve ever seen. All of them are hugely significant these days, the genesis of the road-going BMW M car and a successful competition machine to boot, though plenty have fallen into disrepair over the past half a century. When CSLs were just seen as old BMWs rather than bona fide classics, time and money wasn’t invested in saving them - mainly from rust. The very opposite is true here, this right-hand drive example - so one of just 500 ever made - fresh from an extensive restoration. Over 1,200 hours (and £170,000!) have been spent on it, with just 600 miles covered since. Classics of the '70s don’t get very much cooler. Bids open next week.
Range Rover Classic, 1977, 51k, £54,995
We haven’t forgotten about family-focused PHers here, either. Because what better way to ferry around kids and pets than a Range Rover? They might need to clamber into the back seat of this early two-door machine, but that’s all part of the adventure. Today, with the SUV more popular than ever, it can be easy to forget just what a simple premise the Range was built on - and wonder why someone didn’t think of it sooner. The luxury of a saloon with the off-road ability of a Land Rover was the aim - no surprise it was popular, a true multi-purpose machine that set out the template for dozens more to follow. This Suffix D has been restored, though not restomodded, so it will still offer up an authentic '70s experience. Which, from where we’re sitting, looks just about perfect.
Alfa Romeo GT Junior, 1972, 739 miles, PH Auctions
Much like the Alpine above and the Ford Escort as well, the Alfa GT Junior was another of those '60s successes that just kept on going. Easy to see why: beautiful to look at, sweet to drive, and with some motorsport cachet to consider as well. In fact, just like the A110, the 105 and 115 Series Coupes were made from 1963-1977; the long production run, plus enthusiasm for the Alfa coupes and fairly simple engineering, has kept plenty going strong. This one looks just the ticket: it’s only been in the UK a few years, though in that time it has benefitted from a 2.0-litre swap, Alfaholics brakes, totally overhauled suspension, and a new limited-slip diff. While still looking as perfect as the Amalfi coast. Nobody will know this is a retro Alfa fit for anything the modern world can throw at it - an ideal '70s classic, then.
Daimler Sovereign Coupe, 1978, 105k, £19,995
Here’s a fun fact for you: the Jaguar XJC, a car very closely related to the Daimler Sovereign Coupe, is said to have been a strong source of inspiration for the upcoming Type01. If Jaguar can make a flagship as cool, commanding and capable as the old two-door XJ, then the future really will be looking bright. Though short-lived, running for just a few years in the '70s and with 10,000 made across Jaguar and Daimler variants, the style and the performance - not to mention the incredible XJ12C touring car - ensured an outsized reputation. This Carriage Brown straight six has enjoyed some recent restorative work, too, so the pillarless coupe has never looked better. What a way to spend just £20k...
My choice would be the BMW followed by the Alpine and Range Rover.
Although I m a Porsche fan I wouldnt fancy driving this one solely due to my lower back condition, the Alfa is beautiful but not my cup of Darjeeling and the Daimler; I d always wish I d bought a Double Six coupe (although I’d then want it to be like the one Harry Metcalfe owned I.e a manual with all the other work he had done
As an aside, the Daimler / Jaguar XJs of that period always left me wondering why they bothered with head restraints because for any driver over average height the head restraints were in the middle of your shoulder blades, and if you pulled them upwards they got father away from ones swede..
I think I'd prefer this Porsche to a new GT3.
Elderly diver looked like he was having fun.
Some great looking cars but who has time for authentic points, cracked dizzy caps and multi-carb balancing?
Welded on box section for feeble jacks to be inserted in. If the ground was less than perfectly flat the car would lean away from the jack and give the jack a new range of lift.
They're only original once nonsense.
My greatest memory of the 70s is fizzy metal, the sound of cars cranking over on damp autumnal mornings, refusing to start, and hanging smell of unburnt hydrocarbons from the ones that did start and were then driven miles on full choke.
Metal, at a couple of years after manufacture, that crumbled between the fingers of young soft skin. It was crap.
ETA: Correction there was never a CSL cabriolet left the factory, it must have been a CS or CSi.
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