25 cars to drive before you die, CAR Magazine 1997

[Dapster]

Clearing the loft I came across this issue of CAR from 1997. "25 cars to drive before you die" - some interesting, eclectic choices. What's your score?







1 AC Cobra
2 VW Karmann Ghia
3 AM Virage Volante
4 Willys Jeep
5 Jaguar XJ220
6 Original Mini Cooper S
7 Ferrari 512TR
8 Jaguar E Type
9 MGB
10 VW Beetle
11 Morris 1000
12 Bentley Turbo
13 Citroen 2CV
14 Classic Range Rover
15 Caterham 7
16 Lamborghini Diablo
17 Mercedes W140 S500
18 Ford Mondeo
19 Citroen DS
20 Nissan Bluebird
21 BMW M5 E34
22 VW Corrado VR6
23 Porsche 911 993
24 Audi Ur Quattro
25 Citroen Saxo VTS


I've owned 1 (Caterham), driven 12 and been driven in 3 (993, Quattro, Moggy 1000) so 16 for me. Would love a go in the fancy stuff I've missed: Lambo, 512TR and Bentley Turbo.

[T697JVS]

What’s a Nissan Bluebird doing there?

[Petrus1983]

8/25 and owned 5/25.

[baconsarney]

Owned 6 and driven another 3......

[sinbaddio]

T697JVS said:

What s a Nissan Bluebird doing there?

Good question.

I suppose the ZX Turbo was alright and I seem to recall later cars had adjustable suspension which was quite a thing back then.

Aside from that, who knows?

[Skye5]

1 for me (Caterham)

But the bigger question is what would your list today be?

[BigMon]

T697JVS said:

What s a Nissan Bluebird doing there?

I was about to ask the same thing! Unless it was some Nismo edition that was never released in the UK.

One of my mates used to use his Dad's Bluebird Executive sometimes. It was OK, but nothing more really. Competent but dull if memory serves.

[Dapster]

CAR liked them! The later Primera really was a great car but I wasn't sure about the Bluebird either

[Turbobanana]

1 AC Cobra
2 VW Karmann Ghia - yes, briefly
3 AM Virage Volante
4 Willys Jeep - yes, briefly
5 Jaguar XJ220
6 Original Mini Cooper S - yes
7 Ferrari 512TR
8 Jaguar E Type
9 MGB - owned one (well, a GT anyway)
10 VW Beetle - yes, paid £1 for it in part exchange
11 Morris 1000 - yes
12 Bentley Turbo - yes
13 Citroen 2CV - owned one (which caught fire on the way to the scrap yard. Escargot flambé! ).
14 Classic Range Rover - owned one
15 Caterham 7
16 Lamborghini Diablo
17 Mercedes W140 S500 - yes, Colchester to Hull and back in a day, in a LHD one
18 Ford Mondeo - owned one
19 Citroen DS
20 Nissan Bluebird - yes
21 BMW M5 E34 - yes
22 VW Corrado VR6
23 Porsche 911 993
24 Audi Ur Quattro - yes, briefly
25 Citroen Saxo VTS - yes (and its twin, the Peugeot 106 GTI)

I reckon 15 out of the 25. Came close to hiring a Cobra while in Cape Town this summer, but was put off by the fact that they all looked like cheap kit cars rather than well-built, accurate replicas.

I remember the article, and remember questioning why the Bluebird was there. The conclusion I came to was that it was just the least painful ownership experience available at the time.

[alabbasi]

My father had a Bluebird ZX Turbo in the early 90's. It was quick when you wanted it to be. A lot quicker than you'd think it was if you looked at the specs.

[The Fabulous Mechanical Turnip]

The list is not complete without a vintage Austin Seven, which I maintain is the most enjoyable car ever made. The Model T Ford should probably up there, too, just for the purpose of understanding what was once the default method of motoring for 15 million people around the world (they can be good fun, too, provided you're up for playing a game of "Is this the right pedal?").

ETA from the above list, my score is a paltry four: Morris Minor, MGB, Caterham and E-type, though the E-type I drove was a Series III and it in no way set my soul on fire. My experience of the MGB was around London in heavy traffic, so I really didn't get the best out of it, but the Morris and the Caterham were a hoot.

Edited by The Fabulous Mechanical Turnip on Sunday 8th November 18:01

[Mr Tidy]

I haven't owned any of them, but did drive a company Mondeo once!

[Rob 131 Sport]

The only car on that list that I’ve driven is the Mondeo. I drove many variants from 1.8LX to 2.0 Ghia X with work. However, I preferred the superior motorway refinement of the Vectra.