Twenty cars that changed the world

This week’s British Motor Show is packed with innovative, hi-tech, beautifully styled new cars. Many important models – the Jaguar XF and Lotus’s ‘Project Eagle’ to name two – will be carrying the fortunes of entire businesses on their shoulders. But will these promising newcomers actually have what it takes to turn the manufacturers around?

To help you decide, we’ve taken a look back at 20 pivotal ‘miracle’ models which did exactly that at one time. In very different ways, and in some extraordinary circumstances, these cars have effectively changed the world, saving their makers from oblivion.

Alfa Romeo
Model: 156

Miracle: Italian marque was scraping the barrel throughout the early Nineties, leaving owner Fiat wondering why it bothered propping up its historic but increasingly faded sports car division. The 145, 146 and 155, all rather obviously based on the Fiat Tipo, lacked style and verve, and upheld Alfa’s reputation for being tempermental.

The 156 of 1997 brought Alfa back with a bang. It blended stunning looks and exhilarating performance, and had niggles that endeared rather than infuriated. Plus, there were no glaring Fiat links. No wonder it was voted 1998 European Car of the Year.

Audi
Model: 100

Miracle: We’re not saluting the A3 here, nor the super-aerodynamic 100 of 1983, nor even the Quattro.

The car that changed history for Audi appeared in 1968 - the original 100, which took the Audi challenge to premium executive saloons. When Auto Union, Audi’s parent company, was sold to Volkswagen in 1965, the new owner wanted its Ingolstadt factory to build more Beetles. But when engineers were found refining the Mercedes-inspired, front-wheel-drive 100, bosses were so impressed they gave the go-ahead immediately.

BMW
Model: 3-Series

Miracle: With over 1.3 million finding homes, the first 3-Series of 1975-82 substantially boosted BMW sales volumes. But it was its replacement that transformed the way the company operated.

No one had bothered with the E21 codename of the initial ‘3’. But the new one, E30, was a metaphor for careful range-plotting – because the two and four-door cars were joined by convertibles, estates, 4x4s, diesels and the storming M3.

The real sea change came when company car drivers began striving for promotion to get themselves a basic 3-Series, rather than a top-spec Ford.

Chrysler
Model: ‘K-Car’

Miracle: Here’s a Chrysler we never saw in the UK, and for a very good reason – as a competitor for European saloons, it would have been spectacularly outclassed. But don’t dismiss the Dodge Aries, Plymouth Reliant and Chrysler LeBaron – all near-identical 2.2-litre cars that were launched in 1981.

These ugly, underpowered yet economical ‘compacts’ ended up saving Chrysler from oblivion. Their emergency development was paid for using loans from the US government, while Chrysler contributed to its own survival by axing its unpopular gas-guzzlers and selling off foreign subsidiaries.

Citroen
Model: BX

Miracle: Just mad enough to be considered a real Citroen by die-hards, the BX proved more than a match for competitors.

While the brand was ‘saved’ when Peugeot bought it in 1974, Citroens hadn’t reached beyond their core appeal until the BX in 1982. With Ford’s Cortina-replacing Sierra polarising opinion, the high-performance, high-economy, ultra-modern BX was well worth a look – and drivers liked what they found. At last, Citroen was off!

Fiat
Model: Nuova 500

Miracle: Part of a movement in Italy called ‘The Economic Miracle’ in the Fifties and Sixties, when the country rebuilt its fortunes after World War II. Fiat agreed to make a ‘people’s car’ to get low-paid Italians off their scooters – on condition the state improved the road system and built ‘autostrada’ motorways.

The new 500 of 1957 had a rear-mounted, two-cylinder engine and buckets of Latin charm, and turned Fiat into one of Europe’s most prolific car makers.

Ford
Model: Focus MkI

Miracle: Incredible 100-year story of Ford is peppered with cars that ‘saved’ the company, and just as many turkeys. For every Cortina there’s been an Edsel.

Since the 1982 Sierra, Ford had produced a steady stream of mediocrity, culminating in the terrible MkIV Escort in 1990. But the 1997 Focus showed the company really could excel when it chose to – superb to drive, comfortable, stylish, versatile, the Focus had it all. For once, it seemed best seller could also mean best in class.

Honda
Model: Civic MkI

Miracle: Soichiro Honda was convinced the future lay in air-cooled cars such as the Honda 1300, unveiled in 1968. But a confrontation with fellow directors resulted in the water-cooled Civic on sale in 1972 – and Mr Honda’s pensioning off.

The Civic was equipped with a specially designed engine needing no modifications to meet emissions rules in Japan and the US. Sales exploded – and the car helped Honda conquer the American market.

Hyundai
Model: Pony

Miracle: Today, it’s the fifth biggest car manufacturer on the planet. But in the early Seventies, South Korea’s Hyundai was a backwater business, assembling Ford Cortinas shipped out in kit form from Dagenham.

Then it took the bold step of producing its own car. It raised capital from the City of London, tooling from British Leyland, engines from Mitsubishi and styling from Giugiaro.

Its first car, the Pony, arrived in 1975 and was fairly dreary. But by 1979, a huge 100,000 were made annually, and the gamble was clearly beginning to pay off.

Jaguar
Model: XF

Miracle: As new Indian owners get to grips with the problems at Jaguar – a company that didn’t make a profit for Ford in 20 years – the future for Coventry’s most famous feline hinges on the XF.

The car has surpassed expectations so far, both in design and performance, but it has a fight on its hands as BMW, Mercedes and Lexus continually up their game.

Still, Jaguar’s reputation was founded on surprises – so can Tata add some of its own bite to the big cat?

Land Rover
Model: Range Rover

Miracle: Civilian off-road vehicles were invented in Solihull, but the original Land Rover’s capability depended on its rough-and-readiness.

With the Range Rover, unveiled in 1970, designers reinvented the car. Decent road manners, passenger comfort and chic style were added to astounding off-road skills.

It wasn’t long before the marketing people realised customers were crying out for extra interior luxury, too– and from a cautious start, Land Rover’s horizons soon expanded widely. The Range Rover set the benchmark by which all subsequent SUVs were measured.

Lotus
Model: Elise

Miracle: With more recent owners than a failing Third Division football team, and its glory days all in the past, Lotus in the early Nineties seemed destined for a cheerless existence of facelifting the Esprit and tweaking the suspension of Korean hatchbacks. Even the front-wheel-drive Elan, a true original, had been canned.

But then, in 1995, it returned to fine form with the clever Elise – exactly the kind of ingenious, lightweight Lotus founder Colin Chapman always strove for. It still underpins all Lotus road cars – and is also the basis for Tesla’s exciting electric Roadster.

Mazda
Model: 323 Mk1

Miracle: A car maker’s mettle is really tested when it has to conjure up a big-volume model in double-quick time, or face oblivion. On that basis, Mazda proved awesomely capable in 1977 with the first 323.

The Japanese firm had stared down the barrel of bankruptcy after investing heavily in Wankel rotary engines. It proudly offered these smooth but extremely thirsty motors across its range just as a severe oil crisis took hold in the mid-Seventies.

Japanese banks agreed to support Mazda as long as it could come up with a big seller. And the simple rear-wheel-drive 323 hatch certainly was.

Mitsubishi
Model: Shogun

Miracle: During the Seventies, Mitsubishi churned out reliable but boring family cars. Since 1953, it had also been building Jeep CJs under licence for the Japanese police and military. A flash of inspiration then fused these two disparate activities together in the 1981 Pajero.

It really was the first SUV to drive like a normal car, with its torsion bar front suspension. And the low-bonnet styling gave the innovative three-door the appearance of a scaled- up supermini. The Pajero was called the Shogun for the UK, and Land Rover used it as inspiration for the Discovery.

Renault
Model: Mégane Scenic

Miracle: It would be a fib to say that the original Espace changed life much at Renault. Although it was radical and made of plastic, the big people carrier was always a marginal part of the firm’s activities.

However, the 1996 Scenic was just the opposite – a truly mainstream car that introduced the compact MPV concept to grateful families across Europe. In the process, it brought many new customers to the marque who might otherwise have chosen Japanese models.

The versatile interior was as much of a revelation as the commanding driving position.

SEAT
Model: Ibiza

Miracle: The 1985 Ibiza was the first car created from scratch by the Spanish manufacturer. Bosses got Porsche to come up with the engines and Italdesign to provide the clean lines of the hatchback bodies.

The result wasn’t too special, but after deteriorating relations with Fiat – whose cars the firm had been building since 1953 – SEAT blossomed in a brief period of freedom, before VW bought it.

Skoda
Model: Favorit

Miracle: Communism still had its grasp on Czechoslovakia when, in 1989, Skoda axed its horrible rear-engined saloons and joined the mainstream.

With its front-wheel drive layout, transverse engine, hatch body and fun driving experience, the Favorit caught up with rivals such as the Volkswagen Polo – and Skoda never looked back.

Subaru
Model: Leone estate

Miracle: No one outside Japan knew about Subaru in 1972 – until the estate version of the Leone saloon became one of the first conventional, affordable road cars to offer standard four-wheel drive. The firm’s success abroad sprang from this car.

Toyota
Model: Corolla

Miracle: When it tried to meet Detroit head-on in 1958, Toyota got a shock. Its attempt to market the Crown saloon in the US ended in humiliation when the car literally fell apart under sustained driving on American freeways.

Toyota departed, determined to build a model that would suit roads and drivers in the States. It discovered huge demand for a conventional American car in miniature, but with VW Beetle-style reliability. And that’s exactly what the 1966 Corolla provided. Toyota’s course for world domination was set.

Vauxhall
Model: Cavalier MkII

Miracle: The MkII sparked the Cavalier sales inferno, and made Britain take Vauxhall seriously.

How? Well, first, it switched from rear to front-wheel drive, with an accomplished chassis. Second, its Ford Sierra arch-rival disappointed many buyers at launch in 1982 because of its dated driveline and ‘jellymould’ styling. Third, the choice of four-door saloon or five-door hatch, plus terrific petrol and diesel alternatives, was spot-on.

In 1984 and 1985, only the Ford Escort was more popular in the UK market – unprecedented success for the Luton brand.

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