Best retro cars - pictures

BMW’s remake of the classic Mini has shown the rewards available if manufacturers can mine the retro seam skillfully enough.

The new MINI actually followed hot on the heels of the old one, installing modern technology and more usable space beneath the classic retro lines.

The current car has moved further away from the ethos of the original but the Mini DNA is still plain to see.

Mercedes’ modern recreation of its classic 300SL Gullwing from the 1950s, the SLS AMG mixed old-school muscle with advanced tech and cool retro lines.

The Land Rover Defender and the series Land Rover models before it have been a fixture in the British countryside for decades.

The new Defender represents the biggest design overhaul the model has ever had but the jump in comfort and technology didn’t come at the expense of those familiar Defender design themes.

BMW paid tribute to the 507 of 1956 by launching the Z8 in 2000.

The classic roadster layout and curvy lines were pulled straight from the 50s while power came from the 4.9-litre V8 employed in the M5 saloon at the time.

It was good enough for James Bond in The World Is Not Enough and what better endorsement could there be?

Another one of the most famous names in motoring, the Ford Mustang helped define the muscle car era and is still going strong today.

The latest model blends classic Mustang design themes with modern tech but a big V8 is still on the menu.

The new Alpine A110 launched in 2017 with a shape and philosophy that look back to the A110 of the 1960s.

The retro shapes with modern lightweight technology have made it a highly capable and desirable sports car.

The Fiat 500’s cute retro looks have been seducing buyers since the mk2 version was launched in 2007.

Now it’s the mk3’s turn and Fiat had no intention of changing a winning design formula too much.

What is new is the pure-electric powertrain under those familiar lines.

Porsche has kept the 911’s styling consistent since the 1960s but the technology beneath the retro lines has evolved quickly keeping the coupe at the top of the sports car class.

Mercedes created a monster when it designed the G-Class back in the 1970s but the original tough offroader has been successfully gentrified in the years since.

The retro lines now make it one of the most fashionable luxury 4x4s on the market.

Honda went right back to the original Civic hatchback of the 1970s for inspiration when designing the Honda e electric car.

The cute, retro styling hides an advanced EV powertrain and a high-tech interior based around a full-width touchscreen display.

Suzuki’s Jimny is having a renaissance in fourth generation guise with the little SUV returning to its roots via a boxy, retro look that has propelled it into the thinking of trendy urban buyers.

The concept behind the Mazda MX-5 Roadster is very much derived from the classic British sports cars of the 50’s and 60’s. It used to share design influences with them too but the latest models have ditched the retro for a more modern look.

The 7 isn’t so much retro as old. It’s been in production in one form or another since 1957 and retains a hyper-loyal following today partly because of its old-school charm. The basic, lightweight formula makes the Caterham Seven supremely capable too.

Launched in 2000, the PT Cruiser with its 1950s hot rod styling was a relative hit for Chrysler. It was roomy but dated underpinnings meant the car was off the pace by most other objective measures and the less said about the convertible, the better.

The 1991 Nissan Figaro paired the basic platform from a 1st generation Nissan Micra with a tiny sports car body that could have arrived from the 1960s by Tardis. It was never sold officially in the UK and is exclusively right-hand drive.

The ‘New’ Beetle arrived a few years before BMW’s remake of the MINI targeting the same kind of fashionable small car buyers, but would ultimately come off second best. The 1998 model based on the Mk4 Golf was updated by a better mk2 version in 2011.

The retro themes returned to the Chevrolet Camaro family tree with the fifth generation model launched in 2010 and the Mk6 car built on that.

The Dodge Charger arrived in 1966 and while the seventh generation car launched in 2011 has less of an obvious retro design link to the early models than the Camaro or Mustang, it certainly carries their muscle car ethos - particularly in SRT-8 form.

The beautiful arching lines of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione hark back to the brand’s golden age and made it the antithesis of contemporary supercars, with their aggressively aerodynamic bodies, when it launched in 2007.

Ford chose to celebrate its most iconic racing car in 2005. The GT40 won Le Mans four times in a row between 1966 and 1969 and the new Ford GTs became upsized recreations of the original.