Best classic cars - the classics we’d most love to own
These are our favourite classic cars, from British beauties to V8-engined beasts
If you thought choosing a new car was difficult, try selecting the best cars from the entire back catalogue of automotive history. The best classic cars have not only stood the test of time but they’ve enhanced that standing, becoming more influential and coveted as the years have gone by. When we asked our editorial team to pick their all-time favourite classic cars, deliberations were long and arduous but the resulting list that you’ll find below is jam-packed with absolute corkers.
There are many routes to becoming recognised as one of the best classic cars in the world, none of them easy. Many of the models below broke new ground in terms of engineering or basic concept and inadvertently became trendsetters for scores of future models that would follow. Others simply seduced the world with their jaw-dropping style and desirability, while some managed to achieve an exquisite analogue driving experience that would become increasingly sought after as the car world moved to digital interfaces and electronic assistance.
In short, the very best classic cars all do something very, very special and each of the models in our list below tick that box in their own way. Let’s get started…
Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider
By Max Adams
- Power/engine size: 118bhp/1.8 litre
- Engine/gearbox: V6/four-speed manual
- 0-60/top speed: 11.5 seconds/115mph
- Price new/price now: £3,173/£750,000-£1m
I've had a model of the Lancia Aurelia for many years because it’s quite a pretty thing. But it was only when I looked into the car’s history and engineering that I discovered what an amazing classic it is. It’s the first production car with a V6 engine, which is a fairly important feat in itself. Plus it has a transaxle for better weight distribution and inboard rear brakes to cut unsprung weight, so there was sophistication behind its immaculate lines.
The most elegant version is the earlier Spider, which featured a wraparound windscreen. In contrast, the Convertible that followed had a flatter screen and the added luxury of wind-up side windows, enhancing usability. But this isn’t a car for wet weather. This is a gorgeous classic that should be reserved for special trips with the wind in your hair, as you bask in the sun while cruising along the French Riviera.
And you’ll want to savour it, because pricing starts from at least three-quarters of a million, with the very best examples easily relieving you of a £1m. Sadly, with those kinds of figures, I’ll have to stick with the model sitting on my desk.
Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk1
- Power/engine size: 108bhp/1.6 litre
- Engine/gearbox: 4cyl/four-speed manual
- 0-62/top speed: 9.1 seconds/110mph
- Price new/price now: £6,500/ £15,000-£40,000
The blueprint for hot hatches was well and truly laid down by the first Golf GTI. Firstly, it did all the practical stuff: it was roomy inside, easy to drive, comfortable and didn’t cost a bomb to run – crucial to the car's appeal in the mid-seventies.
However, the engine also had enough shove to fire the GTI to 62mph in 9.1 seconds. That might sound sluggish by modern standards, but at only 840kg, the GTI was a joy in the bends - with help from a fettled chassis and lower ride height.
The GTI’s balance of grip, combined with the nimble feel of its front end made it a blast to drive, and also a solid competitor in the European Touring Car Championship. It was in the sale charts where the little VW hot hatch dominated, however. Some of VW’s sales staff predicted they wouldn’t sell 500 GTIs, nearly half a million were produced.
To attract buyers, the GTI got the looks right. Based on the three-door Golf, the car has a 20mm lower stance, a 14mm wider track, iconic Pirelli ‘P’ wheels, red grille surrounds, colour-contrasting wheel arches, a front splitter and GTI badging. It all contributed to the GTI’s unmistakable style and many of the themes have been referenced on subsequent Golf GTI models. Inside you’ll find a Scirocco TS steering wheel, a typically zany golf-ball gear knob and bucket seats from Recaro, upholstered in tartan cloth.
Mini Cooper S
By Paul Barker
- Power/engine size: 76bhp/1.3 litre
- Engine/gearbox: 4cyl/four-speed manual
- 0-60/top speed: 10.5 seconds/97mph
- Price new/price now: £778/up to £50,000
The Mini was voted Auto Express’s best British-built car of all time, and the Cooper S is the performance cherry on the top. Admittedly not in terms of outright performance; 76bhp and a 0-60mph time of over 10 seconds are figures shamed by almost any model on sale today – but this is the car that gave birth to the ‘go-kart-like handling’ Minis became renowned for.
From The Italian Job movie, to Paddy Hopkirk’s Monte Carlo rally success, the Cooper S was a hero of the sixties. And that continues now for anyone who’s seen the humble hatchback chase brash American saloons around Goodwood at the Revival or Members Meeting! The Mini is one of Britain’s most cherished icons, and the Cooper S is the most loved of all.
Volvo P1800
By Tom Jervis
- Power/engine size: 100bhp/1.8 litre
- Engine/gearbox: 4cyl/four-speed manual with overdrive
- 0-60/top speed: 11.0 secs/110mph
- Price new/price now: £1,500/£30,000
Boasting a gorgeous body sculpted in Sweden and built in Britain by Pressed Steel and Jensen, the Volvo P1800 drove its way into the public’s hearts. Those sweeping lines and grand touring comfort secured the role as Roger Moore’s ride of choice in The Saint.
Under the P1800’s long, bulging bonnet lies a relatively modest 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine which, at first, produced just 100bhp; carburetted and subsequently fuel-injected versions came later with up to 120bhp. It sat on the same chassis as the Volvo 122 Amazon but several mechanical tweaks gave the P1800 more of a grand touring feel, with buyers able to choose from coupe or shooting brake estate body styles.
Yet while classic cars aren’t exactly renowned for their reliability, the P1800 has the distinct honour of being the car with the highest mileage in history; the late Irv Gordon, bought his Volvo coupe from new back in 1966 and drove it round the world, racking up more than three million miles on the odometer.
Jaguar E-Type
By Ellis Hyde
- Power/engine size: 265bhp/3.8 litre
- Engine/gearbox: straight six/four-speed manual
- 0-60/top speed: 6.5 seconds/150mph
- Price new/price now: £2,098/from £50,000
A picture is worth a thousand words, so the saying goes, and if there’s one car that could earn its place in the history books with nothing but a single image, it’s the Jaguar E-Type. Described by the godfather of the speed machine, Enzo Ferrari, as the most beautiful car ever made, the effortlessly glamorous sports car first graced us with its presence in 1961 – a time of Hillmans, Humbers and Austins. It was an immediate sensation with the press, public and the international jet set alike.
Yet this was not another unattainable object of desire. When it was launched, the Series 1 E-Type cost from £2,098, which was half the price of a contemporary Ferrari or Aston Martin, and around £41,000 in today’s money – that’s several thousand pounds less than a modern BMW 3 Series. The Jag was more powerful than the competition too, with its original 3.8-litre straight-six producing 265bhp and allowing it to reach 150mph flat-out.
When it was launched, the E-Type was available as either a two-seater convertible or hard-top coupe, and with just the one engine. The iconic sports car steadily evolved over the next 13 years and three generations, as Jaguar made design tweaks and added a 2+2 four-seater variant. The E-Type also gained a larger 4.2-litre straight-six in 1965, before being fitted with 5.2-litre V12 in 1971 for the final Series 3 model.
AC Cobra 427 SC
By Dean Gibson
- Power/engine size: 485bhp/7.0 litre
- Engine/gearbox: V8/four-speed manual
- 0-62/top speed: 4.0 seconds/185mph
- Price new/price now: £7,000/£1.2 million
There have been plenty of examples of people stuffing big V8s into European machines to deliver great performance, but it’s arguable that the AC Cobra was the grand master of the concept. In basic terms, the lightweight AC Ace was shipped from the UK to California, where Shelby American Inc. shoehorned a big Ford V8 under the bonnet. The end result was the Cobra, a car that accrued a fearsome reputation.
Most fearsome of all is the 427 SC. The 427 is the engine capacity in good ol’ US cubic inches, which translates into 7.0-litres for you and me, and with that motor pumping out 485bhp in a car weighing less than a tonne, some pretty lively handling is on offer.
The SC came about when the AC Cobra racing car wasn’t finished in time for the 1965 season and was subsequently mothballed in favour of the Cobra Daytona Coupe. With 31 racing cars going nowhere, Shelby decided to add a few bits and pieces to make them road legal, and the SC, or Semi Competition, was created.
Today the 427 SC is one of the most desirable classic cars around, with examples easily able to fetch more than a million at auction. That makes it all the more impressive when you see race-ready versions dancing on the edge of grip in intense competition at circuits such as Goodwood and Le Mans year in, year out.
Lamborghini Countach LP400
- Power/engine size: 370bhp; 3.9-litre
- Engine/gearbox: V12/five-speed manual
- 0-62/top speed: 5.4 seconds 162mph
- Price new/price now: £38,545/£700,000-£1,000,000
It’s difficult to imagine that a car looking like the Lamborghini Countach was built all the way back in 1974, but the truth is that it’s actually even older. Lamborghini’s first Countach LP500 show car was dropping jaws at the Geneva Motor Show a full three years before production. In a roadscape that was occupied by cars like the Ford Cortina, Morris Marina or even ‘premium’ German cars like the BMW 2002, the Countach must have seemed to have come directly from outer space.
It wasn’t just the design which merited astonishment, but also its incredible 3.9-litre V12 engine, positioned in a mid-mounted layout that was still very much in its infancy at the time. The world had already been given an indication of the mid-engined format that was to become the blueprint for future supercars by the Lamborghi Muira, but the classical features and rounded haunches of that car – beautiful though they were – gave way to something far more experimental in the original LP400 Countach.
The Countach’s story is almost as fascinating as the car itself, as it was a testament to the innovation of youth. The team that put the Countach together was the same one that created the Miura five years before, and consisted of a chief powertrain engineer, chassis engineer, test driver and design lead that were all in their late 20s or early 30s. A certain Argentinian composites expert also joined the Lamborghini team in the era of the Countach, later creating his own car brand that still carries his name, Horatio Pagani.
The Countach was a car that inspired youth, and came directly from it. It would take another generation for Ferrari to start experimenting with mid-engine layouts, and while Ferruccio Lamborghini wasn’t able to hold onto his company, its spirit of challenging the status quo remained intact.
Mercedes 300SL (W198)
- Power/engine size: 215bhp/3.0 litre
- Engine/gearbox: 6cyl/four-speed manual
- 0-62/top speed: 8.5 seconds/155mph
- Price new/price now: £3,900/£1,000,000-£3,000,000
The Mercedes 300SL (W198) is, in my eyes, one of the greatest and most beautiful cars ever made. Those iconic gullwing doors weren’t a gimmick; they were there because the spaceframe chassis underneath was lifted straight from the W194 race car that in 1952 won the sports car class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Mechanically, it was way ahead of its time, not only was it the first production car to use fuel injection but it was also the world's fastest production car at launch, with a claimed top speed of 155mph in the mid-1950s. But what really seals it for me is how effortlessly elegant the 300SL looks - fast, glamorous and completely timeless. It’s a car that Hollywood stars like Clark Gable and Sophia Loren wanted to be seen in, and it still makes everything else feel a bit ordinary in comparison.
The 300SL started as Mercedes' way to prove it was back in the racing game after World War II. The W194 race car’s success inspired the road-going W198 version, combining advanced engineering with striking style. Shaped with the help of a wind tunnel, its sleek curves improved aerodynamics and high-speed stability.
Mercedes wasn’t always planning to turn the race car into a road car. Max Hoffman, an influential Mercedes importer in the US, played a key role by pushing Mercedes to build a road version, seeing the potential for a high-performance sports car in America. After Mercedes initially rejected his proposal, he placed an order for 1,000 examples to be produced and the board of the German brand folded and put it into production. Thanks to his vision, the 300SL wasn’t just a race car, it became a global icon. Even today, it remains one of the few cars that blends racing pedigree, engineering innovation, and beautiful design effortlessly.
Rover P5B
- Power/engine size: 160bhp/3.5 litre
- Engine/gearbox: V8/four-speed manual or automatic
- 0-62/top speed: 10.7 seconds/110mph
- Price new/price now: £2,000/£20,000
With seats that’d be at home in a manor house drawing room, a dashboard that looks like it’s straight out of a fighter plane, and previous owners that include Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Rover P5B is a pinnacle of the classic car world. This British bruiser has style, power and history, so it’d be a crime not to include it in this list.
While the standard Rover P5 is very desirable, the P5B takes things that step further. As well as its exquisite, more curvaceous styling, the B is powered by the renowned Rover V8. Along with a divine soundtrack, this 3.5-litre lump also churns out 160bhp, which results in a 0-60mph time of around 10.7 seconds. I’ll admit that this isn’t a lot by today’s standards, but this is very much a car for wafting around in complete style and sumptuous comfort. Besides, racing this royalty-approved classic would simply be uncouth.
Porsche 911
- Power/engine size: 165bhp/2.4 litre
- Engine/gearbox: 6cyl/five-speed manual
- 0-62/top speed: 7.9 seconds/136mph
- Price new/price now: £3,970/from £60,000
The Porsche 911 has been the sports-car benchmark for over six decades, meaning no list of the best classic cars would be complete without one. You only need to glance at rising used values and auction results to grasp its wide-reaching appeal.
The iconic shape has barely changed since the sixties original, but it’s those early cars that, to my eyes, look the cleanest. The sleek, tear-drop shape, compact proportions, round headlights and Fuchs-style wheels are – and I’m not overstating this – utterly iconic. You don’t have to be a car bore to pick out a Porsche in the street, and it’s all thanks to that timeless design.
Yet the 911’s silhouette pales in comparison to the way it drives. While modern Porsches could be considered a little lardy, these original 911s – and right up to the 997-generation of the mid-noughties – were deft, relatively lightweight machines. That rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive chassis, sweet steering, precise manual gearbox; nothing comes close if you want to feel that pure, unadulterated connection between the tyres and the tarmac.
Values have risen significantly in recent years; the car you see here was shot for an Auto Express feature back in 2008, and was for sale at the time for exactly £30,000. I’d wager it’s worth twice as much now – possibly more.
And no 911 is immune; even the previously unloved 996-generation, which was built from 1997 to 2004, is shooting up in price as people cotton on to its engaging, relatively uncorrupted driving experience. Take it from me – if you want a safe investment and something that you can enjoy day-in, day-out, a classic Porsche 911 could be just the ticket.
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