Please forgive my borderline lame reasons for liking some cars but what can I say
being a typical man I have shallow superficial reasons for considering cars to be one of the greatest ever, so design and form plays a major part
:
1) Mercedes The Gullwing: I remember reading an article when I was a kid about Picasso owning one and Peter Sellers who regardless of his movies (The Party and so on) was the embodiment of a cool movie star aswell and I imagined driving this car in Montecarlo or Monaco in the summer with all those stylish women on the promenade and that really made my fantasy go in hyperdrive so it has to be one of the most iconic cars out there. The interior is just pure sex.
2) Mercedes AMG 6.0 SEC Widebody (1989-1990): I used to own a Matchbox model toy of this car back in 1988 and I imagined it was the perfect car to go close drug deals in and then head to the club (sorry too much Miami Vice while growing up) and just look at it, its got that old skool muscular Benz styling with the power to match. These cars were not just a technical and designing exercise, they had that intangible ingredient of being "very cool and looking gangstah"
, something that designers forget today.
3) Maserati Quattroporte Royale with Miami Vice styling (Wire Rims, Body Kit): See Previous
4) Lamborghini Countach LP400: the design of this car is timeless, seemless flows and edges and wedges, the original Countach design is just so beautiful, the stuff of Italian supercar dreams.
5) BMW 507: is the perfect car to drive in the Bavarian country side with a gorgeous blonde to have a picnic with ;-) LoooL, but have to say the grand daddy of the Z8 is uber cool
6) Lamborghini Miura SV: The Ultimate Evolution (Ignoring the Jota and the Chopped Roof one off version) of arguably the most beautiful Italian super car ever made, the Italian Job really sealed its reputation.
7) Aston Martin Lagonda (80s): One of my father's business friends had one of these, a portly Irish guy, had a white on white Lagonda with a black dash (I know, so 80s) and when I saw it in 1986 I thought it was the coolest car in the world
8) Lamborghini LM002: a fav. of Gulf Royalty and packed with Lambo Countach or Diablo engines, going offroad was never ever this cool
so if you love Italian Supercars this is a must and gets mucho respect from car lovers
9) Maserati Bora: imho is one of the classiest supercars ever made, it was extremely advanced for its time thanks to Citroen funding and the design is understated yet elegant, so it has to be loved.
10) Audi Sport Quattro: is a raw thumping powerhouse of a machine with its well known S1 Rally pedigree it was and is an awesome machine, a testament to German engineering at its creative best.
11) Lancia 037 Stradale: I love the Italianess of the machine and its rare obscurity heightens its appeal, the boxy Italian 80s styling is very pleasing to my eye.
12) Lamborghini 6.0: The ultimate Pre-Audi completely Italian Lamborghini, I remember I was in University when it came out, the svelte smooth styling, the sensual dashboard and ergonomics, it was a gorgeous car and had alot of similarities with the Countach LP400 for a styling perspective.
13) Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 GT: Rawer version of the 6.0 Diablo with a more brutal soundtrack
14) Ferrari Challenge Stradale: F40 experience for 1/3 the price with no Fiat parts bin interior, a winner and icon in Ferraristis eyes
15) Ferrari 512M: The Ultimate Evolution of the iconic Testarossa with the sexiest behinds I've ever seen on a supercar and imho the end of the crazy 80s styling excesses, a shame :-(
16) Ferrari Daytona Competizione or Spyder: the first time I saw it was in an episode of Colombo with Peter Falk and its been a life long love affair with the fantastic styling of this car, its legendary status in the pantheon of great Ferraris and its sheer class. Give me a Daytona anyday over any of these newer post 2000 Ferraris.
17) Porsche 962 CS (Road Version Prototype): Japanese supercar enthusiast investors, an Australian Porsche factory Champion race driver and a recession make this a recipe for a financial disaster but we're lucky these men had the cajones to do this project and leave us with these beauties, a very rare and awesome looking machine, only 3 made, not too well known but known to those that loved the race versions of these iconic track superstars so having a road going version of them with a 959 behind as on the Prototype is just sublime.
18) Ferrari SWB: somehow I have it stuck in my head that people were cooler and more stylish in 60s and 70s in my head so if I have to fanticize about being back in those days I need an SWB to complete the fantasy of a country millionaire wasting my time by driving around Europe being cool in every town and trying to make good on an aimless bet to lay a girl in every major city LooOL
19) Ferrari Lusso: Standing behind this car is a joy, those two large dials inside the car next to the steering are a stroke of design genius, the smooth curves and flows is just icing on the cake, as in no. 18, the Lusso could do the same job.
20) Ferrari F40 LM Michelotto: imho Japanese Ferrari owners are the craziest and coolest in the world, their obsession and attention to detail for their cars is the ultimate expression of supercar love, I love how they have the jewels to color their F40s black, yellow or silver vs. the iconic red, give me a Japanese owned Black F40 LM any day
21) Bentley Continental T: has such dignity and class in its design but when provoked has the power to bring down all the fury of hell on the road, destroying everything in its path, an awesome machine and the Greatest Bentley ever made.
22) Lancia Stratos: Ferrari powered and with a design that made it look it came from another planet, along with its Rally credentials, a car with such pedigree and coolness easily makes it an all time Great.
23) Mercedes 300 SL Roadster: the grand daddy of the SLR Convertible, how can anyone say no to a convertible gull wing, the cockpit of the Gullwing was known to have been an oven so for those summer days you could have cruised the South of France in one of these gorgeous beauties J
24) Lamborghini 3500 GT by Zagato: was the only design collaboration between the two firms and created such a beautiful design that to this day I am in awe, too bad only 2 were made but have to really respect Lambo for sticking it to Ferrari this way LooL J, from the same school of 60s iconic supercars.
25) Porsche 993 Turbo: back in 1997 this car came with options that most current Porsches have and was the last of the air cooled Turbos but for me its special because its design has the ultimate balance and loved by enthusiasts all over.
26) Porsche 928 GTS: the shark was one of the coolest cars back in the day and the design is so timeless that park a 928 next to any newer Porsche and it still looks good, the interior lets it down but otherwise from a design perspective it was and is one of the most beautiful Porsche ever to be made.
27) Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale: a Ferrari 250 GTO as everyone knows is one of the Greatest cars around but cars like the 33/2 Stradale are no less fantastic albeit less well known to enthusiasts because its not marketed as such by its manufacturer which in its current form is an insult to its heritage. I digress but a car which had a 8,800 rpm redline and with a body that was brought down to Earth by a Divine inspiration makes this one of the Greatest cars ever made. It reminds me of cool supercars used by Japanese Manga heros J
28) Bizzarrini GT Strada 5300: was a street legal race car and its aggressive design which is beautiful from every angle, if could easily have had a Ferrari badge, the guy was an ex-Ferrari engineer and worked on the team that developed the Ferrari 250 GTO, its rarity and embodiment of a special time make it one of the greatest.
29) Ferrari 575 GTC Manual: grandchild of the Daytona, classic Ferrari lines, beautiful from every angle, the Maranello was the last design which didn't loose its Italianess to Globalization.
30) Ferrari 355 Spider: one of the most beautiful engine sounds to ever come out of a V8, beautiful from every angle, from the same genepool as the Maranello, pure Italian Design and the convertible allows you to hear those down shift pops and bangs in all their glory.
31) Toyota 2000 GT: a middle finger to the snooty Eurocentric supercar establishment and it looks oh so good
I wish it inspires Toyota again to do the same ( they tried with Lexus in the early 90s) but hope they can do it with a supercar. I love the interior of the car and wood used was the same as used on Yamaha Pianos so an indication of the attention to detail and quality.
32) Mercedes G55 AMG: is a freakin monster and takes no prisoners LoooL as Richard Hammond from Top Gear says Super Models can't resist the backlit doorplates. A car that can take offroad and then clean up and drive to any club or black tie event, has amazing presence and in the Gulf is considered the coolest car to have due to Royal Patronage along the lines of what Bentley, Range or Rolls has as an image in the UK
33) Mercedes SLR Convertible: saw a blue one with an orangish tan interior at the Kuwait Autoshow a couple of years ago and I fell in love, its beautiful its sheer presence and size and after so many decades Benz came out with a true successor to the Gullwing in coolness and style.
34) BMW M6 Widebody (1980s): Refer to point no. 2
35) Aston Martin DBS Convertible: we can all agree the DBS was one of the best looking Astons to be made in a long time so a convertible of it is no brainer as one of the Greatest cars ever made although I might say the continuity of form on the hardtop might make it look more elegant.
36) Alfa Romeo Montreal: the first time I ever saw this car was in a book given to me by a family friend and I loved the design of the car so decided to research it more, the car was developed by Alfa for the 1967 Montreal Expo as a car of the future and the name caught on, the gorgeous side ducts and NACA ducts on the hood add to the flare but its coolness is really in the way its instrumentation barnacle has been designed
37) Alfa Romeo TZ2: Although the 250 GTO from Ferrari is more celebrated, like the Bizzarrini Strada the TZ2 is no less than the legendary Ferrari, but doesn't get its due attention or respect, fantastic design and pedigree, it’s a gorgeous car and is one of the greatest imho.
38) Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8 AMG W109: the sheer brutish muscular stance of the car, it looks like an offspring of a tank and a rocket, again I romanticize the time it was conceived in when things were simpler and car tuning firms could do anything and I love that about it.
39) Mercedes 450 SLC AMG: previous point
40) Maserati Ghibli Cup Bi-Turbo (90s): Although Maseratis were generally not very easy to own in this period but the luxurious cabin and easy seating position along with its mean performance and very Italian design which is elegant yet muscular makes this a car very easy to fall in love with.
41) Porsche 959 S: saw it in the Guinness Book of records as the fastest car in the world at the time and its sexy design and having a Nikko Rothmans liveried Rally Version R/C car of it sealed its fate as one of the greatest cars ever.
42) Pontiac Trans Am Firebird (Smokey & The Bandit): is one of my fav. American muscle cars ofcourse made an Icon by Burt Reynolds in the movie but the meaness of its front design and classic American V8 sound makes it a great Ambassador for an era and a state of mind.
43) Mustang Bullitt (60s): Steve Mcqueen, the sound of that motor, the movie, that green paint job, the car chase, I rest my case.
44) Corvette 1972 T-Top: the first time I saw it was in a Road & Track, a blue T-Top being driven through Death Valley and I fell in love with its design and charisma, imho the best Corvette design ever.
45) Chevy Impala SS: I blame Warren G for hooking me up on the Impala, the car is just too Gangstah
46) Nissan GTR V Spec: a friend of mine got the GTR and imho it is one of the best sports cars ever made, the V Spec has to be bowed down to as one the best to come out of the Land of the Rising Sun which flies in the face of all logic
47) Camaro Z28 (60s): Just love the way it looks, classic American muscle.
48) Lincoln Continental (Suicide Doors, Black, Whitewalls, White Interior): is imho the ultimate Gangster mobile, give me a drum loading machine gun, a hat and a circa 60s suit and I'm in business LoooL
49) Shelby Mustang 500 (60s): the stance and look of this awesome machine, the involvement of Carroll Shelby himself, the recent auction of his own black Shelby Mustang with its flowing muscular bodywork and design and hood snout makes this an ultimate expression of American muscle car design. One of the Greatest without a doubt.
50) Jaguar E-Type Convertible: for car lovers around the world the E-type embodies classic good eye candy and the car's pedigree, performance, and great price made it an all time favorite amongst collectors, it has such grace and gorgeous lines that it can put any Italian exotic to shame, truly an icon.
Hope you enjoyed my crazy reasons and motivations for liking cars
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