Top 10 Classic British Cars
In April 2017 the Magazine produced a list of the Top 50 Classic British Cars. This was put together by a team of motoring experts and Industry Leaders. It shows what the professionals think is the Top 50. That is a lot of cars so, in this article, we are going to concentrate on the Top 10.
This team took into account features such as sales success, design and performance in their class. You may disagree with those criteria. I hear things from owners and devotees of Classic cars use such words as “Charm”, “Quirkiness”, “Investment” and “Ease of Maintenance”. I’ve even heard the word “Cuddliness” come from the mouths of owners. But what do you think ? Let us know in the comments section.
The Top Ten
10. The Lotus Elise
Years of manufacture: 1996-2001
Price when new: £19,950
Engine: 1,796cc 4cyl petrol, 118bhp
Top speed: 124mph
Mostly seen as a specialist engineering company Lotus wanted to produce a car that would show off its range of products and skills. Enter the Lotus Elise
9. The Ford Escort Mk1
Years of manufacture: 1967-1975
Price when new: £666
Engine: 1,263cc 4cyl petrol, 75bhp
Top speed: 95mph
The Ford Anglia was at the end of its days as the populous family car so what do you do ? Take the Ford Cortina and scale things down to replace it - the Ford Escort
8. The Caterham/Lotus 7
Years of manufacture: 1957-present
Price when new: £1,157
Engine: 1,172cc 4cyl petrol, 34bhp
Top speed: 80mph
Colin Chapman set up Lotus as a vehicle to show off his company skills. He then sold them as kit cars. Later Caterham started selling them as prebuilt cars rather than just the kits with a Ford engine.
7. Ford GT40
Years of manufacture: 1964-1969
Price when new: £5,200
Engine: 4,737cc 8cyl petrol, 306bhp
Top speed: 164mph
What do you do when you are the World’s most successful car maker and Enzo Ferrari won’t sell you his company ? Answer build a direct challenger in the GT40.
6. Range Rover Mk1
Years of manufacture: 1970-1996
Price when new: £1,998
Engine: 3,528cc 8cyl petrol, 132bhp
Top speed: 95mph
Rover had the idea of moving the quality of the Landrover more upmarket and in doing so they created a whole new sector. Even today the SUV is the biggest selling sector around
5. McClaren F1
Years of manufacture: 1992-1998
Price when new: £540,000
Engine: 6,064cc 12cyl petrol, 627bhp
Top speed: 240mph
When you build the ultimate supercar where the cost doesn’t matter you get this £500,000 car. Don’t be surprised though when you can’t sell more than 106
4. Aston Martin DB5
Years of manufacture: 1963-1965
Price now: £100,000-£1,000,000
Engine: 3,995cc 6cyl petrol, 282bhp
Top speed: 145mph
What else do you need to say but …” Bond, James Bond”
3. Land Rover Defender
Years of manufacture: 1948-2016
Price when new: £1,730
Engine: 1,997cc 4cyl petrol, 52bhp
Top speed: 50mph
They tried to stop making the Defender, but even as you read this, they are being made again, this time by the Chinese
2. Jaguar E Type
Years of manufacture: 1961-1975
Price when new: £1,934
Engine: 3,781cc 6cyl petrol, 265bhp
Top speed: 150mph
Flower Power, the Mersey Sound and the E Type Jag. Put them together and you encapsulate the 1960s
1. The Mini
Years of manufacture: 1959-2000
Price when new: £506
Engine: 850cc 4cyl petrol, 34bhp
Top speed: 73mph
Alec Issigonis, already famed for creating the wonderful Morris Minor was tasked with making a new car for a new era, with a maximum length of 3 metres and capacity for 4 people. The rest is History.
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