Of the vast number of car models that have ever existed, only an elite few have changed the game as we know it. Whether it is bringing luxury the world has never seen, creating a completely new genre or giving punters the chance to really customise a car’s look for the first time, these 9 superstars of automotive history are legends of their times.
1) Ford Model T
The Model T needs no introduction as the first mass-produced car ever. It brought motorised transport to many more people than could previously afford it.
2) 1927 Rolls Royce Phantom “Huntingdon”
The original Phantom was luxurious in a way no one had ever seen before. An incredible piece of work was only enhanced with the ultra-exclusive “Huntingdon” model.
3) Classic Minis
Although it wasn’t actually the first transverse-engined, front-wheel drive production car, the Mini displayed the neatest packaging the world had ever seen. It was affordable, too, and it sold like hot cakes.
4) Jaguar E-type
Faster, better-looking and much cheaper than its Italian contemporaries, the E-type is one of the most revolutionary sports cars ever built.
5) 1964 Lamborghini Miura
The Miura caused jaws to drop and knees to tremble all over the world when pictures of it at the Geneva Motor Show began to circulate. It changed the supercar landscape forever.
6) 1977 Volkswagen Golf GTi
The Golf GTi was the first of a groundbreaking era of hot hatchbacks that all but killed off the old British sports car industry. We’re still in love with hot hatches today.
7) 1990 Mazda MX-5
The humble MX-5 changed the game not once, but twice. First, it proved that affordable sports cars could be solid and reliable, and more recently it inspired the reinvention of the lightweight rear-wheel drive sports car class.
8) 2001 Mini Cooper
And decades later, after BMW bought the Mini name and factory, the so-called “New Mini” came out and offered customers industrial-scale personalisation options. The world went Mini-crazy once again.
9) 2008 Nissan GT-R
The second Nissan in our line-up is the car that crossed the supercar and rally car worlds to create a game-changer that was as fast as one with the devastating four-wheel drive technology of the other.