The Top 10 Coolest Cars....(According to TopGear)

[Super7]

The world's coolest cars - 10 - 1

 

10 - Mini Cooper (BMC)

 

9 - Ford GT

There's no argument; the new GT is so much better looking than the original GT40. Not because its profile is less compromised by racing necessities, nor because its surfaces and details are tight and tidy, but because when you think of a GT40, the car you are picturing in your mind's eye is actually the GT. And if that doesn't bag it for you, Ford will paint your GT any colour you want and that includes Gulf colours.

 

8 - BMW Z1

 

7 - Nissan 350Z

 

6 - Lancia Stratos

Rally car gets supercar looks - shock, horror - and the toffs promptly prise open their wallets: Herbert von Karajan, dictatorial conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, had one in the colour of snot and it still looked glorious. Further proof that Marcello Gandini has designed most of the world's best looking cars and that rallying is wrong to suppose we're actually seduced by a Citroen Xsara in flared trousers.

 

5 - Mercedes-Benz SL

 

4 - Audi RS6

 

3 - Smart Roadster

 

2 - Land Rover Defender

 

1 - Aston Martin DB5

 

 

The suit, the drink (a classic Mint Julep for once) and, of course, Pussy Galore: even without the silver DB5 parked there behind him on Erno Goldfinger's driveway, Bond would always come out on top (and, I seem to recall, underneath, astride, and sideways on too).

 

Goldfinger made Bond and it probably made Aston Martin too. For a certain generation ? and I'm talking about you and me ? the very definition of a car was about six inches long, gold, with revolving number plates, a roof and passenger seats that popped open, little machine guns that popped out the front and a funny old shield thing that popped out the rear. An attachment like that can never be broken or surpassed.

[Super7]

The world's coolest cars - 21 - 11

20 - Alfa Romeo 147 GTA

 

19 - Porsche 928 GTS

The nearest thing to a muscle car that Porsche has ever made. Most un-German. The 928 was already getting a bit past it when the most powerful GTS, with its 345bhp 5.5-litre V8 nestling under the bonnet and rear wing stuck on its rounded end, came out. But it still looked brilliant, had buckets of torque and cracked a top speed of 171mph.

 

18 - VW Corrado VR6

 

17 - Ferrari Dino 246 GT

 

16 - Renault 5 Turbo 1

 

15 - Lancia Delta Integrale Evo

 

14 - Mazda RX-8

A rolling stone may gather no moss, but given time it will sprout a mortgage and a brace of child seats. Meaning that those who've been rolling long enough to stand a chance of insuring, let alone buying a new sports coupe, have a choice of the Mazda RX-8 or the Mazda, er, RX-8. The first time I saw those rearwards-opening doors swing wide to reveal two back seats, I got goosebumps. With a rotary engine, Mazda reliability and a bargain price, it's fantastic.

 

13 - Lamborghini Miura

 

12 - Range Rover

If you want a well appointed 4x4 there's plenty to choose from: Mercedes M-Class, BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne. But ask yourself one question. Do you want to look like a drug dealer? Or, in the case of the Porsche, a blind drug dealer. No, if you want proper presence, only one off-roader makes the grade. And it's much nicer to suggest that your preferred type of shooting is grouse, rather than drive-by.

 

10= - Mini Cooper (BMW)

[Super7]

The world's coolest cars - 80 - 71

80 - BMW Z8

 

79 - Ford Lotus Cortina

 

78 - Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman

 

77 - Volvo P1800

It's just possible that Roger Moore's Simon Templar drove a P1800 because you needed the patience of a saint to drive one, such was the inadequacy of the engine concealed beneath its long, pretty bonnet. And it's true, if ever there was a car which looked like it'd do 150mph but couldn't, this was it. But merely looking like it can do 150 earns it a place here.

 

76 - BMW M5

 

75 - Aston Martin V8 Vantage

If you're under 45 forget the DB-series Astons. You want the V8, the model that showed that British brawn was a genuine alternative to all that poncy Italian mid-engined nonsense. In its time it was seen by many Aston connoisseurs as proof positive that the company had gone to the dogs. But look at it now - superb, and in Vantage guise the perfect late Seventies supercar. James May

 

74 - Audi Quattro Sport

 

73 - Honda Accord Type S

 

72 - BMW X5 V12

 

71 - Bristol Fighter

Forget everything you've come to think of Bristols since the old 400 series made way for the wilfully inelegant Beaufighters and Brigands: the Fighter has a clock that records engine hours in place of an odometer and loads of largely unnecessary overhead toggle switches. All of which is even more impressive than the Viper V10 eight-litre engine and a featherweight alloy body made by the same old boys who used to hammer out light bombers.

[Super7]

The world's coolest cars - 70 - 61

70 - Lincoln Continental

 

69 - Brabus EV12

 

68 - Honda Civic Type-R

 

67 - Smart City Coupe

 

66 - Renault 4

Few cars can cope with the abuse, workload and neglect that was the lot of the Renault 4 - it was an automotive Baldrick. It's a car that kids fall in love with, vegetarians smile at and summer memories are made. Built from old railway girders, sellotape and garden wire, it can make several trips to the sun and back and you can easily fit a pig in the boot. The Citroen 2CV was more famous, but real French farmers bought the 4.

 

65 - Nissan Cube

 

64 - Alfa Romeo SZ

 

63 - Nissan Skyline R34

It was a dark and stormy night the first time we saw the Skyline. Honestly. It scared us. Honestly. Parked in our poorly lit Top Gear underground car park, it looked, big, brutal and exceedingly user-unfriendly. With all that computer stuff on board it feels like it's thinking for itself the whole time. Devastatingly effective at taming the wildest of roads, it'll give any Porsche driver plenty to think about.

 

62 - Aston Martin Vanquish

 

61 - Jaguar XJ-S V12

The XJ-S is a truly timeless piece of car design. The rear lights are sort of 1950s, the headlights are possibly from the 80s, and the rear pillars are from York Minster. A tatty XJ-S is one of the most tragic artefacts on the face of the earth, but in good nick it is a marvelous thing: a proper V12 Jag that doesn't look like any other Jag ever made. A MkII is lovely, but it takes real balls to drive an XJ-S with a straight face.

[Super7]

The world's coolest cars - 60 - 51

60 - Porsche 356A

The curviest car in existence, you'll hardly find a straight line on it. Pre-dated the 911 but because it was so achingly pretty and so painfully slow, it never gave the embarassing impression that its owner felt they had to try too hard. Unobtainably exclusive, expensive, refreshingly simple and built with Patek-Philippe-like precision. Has to be the pre-57 A, which is rubbish to drive but has the nicest bumpers.

 

59 - Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

 

58 - VW Golf Mk. 1

 

57 - Toyota 2000GT

 

56 - Audi RS2

It accelerated to 30mph faster than a McLaren F1. Nowadays, super-fast Audi estates are ten-a-penny, but this was where it all started. It was just such a silly car at a time when there weren't nearly enough silly cars to go round. Normally I don't care about colour - as long as there are lots of them on my shirts - but the RS2 came in the most phenomenal electric blue.

 

55 - Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9

 

54 - Renaultsport Clio V6

 

53 - SAS Land Rover

 

52 - VW Camper

A bloke at my college had a split-screen camper. He also had a band, his own drum kit and really long hair. Everyone slept with him, with only the possible exception of me. I wanted a VW camper then and I want one now. The split screen is the one to have, despite being older, less reliable and smaller than the 'bay window' replacement. I don't know why. It just is.

 

51 - Mercedes-Benz S-Class

[En0203]

Oh my the XJS!!!

 

MY is selling this car for about RM90k, should i get one??

Edited October 27, 2003 by En0203

[Super7]

wow!!! ..... similar price as a COE car in sgp.....

[Seansene]

"66 - Renault 4

...it was an automotive Baldrick."

 

That's my favourite phrase of the day!

[Super7]

The world's coolest cars - 50 - 41

50 - Maserati Quattroporte

 

49 - Mercedes TE Estates

The W123 and W124 models - bomb-proof battleships the lot. I know writers, photographers, models and Hollywood film directors who swear by these cars. They use zero energy trying to define themselves, which is the essence of cool. Older Mercs are completely classless, too, and they're capable of intergalactic mileages. Think of every wanky car ad campaign you've ever seen - Merc TE estates are their polar opposite. Jason Barlow

 

48 - Renault Twingo

 

47 - Honda S2000

 

46 - BMW M3 CSL

 

45 - Honda NSX

No higher praise can be heaped upon the very nearly gorgeous shoulders of the NSX than that proffered by McLaren. Using the Honda as a dynamic yardstick for their own F1 of gold-leaf-lined engine bay fame, Gordon Murray (who owned one) and chums privately admitted that, despite coming close, they felt they never quite earned the NSX cigar. Even easier to drive than a small flock of sheep and, except possibly to a Welshman, infinitely better looking.Anthony ffrench-Constant

 

44 - Ford Mustang Fastback 1966

 

43 - Dodge Charger

 

42 - Ford Escort RS2000

 

41 - Saab 99 Turbo

What a hopeless car. Off the line it performed like a one-litre diesel, but just as you got used to that it took off like a two-stroke racing motorcycle. More than one 99 driver stopped and climbed out to see who had shunted them. Still, without the Saab, turbocharged road cars wouldn't have developed the way they did, and without this, the world's peakiest car engine, we wouldn't have devised useful expressions such as 'keeping it on the boil' and 'a torque curve like the Matterhorn'

[Super7]

The world's coolest cars - 40 - 31

40 - BMW 3.0 CSL

 

39 - Lotus Elise Mk. 1

Until the Elise came out, the only sporty yet affordable car we could get our hands on was the Mazda MX-5. Then, suddenly, sporty meant something else. From the sparse, stripped-down cabin to the sleek, simple lines, from the sharp steering to the incredible handling, here was an undeniable gem - more like a supercar in miniature. And the early ones earn extra kudos for being just a bit tricky too. Colin Ryan

 

38 - Volvo 850 T5 Estate

 

37 - Mercedes-Benz E500

Imagine a karate champion in a smart suit. Someone self-assured, resourceful, capable and completely without the need to shout about it. That's the E500. It has poise, power, equipment and even an aura about it. Anything bigger could be construed as vulgar. There's no need to advertise its presence like the E55, or seem as if it's making an effort to keep up, like its lesser V6-engined E320 sibling. It just overtakes you and you don't even know it. Colin Ryan

 

36 - Jaguar E-Type Series One FHC

 

35 - Ford Escort Cosworth

 

34 - Porsche 911 Carrera 2 993

If the Porsche 911 is the world's greatest sports car, and this is the best 911 of the lot, then this must make the 993 really very cool indeed. It has the purest steering feel and the best gearbox of any car I've ever driven, and remains enough of a challenge to be entertaining without spitting you off at the drop of a hat. Quite simply, the most satisfying car to drive for driving's sake. Plus, the 911 is always good pub argument fodder. Just say 911 to Clarkson and watch him go. Jason Barlow

 

33 - Jaguar XJR

 

32 - Lotus Elan S1

 

31 - Renault Kangoo

[Super7]

The world's coolest cars - 90 - 81

90 - Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen

 

89 - Trabant

 

88 - Citroen Pluriel

 

87 - BMW M1

I can tell you where I was when I decided the BMW M1 marked a high point in automotive evolution that would never be surpassed. It was the day before the 1979 British Grand Prix and I was standing at Copse with seventeen only mildly race-prepped M1s screaming towards me. Procar, the ultimate GP support race, pitched the fastest five F1 qualifiers against a bunch of privateers. So Lauda versus Piquet versus, erm, Needell, then. Michael Harvey

 

86 - Mercedes-Benz CL600

 

85 - Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider

The achingly pretty boat-tailed original became uglier and uglier with each subsequent iteration, culminating in that hilarious skirting-board atop the boot lip. Hugely entertaining drive via a bootlace-thin wooden helm, despite shaking like George Best on Sunday morning. One of the few cars that pleads to be painted red. There, I've managed to avoid all references to Mrs Robinson... Oh. Bugger. Anthony ffrench-Constant

 

84 - Lotus Esprit Series One

 

83 - VW Phaeton W12

If you're terribly hung up about brand awareness and badge hierarchy, you won't be moved by the prospect of a

[En0203]

wow!!! ..... similar price as a COE car in sgp.....

 

haha it's supposed to be a COE car if it's sold in Sg too rite? judging from the age of the car...