100 best cars in the world.
Cars is the gossip for boys and boredom for some boring girls. So, this blog is not for boring girls..........
100. Cadillac Eldorado
The most fin-tastic American motor, beloved by Elvis but rejected by Brits as just too over-the-top. Still, you would, wouldn't you?
99. Volkswagen Phaeton
It's a Volkswagen. It costs £61,000. It has a V10 turbodiesel. It seems 4Car voters looked at these three facts and concluded 'you're having a laugh, VW...' Volkswagen Phaeton V10 TDI & V6 TDI
98. Austin Maxi
A hugely spacious car with seats you can fold flat to sleep on. And the Austin Maxi Club has owners as far away as Finland. But you, dear readers, remained cruelly unmoved.
97. Toyota Corolla
One of the biggest selling cars of all time: sensationally reliable, fabulous build quality, frugal, blah blah blah. Did we mention 'spectacularly dull'?
Road Test: Toyota Corolla (2002-) Road Test: Toyota Corolla (1997-2002) Road Test: Toyota Corolla D-4D
96. Lamborghini LM002
When Lamborghini announced back in '86 that it would build a V12-powered off-roader, most people laughed out loud. Well, it's nearly 20 years on and we're still chortling.
95. Austin 7
How could we have been so hard on such a cute little motor? And we'll bet you didn't know that the first BMW was one of these built under license. Or maybe you did...
94. Duesenberg SSJ
Hollywood star Clark Gable had one of these, and to own one today would cost you £hundreds of thousands. So are we perhaps a touch jealous, folks?
93. Smart Fortwo
We thought this right-on green, cute little city car would do much better. But as Smart is now struggling to survive, perhaps you lot know something we don't.Road Test: Smart Fortwo Road Test: Smart City (2000-2003)
92. Fiat X1/9
Styled by Bertone, this little mid-engined mini supercar was a cult classic. OK, so it wasn't the most reliable thing on the road. And yes, we noticed the rust thing, too.
91. Renault 4
This 'people's car' was so successful it was nicknamed 'the blue jeans of the motor industry'. And we've seen how good Jeremy Clarkson looks in blue jeans, haven't we...
90. Mercedes Benz 540K roadster
The K stands for Kompressor, or supercharger in English, which gave the 540K staggering performance for the time - it could hit nearly 110mph, no mean feat in the 1930s.
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89. Porsche Cayenne Turbo
Unusual car, unusual looks, and unusual performance - the Cayenne is the fastest and most capable off-roader you can buy.
Gallery Road Test: Porsche Cayenne
88. Alfa Romeo 8C
One of the fastest and most advanced pre-war cars, the twin-supercharger Alfa Romeo 8C won Le Mans, and these days, they sell for �millions.
Gallery Concept car feature: Alfa Romeo 8C
87. Renault Espace
Not strictly speaking the world's first MPV, but it set interior space and versatility standards and brought the minivan genre to Europe.
Gallery Road Test: Renault Espace (2003-) Road Test: Renault Espace (2000-2002) Road Test: Renault Espace (1997-2000)
86. Saab 92
Saabs 90 and 91 were actually aircraft, but the 92 was effectively the Swedish Volkswagen Beetle - although it was actually rather more advanced.
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85. Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic
This still looks sensational now - can you imagine what kind of reaction it created in 1936? It was also extremely quick and beautifully-built. Today, they're virtually priceless.
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84. NSU Ro80
The Ro80 was hugely advanced, but its rotary engine proved so unreliable that it broke the company. Shame: its technological achievements deserved more of a future.
Gallery Top Ten Rotary-Engined Cars
83. Mercedes S-Class
Every time Mercedes develops a new S-Class, it sets out to produce the best car in the world. And usually it gets - at the very least - very close.
Gallery Road Test: Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1999-2003) Road Test: Mercedes-Benz S-Class (2003-)
82. Reliant Robin
The 'plastic pig' might be the butt of many jokes, but its relatively efficient engine and composite bodywork seems to have won it a few fans here. That or its TV stardom.
Gallery
81. Honda Civic
The own-brand white bread of the motoring world. Seven generations, 30-odd years and several million units sold make it one of the biggest model names in motoring history.
Gallery Honda Civic history Road Test: Honda Civic
80. Austin-Healey Sprite
The original Sprite prototype had pop-up headlights, which were deemed too expensive. So the production car got fixed upright items, thereby creating the cutest face in motordom. It was cheap, too, at less than £500.
Gallery Feature: Affordable Roadsters
79. Volvo Amazon
This tough, durable Volvo was the first model range to offer three-point seatbelts as standard, and later, pioneered collapsible steering wheels for crash protection. A cult hero.
Gallery Volvo 75th AnniversarySwedish Classics
78. Mercedes-Benz 'pagoda roof' SL
Nicknamed the 'pagoda roof' because the roof was slightly raised at the edges to give more headroom for getting in and out, this glamorous roadster became a style icon.
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77. Citroen SM
Surprised this one made it so high up our list. Take a temperamental French design and mate with even more temperamental Maserati engine. Result? A boat anchor.
Gallery Feature: Bargain supercars
76. Maserati Quattroporte
Absolutely no question, this is the best Quattroporte ever, with a Ferrari-derived V8 to die for and fabulous looks. Sequential shift gearbox, though, is a real pig.
Road Test: Maserati Quattroporte
75. Audi A8
This aluminium beauty is the executive cruiser for those with nothing to prove. Far, far cooler than the Merc or Jag equivalents and used ones can be picked up for peanuts. Bit expensive to insure, though.
Road Test: Audi A8
74. Rover P5B Coupe
Powered by a fabulous V8 derived from a Buick unit, this truly was a poor man's Bentley. If Rover had continued to build cars like this, it might have remained a force to be reckoned with.
Rover turns 100
73. Hummer H1
Credited with everything from winning the first Gulf War to destroying the natural world, the H1 polarises opinion. It inspired the H2 civilian-spec Hummer, which most of the world regards as a pretty bad idea.
72. Citroen Traction Avant - 1934
This revolutionary front-wheel drive ('traction avant'), low-slung unitary-body saloon really did make a huge splash. Sadly, though, not with 4Car readers.
71. Vauxhall Calibra
Most surviving Calibras sport barn-door rear spoilers and neon underlighting these days. An ignominious 'Max Power' end, then, for what was one of the best looking coupes of the late 1980s.
70. Renault Clio V6
Mid-engined madness will always bring in the votes, it seems, and you guys love the fact that Renault stuck a 3.0-litre V6 in the middle of a supermini. And so do we.
Gallery Road Test: Renault Clio V6 (2000-2003) Road Test: Renault Clio V6 (2003-)
69. Toyota Prius
Smarter than your average car and beloved by US celebrities trying to cultivate an eco-friendly image. Interesting hybrid petrol-electric engine wins it 4Car fans, too. Our long-termer impressed us.
Gallery Road Test: Toyota Prius (2004-) Road Test: Toyota Prius (2000-2004)
68. Porsche Boxster
Some, including 4Car's own Matt, would say that the Boxster is the most complete car you can buy today. At its price, no other sports cars can match its ability, quality and usability.
Gallery Road Test: Porsche Boxster
67. Noble M400
Massively quick, pretty good-looking, and made by an independently-owned British sports car company. Marvellous.
Gallery Road Test: Noble M400
66. Bentley Continental GT
Okay, underneath it shares more than the odd component with a Volkswagen and it weighs more than two tonnes, but that doesn't stop you lot loving the Continental, first of the new Bentleys under Volkswagen ownership of the brand.
Gallery Road Test: Bentley Continental
65. Rolls-Royce Phantom
Pipping the Bentley, spookily by a single place, is the Phantom, first of the Rolls-Royces developed under BMW ownership. Caricatured looks, but you gotta love the RR-branded wheel hubs that don't rotate and those suicide doors. It's imposing, incredibly refined and capable, too.
Gallery Road Test: Rolls-Royce Phantom
64. Datsun 240Z
One of the best-looking cars ever to emerge from the Far East, the 240Z was Japan's first successfully-exported sports car. Had a silky straight-six and rear-wheel-drive; Japan has never looked back.
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63. Jaguar D-Type
Ostensibly a race car but roadworthiness means it made it onto our list, and into your hearts. It won at Le Mans, it makes a thrilling noise, it is fabulous to look at, and that fin is good for promoting stability at 160mph upwards.
Gallery Driving a Jaguar D-Type for the Mille Miglia
62. Ford Focus
When it was launched in 1997, the Focus was an immediate success, winning customers and admirers with its striking looks, exceptional driving dynamics and all-round comfort and logical design. When replaced in 2004, it was still amongst the very best in its class - and it's not often we can say that about a regular, cooking Ford.
GalleryRoad Test: Ford FocusRoad Test: New Ford Focus
61. Alfa Romeo Alfasud
In 1973, the Alfasud played a similar role to that which the 62nd-placed Focus fills today. At its launch, its svelte looks won it friends, but its outstanding handling - combined with a great ride - really set it apart from the mainstream.
60. Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
Ask us "which is the best car in the world" and we'll say "come back next Friday and we'll tell you..." But seriously, folks, before the First World War there was only one definite answer to that question and it was the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which was unparalleled for durability, refinement and technology.
Gallery Rolls-Royce Centenary
59. Renault Clio Williams
Well done, 4Car readers, in voting so generously for the sweetest little hot hatch to come out of the 1990s. Only available in royal blue with bling-tastic gold wheels, the Clio Willy handled and went like a real thoroughbred, although the F1 team had nothing to do with its development (wot, no V10...?).
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58. Mazda RX-7
The RX-series of sportscars begat the most successful rotary engine of all time - they really are amazing to drive, more like jet turbines than regular piston engines. Current RX-8 is another hero, too, although it does like a bit of engine oil.
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57. Jaguar XJ saloon
They got it so spot on that Jaguar reprised many of the XJ's original styling cues for the 1990s. And when equipped with a V12, this really was a cruiser that could walk the walk. Magic.
Gallery Feature: 'Brand new' classic Jag XJ
56. Rover SD1
Another great Rover (sad to say that, these days), the SD1 was a V8 muscle motor and plainly a sentimental favourite among 4Car-istas. So good that we were (mostly) able to ignore appalling build quality.
Gallery Rover turns 100 Top Ten: Unreliable Motors
55. Ford Model T
"As long as its black..." The Model T is so famous that we don't need to give you the first part of this anecdote. This is the car that changed everything, from the way society functioned to the way we constructed our cities.
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54. Chevrolet Corvette
Until recently, this V8 roadster hasn't officially been sold in the UK, but our readers know an icon when they see one. We didn't get too carried away, though, as for most of its 50-year life, the Vette's been a bit of a pig to drive.
Gallery Road Test: Chevrolet Corvette Retrospective: Chevy Corvette
53. Lotus Elan Sprint
This is one for those in the know - the best expression of the Colin Chapman ethos of light weight and perfect chassis balance. Even today, this is an impressive package and it seems informed 4Car-ites agree.
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52. Saab 99 Turbo
Dep Ed Farah thinks these are the bee knees. Ed Gavin thinks they're far too powerful for a front-drive chassis. It is the car, though, that established Saab as the 'front-drive turbo guys'.
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51. Honda NSX
The first Japanese supercar to beat Ferrari at its own game and a car that the great Ayrton Senna helped develop, we reckon this one should have placed higher. Guess some readers have a problem with the badge...
Gallery Road Test: Honda NSX
50. Alfa Romeo Spider
The cute little Alfa Spider crops up at the halfway mark in your top 100, winning plenty of admirers for its looks and character. Being the motor that Dustin Hoffman tooled around in in The Graduate probably didn't hurt, either.
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49. Koenigsegg CC8S
Sweden's first supercar is the ridiculously-named Koenigsegg CC8S, which sneaks into the top half despite the fact that hardly anyone's driven one, and fewer people have ever bought one. Which just goes to show, we suppose, the allure of 655bhp, 240mph sports cars.
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48. Jensen Interceptor FF
A very advanced car for its time, the FF featured four-wheel-drive developed by Harry Ferguson's tractor company and anti-lock-brakes decades before they became commonplace. Although Jensen was based in West Bromwich, the Interceptor was a multi-national car - into its British chassis was mounted an American V8 engine, while the bodywork was made by Vignale of Italy.
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47. Morris Minor
Another fairly innovative car comes in at number 47, the national treasure that is the Morris Minor. At its launch in 1948, it boasted monocoque body and independent front suspension. The Moggie went on to sell 1.6 million units, and clearly remains a popular classic.
GalleryJubilee Cars (2002)
46. Ferrari F430
We put 10 Ferraris on the shortlist - not enough for some of you - and the F430 is lowest-placed of them, despite the thousands of superlatives thrown at it by people who've driven one. Still, we're inclined to agree, it's no F40...
Gallery Road test: Ferrari F430
45. Volkswagen Microbus
So, it's official: the Volkswagen Microbus is greater than the latest Ferrari. But representing freedom and the open road for millions, and still desirable for families, surfers and general itinerants alike, did anybody ever doubt it?
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44. Mazda MX-5
When it released the MX-5 in 1989, Mazda pretty much single-handedly rejuvenated the roadster market, even if it was a rip-off of the old Lotus Elan. But it has sold by the bucket load, and is still one of the sweetest handling sports cars on the market today. It's probably worthy of a higher placing, actually.
Gallery Road Test: Mazda MX-5 (1998-2000) Road Test: Mazda MX-5 (2000-) Road Test: Mazda MX-5 (retrospective)
43. Mercedes-Benz 300SL
A hugely successful racer spawned the 300SL road car, perhaps better remembered for its gullwing doors than for being the world's first supercar. It's still an astounding road car, yet behind the Audi TT? Is there no justice...
Gallery Carrera Panamericana
42. Audi TT
Slightly surprised that the TT has made it this high up the rankings, given its humble Golf underpinnings. There's no denying that it's a fabulous car to look at though, and those looks made it one of the most desirable cars of the 1990s.
Gallery Road Test: Audi TT
41. Ford Escort (Mk I/II)
Ford's biggest plaudits should come because the Escort was leagues ahead of the antiquated Anglia it replaced and blew the competition away at the time. But what we really remember it for, and so did plenty of you, is for becoming a huge rally star while it was at it.
Gallery Ford Escort history
40. Pagani Zonda S
There is seemingly no shortage of minted entrepreneurs who want to own their own supercar company, but very, very few actually make it. Horatio Pagani is one man who managed the feat, thanks to his producing one of the most spectacular and well-engineered supercars of all time.
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39. TVR T400 R
TVRs new Russian owner wants to turn the Blackpool company into a serious player in the sports car market. If it can add some quality and reliability to cars that look as amazing as the T400 R, and retain its absolutely terrifying performance, then it'll have no problems.
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38. Fiat 500
One of the cutest cars ever, the Fiat 500 used an air-cooled rear-mounted engine driving the rear wheels, just like a Porsche 911. With 13bhp, it's just a little bit slower than the Porker, though.
Gallery Feature: Modern concept Trepiuno
37. Citroen 2CV
One of the challenges facing designers of the French 'people's car' was that it had to run across a ploughed field with a basket of eggs on board, without breaking any. It did, but the lean angle when it corners is hysterical to watch..
Gallery Feature: racing 2CVs
36. London Taxi
Big Ben, red post boxes, double-decker buses and black cabs are the quintessential identifiers of London. Famed for its spaciousness and ludicrously tight turning circle, black cabs are also home to sage dispensers of wisdom and wit. Or not...
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35. Dodge Charger
The Dukes of Hazzard drove one called General Lee, which just about destroyed the Charger's street cred. Not quite, though, because the baddies drove a black one in Bullitt and that sort of cool just doesn't wear off. A 7.3-litre V8 helps, too.
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34. Lamborghini Gallardo
With a 492bhp V10, four-wheel drive and looks to die for, what's not to like? Even better, this Lambo's been fettled by Audi, which means its well built and reliable. Not your average Italian exotic, then.
Gallery Road Test: Lamborghini Gallardo
33. Willy's Jeep
Often credited with winning the Second World War, the Jeep was a truly heroic machine. When the contract was tendered, the American military said it needed a vehicle that was under three feet tall with a folding windscreen, could carry 600lbs and was rectangular in shape. They got what they asked for and an icon was born.
Gallery On the beaches of Normandy
32. Dodge Viper
4Car's editor has fond memories of spinning off the road in one of these at a closed circuit, thereby learning that Vipers bite when provoked. "I was caught out by all that torque suddenly arriving mid corner," explains Conway. So it's the car's fault, then?
Gallery Road Test: Dodge Viper
31. MINI
We don't want to give too much away, but the original Mini did considerably better than its modern cousin. Still, the new MINI is a brilliant car to drive, if not the revolutionary package that the original was. Basically, it drives like a small BMW, which is what it is.
Gallery Road Test: MINI One Road Test: MINI Cooper and Cooper S Road Test: MINI Convertible
30. Ferrari Dino
Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari's son Alfredino died tragically young, leaving his father grief stricken for the rest of his life. This V6 Ferrari is named in the son's honour - the Dino also remains one of the prettiest Ferraris ever, if not the quickest.
Gallery Feature: Bargain supercars
29. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII
Take this rally-bred, fire-breathing four-wheel drive tarmac demon over a favourite piece of twisty blacktop and there is only one thing that'll stay with it. A Bell JetRanger. No, seriously, this thing is absolutely mental, which is why you all love it so much.
Gallery Road Test: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII
28. Vauxhall Lotus Carlton
Back in the early 1990s, this twin-turbo, rear-wheel drive Vauxhall Carlton was the fastest production saloon on the planet, with its near 400bhp good for a shade under 180mph. At the time, a well known motoring mag asked somebody famous for going very quickly in a straight line to test it (he'll remain nameless). And no, that wasn't tyre smoke. Clutch, actually...
Gallery Speedy Specials
27. BMW M5
BMW installed a 500bhp V10 in an outwardly ordinary saloon - the result is a car that will reach 205mph if all of the electronic limiters were switched off. And with an F1 style seven-speed sequential-shift gearbox, this car is so fast that some are calling it irresponsible (just as they did with the Lotus Carlton). Not to worry, though, as you have to push a button to get the full 500 - default power is 'limited' to 400bhp. Yikes.
Gallery BMW history Road Test: BMW M5
26. Lancia Stratos
While other manufacturers took ordinary saloon cars and put go-faster kit on to create World Rally Championship rally cars, Lancia built the Stratos from the ground up as a rallycar. The fact that it looks sensational is just a happy coincidence, apparently.
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25. Caterham/Lotus Seven
Caterham continued to develop the Lotus Seven, and it ended up as the best driver's car in the world. Faithful to Lotus founder Colin Chapman's lifelong mantra, the Seven is lightweight with brilliant handling balance and a supple ride. And they're strong little cars, too. 4Car's editor had the biggest crash of his life (on a circuit) in one and walked away. OK, limped away. OK, there might have been an ambulance involved...
Gallery Road Test: Caterham 7 Caterham Seven in The Prisoner
24. Peugeot 205 GTi
Staffer and Pug-head Tom will be pleased to see the 205GTi doing so well. One of the greatest hot hatches of all time, this really is a driver's car, although it'll reward cack-handed treatment with an impromptu hedge-encounter. Glad to see 4Car-istas are so discerning, though.
Gallery Used Car Buying Guide: Cheap hot hatches
23. Porsche Carrera GT
All you need to know about the Carrera GT is that its 5.7-litre, 612bhp V10 engine was developed for a stillborn LeMans racer. With no race car to stick it in, Porsche created the GT, which is so friendly and driveable you could use it for the daily commute. Or sneak onto the Mulsanne Straight when nobody's looking and give those Audis something to think on.
Gallery Road Test: Porsche Carrera GT (2004-)
22. Citroen DS
As we get closer to the top ten, 4Car-ites are showing that they are the class of the field, car-judging-wise. The DS isn't just a gorgeous piece of car art, it's amazingly innovative, with hydro pneumatic suspension, swivelling headlights and proper aerodynamics. 4Car's former editor has one undergoing the final stages of a 14-year restoration. It'll be perfect.
Gallery News: DS 'Product of the Century'
21. Subaru Impreza Turbo
Being a Subaru Impreza or Mitsubishi Evo supporter is an article of faith - either one of these rally-bred lunatic motors will deliver the kind of cross-country pace that exotics costing three times as much would be hard pressed to match. Plainly, though, your sentimental favourite is the Scooby. Nice one.
Gallery Road Test: Subaru Impreza (2001-) Road Test: Subaru Impreza (1994-2001)
20. BMW M3 (E30)
Good to see a car which majored solely on driver interaction placed so highly in the rankings. The left-hand-drive only M3's four-cylinder engine didn't give it supercar speed, but the way it went down the road made it one of the best driver's cars of all time.
Gallery BMW history BMW M3 Road Test
19. Land Rover Range Rover
In the mid 1960s, Land Rover spotted a gap in the leisure market for a refined passenger car that could also do a spot of off-roading, and so developed the Range Rover. Little did it know what a design icon it would become, setting a template for luxury off-roaders followed today.
Gallery Road Test: Range Rover (2002-) Road Test: Range Rover (1994-2002)
18. Ferrari Enzo
Every now and again Ferrari releases a strictly limited edition supercar for the faithful few. The company reckoned that this one was so good, however, that it named it after the company's founder. Good enough to earn itself a place inside our top 20, too. But not the highest-placed Ferrari.
Gallery Road Test: Ferrari Enzo
17. Ford Mustang
A sports car for the blue-collar masses, the original Mustang was so affordable and desirable that within two years of its launch, a million had been sold. Subsequent versions never quite matched the appeal of the original.
Gallery Retrospective: Ford Mustang
16. Lamborghini Miura
Lamborghini stunned the world when it unveiled the Miura, created by a small, talented and young team of designers and engineers. Its transverse, mid-engine layout was revolutionary, performance electrifying, but it's probably the styling that most earned it a place so high in your Top 100.
Gallery
15. Lotus Elise
Simple, light and revolutionary, the Elise is quite brilliant to drive. Its engine is only small, but that doesn't matter when the Elise weighs so little, thanks to a clever, bonded, extruded aluminium chassis and unstressed composite bodywork. Reaffirming that nobody makes cars that handle like Lotus does, it's well worth a place in the top 15.
Gallery Road Test: Lotus Elise (1996-2001) Road Test: Lotus Elise (2001-) Road Test: Lotus Elise 111R
14. Nissan Skyline GT-R
Where the Elise is simple, the GT-R is complicated. Doyenne of the PlayStation generation, the turbocharged, electronically-controlled 4WD Skyline GT-R is an astounding piece of kit. Not the lightest, not the fastest, not necessarily the best looker, but absolutely sensational on road or track. And can be tuned to 1000bhp. Mega.
Gallery Nissan Skyline GT-R R34Nissan Skyline GT-R R33
13. Volkswagen Beetle
Surrounded by supercars, the Beetle earns its place just outside the top 10 - which should arguably be higher - by virtue of the fact that it mobilised a generation when production began in earnest after the war. Simple, cheap, and at 21.5 million units build, one of the most popular cars ever.
Gallery Volkswagen Beetle: Obituary
12. Lancia Delta Integrale
You could barely separate the two four-wheel-drive rally replicas in the top 20, but in the end opted to place the Integrale in 12th. Born from the world rally championship winning car, the Delta was evocative to look at, but even better to drive.
Gallery
11. Audi urQuattro
Perhaps innovation counts and, because the Audi urQuattro was the first of the successful 4WD rally replicas, that's why you placed it above the Integrale in the Top 100? Or maybe it was down to the Audi's charismatic five-cylinder engine, terrific grip, stonking performance...
10. Land Rover Series I
Another brilliant bit of lateral thinking on the part of 4Car readers, amongst the Ferraris and Porsches in our top ten, a classic, humble British hero. The Land Rover Series I made its debut in the late 1940s, and within a decade had become the recognised transport of intrepid adventurers across the globe.
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9. Ferrari F40
Back in 1987, Enzo Ferrari decided the best way to celebrate 40 years of making the cars bearing his name was to create a totally focussed race car for the road. And in the F40, we have one of the most inspirational Ferraris of all time and one of the last to be touched by Enzo himself.
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8. Porsche 911
All prospective employees of 4Car are asked one question. "How do you feel about Porsche 911s?" And on the basis of its ranking here, we reckon that thousands of 4Car readers would make excellent staffers. Simply put, there is no GT that is better to drive, better built, or better evidence of engineering development triumphing brilliantly over physics (that's not the best place for the engine...)
Gallery Porsche 911: 40th Anniversary Porsche 911 (2004-) Porsche 911 (2002-2004) Porsche 911 (1997-2002)
7. AC Cobra
One of the greatest examples of Anglo-American cooperation, the AC Cobra combined the balance, finesse and lightness of touch of a traditional British open sportscar with the iron fist of a Ford 289 V8 (4.7 litres). The result was one of the most characterful and desirable sportcars of the 1960s, something that 4Car readers were quick to recognise.
Gallery Driving Impression: Superformance Le Mans Coupe
6. Aston Martin DB9
4Car asked design supremo Ian Callum, the guy responsible for the DB7, whether there was a bad angle anywhere on the stunning DB9. "Yes," he said. "Crawl underneath it and the view's not so good." We're also happy to report that this is the best Aston to drive of all time.
Gallery Road Test: Aston Martin DB9
5. Ford GT40
Famously, this was the car that Ford developed to kick Ferrari's butt after the Italian maker decided against selling out to the Blue Oval. A one-two-three finish at Le Mans made the point rather neatly, and this remains the most inspired car that Ford has ever produced. And even though it's a loud Yank, you voted for it. Well done!
Gallery Road Test: Ford GT4Car drives a GT40 at Goodwood
4. Austin Mini
This car was the product of pure genius. We take front-wheel drive and transverse-mounted engines for granted these days, but back in the late 1950s, this was a fantastically radical solution to packaging a small car. Then the Mini only went on to win the Monte Carlo rally...
Gallery Austin Mini history
3. Jaguar E-Type
The most beautiful car to emerge from Coventry, the E-Type was also a performance sensation, famously recording a 150mph top speed in the hands of Autocar magazine road testers. 4Car has spoken to Jaguar's then chief test driver Norman Dewis to chase up rumours that the car was a bit hooky. Norman simply described the engine as 'very well run in...'
Gallery Feature: Racing E-Types at Goodwood
2. Volkswagen Golf GTI
This is the car that created the cult of the GTI. Now in its fifth generation, the original Golf GTI almost didn't happen back in the 1970s as the marketing folks at VW couldn't see that people would want to buy a small, sporting hatchback. A bit like the producer who dismissed the Beatles as a passing fad, really. Engineers persevered anyway, and a star was born.
Gallery Road Test: Volkswagen MkV Golf GTI
Its official: the McLaren F1 road car is the greatest automotive achievement of all time, as voted by the readers of 4Car. And I promise you, the fact that the F1 was also my own nominee for top spot had absolutely nothing to do with the final outcome. Honest.
You're a remarkably discerning lot, it has to be said. While I've had the enormous privilege of having driven the F1, I'm pretty sure that's not true of the vast majority of those who voted for it. So you were voting strictly on the basis of your knowledge of how significant this ground-breaking car really is, which is pretty impressive. And all these years later, the headline figures still amaze - three seats with a central driving position like a Formula One car, a 627bhp V12, 240mph and about one million dollars to you, sir.
As with so many of the finest things in life, it's existence is owed to the commitment and talent of a driven individual. In this case, its designer Gordon Murray. A veteran of Formula One race-car design, Murray set out with one purpose: to build the best road car of all time. "The F1 was created as the purest driver's car, compact and above all ultra-lightweight," he says. "It also embodies the most advanced engineering, intricate and elegant detailing and peerless quality."
Its chassis and bodywork are constructed from immensely strong, yet incredibly light and frighteningly expensive carbon fibre. So strong, in fact, that when the first prototype crashed in Namibia during testing, despite numerous rolls, the driver walked away unscathed. Meanwhile, no stone was left unturned in Murray's pursuit for perfection. Electric fans assist the creation of downforce, Kenwood created a premium sound system weighing just 8.5kg, the engine has no fly-wheel and the clutch is carbon fibre. When the car was still in production, each F1 took 2,250 hours to construct, obviously at huge expense.
Our own columnist Jay Leno owns an F1 (along with a mind-blowing selection of other hardware). So what does he reckon? "Well, the F1 is the greatest car of the 20th century," says Leno. "It sounds odd to say that but of all the cars from the year 1900 to the year 2000, the greatest of them all is the F1. There's a great deal of satisfaction in that when you drive it, knowing this is the best, the fastest. The weight of it feels German and the handling feels British."
The first time that I achieved 210mph-plus without the help of British Airways was aboard a McLaren. And I was there on the day that Andy Wallace (a brilliant driver and raconteur extraordinaire) set a road car speed record of 240.1mph at VW's test facility at Wolfsburg early in 1998. To say that this car changed the way I viewed the art of the possible is huge understatement. I'm with Leno on this one - Murray's achievement in creating a lightweight, shatteringly fast supercar that could be enjoyed by three people is an achievement unlikely to be matched, ever. Did I mention the engine bay lined with gold (for its heat reflecting properties) or the onboard toolkit made of titanium (for extreme strength and lightness)? Quite sensational.
So it's no surprise to me that you voted the McLaren F1 to be the greatest car of all time. Because, quite simply, it is.
Gavin ConwayEditor, 4Car
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