Best looking car ever made

AK99

Haych said:

This was my first car - well, not this actual car, but one very similar to it.  A MK1 facelift VW Scirocco GTi.  A bit of an enigma, from certain angles they look very, very pretty, from others they look quite ugly.  At any angle they looked better than the Golf, though.

It was chuffing quick too.  My best mate at the time splashed out on a Rover 820 Turbo and was rather mortified to find out that my £60 banger could keep up with his £5k bank loan until about 70mph, when the Rover just stretched its legs and disappeared into the distance.

I didn't mind, at anything over 60 you were taking your life into your own hands - let's just say it was held together with filler, dodgy welds and hope.  I sold it to a guy in Monmouth for about £400 in about 1996/7.  A well sorted example is worth quite a lot of money these days - oh to have a crystal ball.

Brand new out of the factory the chassis wasn't any great shakes either. I have a vivid memory as a teenager of one of the local chaps raking in circles round the local car-park late one Saturday night, with the inside rear wheel held fully about a foot off the ground. I'm guessing chassis stiffness and roll-control wasn't quite then what it is now

Haych

AK99 said:

Brand new out of the factory the chassis wasn't any great shakes either. I have a vivid memory as a teenager of one of the local chaps raking in circles round the local car-park late one Saturday night, with the inside rear wheel held fully about a foot off the ground. I'm guessing chassis stiffness and roll-control wasn't quite then what it is now

Better than that, the brakes were awful.  They didn't design the chassis for right hand drive, so the master cylinder and brake booster were still on the left side of the bulkhead and connected to the brake pedal by a steel bar that ran the length of the bulkhead.

The engine was marvellous, though.  A rev-happy 8 valve 1.6 little lump, never known an engine that loved to rev like that thing.

LastMantra

CavemanGrogg said:

Sporky said:

CavemanGrogg said:

Still have yet to see a car posted that I would both keep and drive if I was given it for free, the gull wing included as cool as it is.

What would your suggestion be? 

It was this:

CavemanGrogg said:

No contest:

I've mentioned earlier in the thread that I've driven a few of the cars mentioned, though not the one I posted, I've even owned a car that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned or a variant of it, a 944.  And barr a very few exceptions, that most people would call sacrilege - basically original body and panels subtly modified to fit a modern chassis, modern engine, trany, gear box, breaks, steering......, have not only been terrible to drive, but bloody expensive to own, and a hell of a lot of hassle, they spend a hell of a lot more time in garages compared to how much road time they see.  It's the same if not worse with modern super cars, the cars are actually easier to buy than the parts and skills needed to maintain them - with modern super cars a lot of them have to be sent back to the factory that built them for repairs, even servicing.

Paul_C said:

I had the option of buying one of these in gold with black stripes, instead of the 944 I bought. 

I think I prefer the modern SLS AMG.

Dominic

Kilgore said:

Dominic said:

I've always liked the Montreal
the modern Giulia and Quadrifoglio can be had in a colour called Montreal Green which was the default colour of them back in the 70s
there was definitely something a little bit American / Mustang about it IN FACT it was incredibly similar to the DE Tomaso Mangusta ........before you scoff remember that this was an era of brief romance between American and Italian Manufacture and design ....an era that gave birth to the ;
Lambo Espada 
De Tomaso (3 models inc 3 incarnations of Pantera ) Longchamps ,Deaville and the Montreal like Mangusta ,
Iso Griffo........possibly one of THE BEST LOOKERS OF ALL TIME 
Iso Rivolta
Iso Lele
Iso Fidia
Bizarrini GT and the p series (fantastic looking car)
Momo Mirage 

there were loads of collaborative cars.....mainly Italian design bodies/chassis and big US V8 engines ...Chevrolet had the biggest input ......they put the grunt into the Bizarini Stradale which was a storming fast car

Absolutely. Nothing wrong with a marriage of Italian style and a big lump of Detroit iron.

Quite ,I had a Pantera GTSin the early 80s ;it was a lot of fun but a local man had an Iso Griffo which was just beautiful

Sporky

chillidoggy said: 

You’re gonna hate me but……I’ve been in a mate’s A110. He used to sprint/hillclimb it until he realised how valuable it was, and sold it.

That sounds ace! I was invited to a day at Goodwood with new and old (and in between) Alpine's, but wasn't brave enough to ask to have a sit in an original.

The passenger ride in the racing version of the new one was brilliant. 

DB1

Dominic said:

I've driven one on a Hill Climb .....my friend had one and a Gilburn Invader which was fully rally prepped

My very own Gilbern Invader - I really liked that car. Those days are over, but I've still got my Gilbern Invader mug.

Dominic

I used to drive my friend's one with the rally engine ( a Ford 3 litre V6 I think ) ....it was bloody quick for those days
had a huge walnut slab dash bit like a Rover P1
Welsh Wizardry .....I always thought of it as a poor man's Bristol Beaufighter .
Great car.

DB1

I always thought of it as Welsh GTV! Yep, the 3 litre Essex engine - shared by the Scimitar, the Consul/Granada, the Capri, Zephyrs, the Marcos GT, TVR 3000s (as far as I recall) and many others. Lovely sound and quite quick. I also bought a Genie (basically an Invader Mk 1) sometime later which had been restored, but although it was cosmetically excellent, the mechanicals weren't quite right.

I swapped it for a horrific Maserati Biturbo, which I quickly swapped for an MGB GT V8, which I always regret selling.

I exchanged the Invader for a lovely 1972 4.2 Daimler Sovereign in Regency Red. What a beautiful car that was.

Offset

Dominic said:

Iso Griffo........possibly one of THE BEST LOOKERS OF ALL TIME 

I'd forgotten the Grifo - yep, it was a handsome brute!

For some reason it made me think of this, which another neighbour of ours owned in (I'd guess) the very early '70s... 

Offset

DB1 said:

I always thought of it as Welsh GTV! Yep, the 3 litre Essex engine - shared by the Scimitar, the Consul/Granada, the Capri, Zephyrs, the Marcos GT, TVR 3000s (as far as I recall) and many others. Lovely sound and quite quick. I also bought a Genie (basically an Invader Mk 1) sometime later which had been restored, but although it was cosmetically excellent, the mechanicals weren't quite right.

The 3 litre Essex engine was also used in this - the Uren Savage.  They sell for shit-loads these days.

rainer2859

[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/WKdOKkd.jpg)

historyisjunk

Monteverdi? (Sp?)  I have never even seen one.

Another nice rarity was this Facel Vega, a bit like a French Alvis

https://www.supercars.net/blog/1959→1962-facel-vega-hk-500/

I have, seen one once. The exhausts come out through the back bumper.

chillidoggy

Oooh, while we’re on the subject of Monteverdi, here’s one I have always lusted after.

https://i.imgur.com/7HEt3KR.jpg

historyisjunk

I always like these too- https://www.classicandsportscar.com/features/buyers-guide-fiat-130-coupe

The 4 door looks very different, but still very good, like a big 125.

Offset

historyisjunk said:

Monteverdi? (Sp?)  I have never even seen one.

Another nice rarity was this Facel Vega, a bit like a French Alvis

https://www.supercars.net/blog/1959→1962-facel-vega-hk-500/

I have, seen one once. The exhausts come out through the back bumper.

Well spotted.  Monteverdi 375 L High Speed Coupe.  There were a few variants, but this is the one I remember.

Offset

historyisjunk said:

I always like these too- https://www.classicandsportscar.com/features/buyers-guide-fiat-130-coupe

The 4 door looks very different, but still very good, like a big 125.

Ha ha!  I crashed one of these in a multi-storey car park in Norwich way back when :-)

boogieman

If I had unlimited funds I’ve always liked the idea of owning a tastefully customised 60s Ford Thunderbird. But this has always been my ultimate fantasy car: 1962 Facel Vega. Absolutely gorgeous. 

Sporky

Not sure if it quite qualifies as a car, but there's plenty of space in the back for a week's shopping.

DB1

I'd also suggest the humble MGB GT as a fine looking piece of design for the masses (well, me).

historyisjunk

If they made that graphite colured FV now I suspect they'd sell very well (to those who could afford them) would be wise to stick with the Chrysler motors too.

60's Thunderbirds do vary though- 61-63 with the rocket burner back lights WOW! 64-65 Similarly WOW! But the 1960 "square" bird errr.... (just my opinion)

@offset ; At last a MK2 Cortina! I couldn't find a link to a nice one that wasn't a for sale Ad.

Also, sorry to hear about the Fiat, you must have had one of the 3 they imported**. I don't think I've ever seen one.

** actually no idea how many they imported.