A combination of style, ‘coolness’, driving pleasure and sheer personal preference. If you have a better list or just one model you want to add the list, let me know.

The top four cars are pretty much inter-changeable all of them could have got first place. It would depend upon the day, the journey I had to make and . . . . . a poster on a 1970’s bedroom wall.

Lamborghini LP500 Countach.

The doors, the performance, the look.  Ok, the real reason is the look. Style, complete with a 70s model crawling all over it.

I’m not precious. It doesn’t have to be an early model, the LP400 or the periscope rear view mirror model. But similarly it certainly cant be a LP5000QV or one of the last Anniversary models with more plastic bolt on’s than a lego kit.

The LP500 had it all. The technical advantage – it put the gearbox in front of the engine, right next to your elbow, so the gear change was as good as could be. This did mean that the drive shaft – that went to the rear driven wheels – had to go through a specially made tube built into the bottom of the engine sump. Italians eh.

Oh, and a v12 full bore engine screaming away behind you all the way to the 7,800rpm red line. Power is a little bit vague, depending upon who you ask its between 375bhp and 440bhp.

I remember being told at the time that the mere name of the car, ‘Countach’ means a slightly stronger version of ‘Bloody hell’, in Italian. I have no idea if that is true, to be honest I prefer not knowing for sure.

As an avid 70’s tv movie watcher – and later the video – the opening soundtrack of the Cannonball run made the Countach so cool.  Plus the fact you had to had climb out o the car if you wanted to reverse it.

I would say -‘Why don’t we make cars like this any more?’, but we do. Lots of them, all the hyper cars. The trouble is that they don’t stand out like the Countach did. Just like the E-type Jaguar in the early 1960’s, this was a car that made you say ‘WOW’.

The list is the personal preference of our Director, Guy Winter. A car fanatic since the 1960’s, he eats’, sleeps and dreams everything Motor Trade. For the past 25 years he has worked for Cymark providing digital and telephone marketing support for individual retailers, groups and manufacturers alike.

If you want to stay on top of the latest Motor Trade chat either subscribe to this blog or find Guy on Linkedin.

A combination of style, ‘coolness’, driving pleasure and sheer personal preference. If you have a better list or just one model you want to add the list, let me know.

The top four cars are pretty much inter-changeable all of them could have got first place. It would depend upon the day, the journey I had to make and . . . . . well lots of things.

Ferrari 288GTO.

No, there is no point in waiting for the rest of the list, the F40 isn’t there.

The 288GTO is that rare thing (and also much rarer than the F40 in numbers with only 272/8 being built) it started its design life as a Group B car. A true road car, made as good as it can be to go racing.

The F40 on the other hand started out as a race car that was then ‘adapted’ slightly to make it road usable. Personally I would like proper door handles, radio and ventilation system. If you search the internet for the 288GTO Evolution (not this model) with its screwed on wheel arches and spoilers you can see the F40 taking shape. The 288GTO is just so much more elegant. You, and your passenger, can drive up to the Savoy, hand the keys to the valet and not feel like an idiot, its a car, not a racing car.

To the untrained eye it just looks like a 308GTD/328GTB, but virtually every part is unique to this GTO. The 2.8litre turbo charged V8 produced 400bhp in road trim, but made the car slightly longer than earlier models sharing the same styling because it was mounted in-line, rather than transverse. And because Grp B, was cancelled the cars were fitted with air-con and full leather.

The F40 is a race car underneath, with no pretence of comfort, the 288GTO is simply beautiful.

Was it a drivers car? Well, Nicki Lauda ordered one. He wasn’t slow.

The list is the personal preference of our Director, Guy Winter. A car fanatic since the 1960’s, he eats’, sleeps and dreams everything Motor Trade. For the past 25 years he has worked for Cymark providing digital and telephone marketing support for individual retailers, groups and manufacturers alike.

If you want to stay on top of the latest Motor Trade chat either subscribe to this blog or find Guy on Linkedin.

A combination of style, ‘coolness’, driving pleasure and sheer personal preference. If you have a better list or just one model you want to add the list, let me know.

Jaguar E-type, Series 1

“The most beautiful car ever made”, said Enzo Ferrari. Stunning performance in period with a price tag half that of Italian exotica or an Aston.

Can you imagine how much the E-type stood out at the Earls Court Motor Show that year. What was the humble man in the street driving? Either a Ford Anglia or an Austin A40.

Plus if David Bailey, Steve McQueen and George Best drove one, then it wrote ‘cool’ and underlined it twice. In red pen.

The list is the personal preference of our Director, Guy Winter. A car fanatic since the 1960’s, he eats’, sleeps and dreams everything Motor Trade. For the past 25 years he has worked for Cymark providing digital and telephone marketing support for individual retailers, groups and manufacturers alike.

If you want to stay on top of the latest Motor Trade chat either subscribe to this blog or find Guy on Linkedin.

A combination of style, ‘coolness’, driving pleasure and sheer personal preference. If you have a better list or just one model you want to add the list, let me know.

Porsche 911 (993)

Probably the most accomplished performance car of all time.  Certainly easy to drive very, very fast.

The early lightweight air cooled cars might not be as powerful or technically as quick as the later 996 / 997 onwards cars, but the light weight made it the go to choice for a cross country run in a hurry.

This is one performance car that you can live with every day. Happy going to the Supermarket, just as happy hitting over 180mph 10 minutes later. (Hands up who knows a supermarket near a disused runway).

The list is the personal preference of our Director, Guy Winter. A car fanatic since the 1960’s, he eats’, sleeps and dreams everything Motor Trade. For the past 25 years he has worked for Cymark providing digital and telephone marketing support for individual retailers, groups and manufacturers alike.

If you want to stay on top of the latest Motor Trade chat either subscribe to this blog or find Guy on Linkedin.

A combination of style, ‘coolness’, driving pleasure and sheer personal preference. If you have a better list or just one model you want to add the list, let me know.

Mercedes 300SL Gullwing

Another car that’s, ‘a little before my time’.  And I’ve only been in the passenger seat in the Mercedes #300SL, but in the 1950’s this was the stand out car. (If you could get out of it) 

Super cool doors, a folding steering wheel so you could climb in and Stirling Moss credibility with the #300SLR variant.

Even if its performance would be easily overhauled during the next 10 years. Driving one today would still be a memorable trip.

** You may be wondering where all the modern cars are **

The list is the personal preference of our Director, Guy Winter. A car fanatic since the 1960’s, he eats’, sleeps and dreams everything Motor Trade. For the past 25 years he has worked for Cymark providing digital and telephone marketing support for individual retailers, groups and manufacturers alike.

If you want to stay on top of the latest Motor Trade chat either subscribe to this blog or find Guy on Linkedin.

A combination of style, ‘coolness’, driving pleasure and sheer personal preference. If you have a better list or just one model you want to add the list, let me know.

Lancia Stratos.

OK, disclosure time.  I’m slightly biased towards the Stratos, my dad was one of the Lancia mechanics who worked in it during those wet and winter forest stages in the 1970’s.

The road car had stunning presence, a Ferrari engine with a great sound track and the requirement for super human driving skill to avoid spinning off into the nearest tree. Now that is cool.

The list is the personal preference of our Director, Guy Winter. A car fanatic since the 1960’s, he eats’, sleeps and dreams everything Motor Trade. For the past 25 years he has worked for Cymark providing digital and telephone marketing support for individual retailers, groups and manufacturers alike.

If you want to stay on top of the latest Motor Trade chat either subscribe to this blog or find Guy on Linkedin.

A combination of style, ‘coolness’, driving pleasure and sheer personal preference. If you have a better list or just one model you want to add the list, let me know.

1933 Bentley. 3 1/2

A bit our of left field this one. You need to find the right model.  I suggest you start with the coach built 1933 3 1/2 litre, two door coupe. Designed as a super grand tourer, with the strap line – “the silent sports car”, the car to waft the owner to the South of France at over a 90mph. (With an advertised 9mph top speed that might have been optimistic.

Few cars could touch it, perhaps an Alfa 8C or a Bugatti.  But they were a little bit too raw.  The Bentley said speed with style, especially coming off the back of a rack of Le Mans wins. True Style.

The list is the personal preference of our Director, Guy Winter. A car fanatic since the 1960’s, he eats’, sleeps and dreams everything Motor Trade. For the past 25 years he has worked for Cymark providing digital and telephone marketing support for individual retailers, groups and manufacturers alike.

If you want to stay on top of the latest Motor Trade chat either subscribe to this blog or find Guy on Linkedin.

A combination of style, ‘coolness’, driving pleasure and sheer personal preference. If you have a better list or just one model you want to add the list, let me know.

Ford Mustang 1965

This is a style issue.  I would understand if American’s replaced a mark 1 Mustang with a C2 Corvette, but for me the fastback version always had that bit more style.

The engine needs to be the V8, but either a small block or big block. Neither handled particularly well, but the noise could be great.

It may have been Steve McQueen smoking tyres in Bullit that did it for me.  The car continues to be cool.

The list is the personal preference of our Director, Guy Winter. A car fanatic since the 1960’s, he eats’, sleeps and dreams everything Motor Trade. For the past 25 years he has worked for Cymark providing digital and telephone marketing support for individual retailers, groups and manufacturers alike.

If you want to stay on top of the latest Motor Trade chat either subscribe to this blog or find Guy on Linkedin.

A combination of style, ‘coolness’, driving pleasure and sheer personal preference. If you have a better list or just one model you want to add the list, let me know.

BMW M3 Evolution II

Again, an early model gets the vote not the latest V8 turbo charged barge.  The #M3 Evolution II model, featuring Audi Quattro esq flared arches wins gets my vote. 

Such a pleasure to drive, sure, it didn’t stick to every road surface like the Audi, but there was real pleasure to be had taking it to my own meagre limits.  It I were to drive the same way, in the latest version, I would end up running out of road.

An M3 built for the road driver not the race track.

The list is the personal preference of our Director, Guy Winter. A car fanatic since the 1960’s, he eats’, sleeps and dreams everything Motor Trade. For the past 25 years he has worked for Cymark providing digital and telephone marketing support for individual retailers, groups and manufacturers alike.

If you want to stay on top of the latest Motor Trade chat either subscribe to this blog or find Guy on Linkedin.