Growing up, your parents and grandparents will have no doubt spoken about another time, a better time, when life was simple and the cars were made for driving – no doubt in reaction to the modern day marvels on sale today. However, a lot of these classic cars were the building blocks for the modern day motors on today’s roads – features such as power steering and air conditioning all came from classics. Despite modern advancements, nothing captures style and raw driving experience more than a classic car, so here’s a blast from the past with our top 5 classic cars from the golden age!
1969 Ferrari Dino 246 GT – one of the 10 greatest Ferrari’s of all time
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing – famed for its distinctive gull-wing doors!
1967 Chevrolet Camaro – the ‘Mustang Killer!’
1963 Corvette Sting Ray – the most collectible Corvette
1969 Boss 429 Ford Mustang – so rare!
1969 Ferrari Dino 246 GT
The 1969 Ferrari Dino 246 GT was created to honour the son of Ferrari founder – Enzo Ferrari. This mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car was the first Ferrari model to be produced at volume. The ‘246’ in The Dino GT’s name is in reference to the purring Ferrari 2.4 litre V6 engine under the hood. The car had a claimed top speed of 146 mph, accelerating from 0-60 mph in 7.4 seconds – not bad considering its age. Designed by Pininfarina, it is famed for its intrinsic driving qualities and groundbreaking design. The Dino even features on Motor Trend Classic’s coveted list of the 10 ‘Greatest Ferraris of all time’. If you want this classic Ferrari, you’d better dig deep, its legendary status has meant that some Dinos have reached well over £200k at auction.
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
The iconic gullwing doors of the 1957 Mercedes 300SL aren’t the only reason it’s making our top 5. Introduced in 1954, this sporty two-seater was the fastest production car of its day, with a herculean top speed of 161 mph, due its innovative fuel injection system. The ‘SL’ in its name stands for ‘sport light’ and the ‘300’ refers to its 3 litre engine that is canted at a 45-degree angle, leaving space for its lowered bonnet. Due to a boom in classic car prices, the Gullwing can cost upwards of £2 million on today’s market, making it one of the most desirable sports cars of the 20th century.
1967 Chevrolet Camaro
Jump into the 60’s with this famous Chevvy – built to rival Ford’s highly popular Mustang. Chevrolet executives soon realised that their compact sports car – the Corvair, could not compete with the Mustang due to the Corvair’s poorly designed rear-engine placement and sharply declining sales. And so, in 1967, the Camaro with its rear-wheel-drive and front engine configuration was born. Since its initial launch, the Camaro has gone from strength to strength and despite now being well into its 5th generation – the original still remains the definitive muscle car classic in many people’s eyes. Prices for the original Camaro vary dramatically with condition, but you’ll need at least £15,000 to find one that’s in road-legal nick.
1963 Corvette Sting Ray
Very few cars have achieved such iconic status as the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray. Having just celebrated its 50th anniversary, the Sting Ray’s stunning design combines unique elements of European elegance with good old fashioned American brawn. The basic design of the coupé lasted until 1967, but the famous split rear-window (which blocked the drivers rear view) was scrapped, making it totally unique to the 1963 Corvette. The top of the range ’63 Corvette came with a monstrous 360 bhp V8, rocketing the tiny coupe to 60 mph in under 6 seconds – fast even by today’s standards. It will forever be regarded as the beauty with the beast under the bonnet. Fancy getting your hands on the ’63 Sting Ray? You can expect to pay well over £30k for a working example.
1969 Boss 429 Ford Mustang
This special edition, high-performance version of the Mustang, is something of a rarity. Only produced between 1969 and 1970, the “Boss 9” as it’s commonly known, is a muscle car collectors dream. At the time, Ford wanted to develop a new engine to use in their NASCAR racers, however, rules stipulate that any engine used in NASCAR must have been fitted in at least 500 cars available to the general public. And so, the limited edition Boss was born. Its enormous 7 Litre Hemi-engine was so powerful that Ford has to detune it to 375 bhp – in order keep everyday drivers safe. According to some, the Boss 429 Mustang is capable of producing well over 500 bhp and can reach a top speed in excess of 170 mph! It’s combination of rarity and performance make this one heck of a collectors item. In fact the an original, untouched example of the Boss 429 sold for over $400,000 USD at auction in 2013.
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