This one's tough for me

959
911
246
308
DB9
300SL
F1

Yup, at the end of the day, it comes back to one: '83 Amazon blue ur quattro. Seriously.

 

B6 S4 Avant

 

B7 RS4 Avant, if one were to exist.

 

It does exist

 

Europe only?

 

On the upcoming Valentines Day: My life is complete, but there will always be a car I wish I had

 

sexy looking nonetheless

<img src="http://personal.inet.fi/private/petri/IMG_7036.jpg">

 

JEOMK

 

Ruxton made some stunning cars right before the Great Depression. FWD meant it was insanely low for a car of that day - like a Lambo now;-) Yes, the paint scheme was original, as a way to emphasize how low the car really was. Check out the sexy Woodlight headlights.

<img src="http://auta5p.car.cz/katalog/ruxton/ruxton_1929_01.jpg">

<img src="http://auta5p.car.cz/katalog/ruxton/ruxton_1930_01.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruxton_automobile">"more"</a>

The stunningly technologically advanced Marmon V16. Marmon introduced light weight metals to automobile construction.

<img src="http://www.ktsmotorsportsgarage.com/amelia98/images/fullsize/marmon32-bw2.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmon">"more"</a>

Franklin made air cooled cars, rather than water cooled cars. Use of alloys meant that the cars were lightweights for their day. Very advanced company.

<img src="http://www.autogallery.org.ru/k/fa/25fra10Ctouring4drsedan6cylaircooled_Bay.jpg">

<img src="http://www.vaq.qc.ca/vaq/franklin/Frank-09.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_%28automobile%29">"more"</a>

Doble built the most advanced steam cars - forget Stanley Steamer! One of the reasons steam did not catch on like gas powered cars, was that you had to wait for the boiler to heat water before the car could move. Like a kettle needs to boil. Doble got around that problem - but the cars were too late and too expensive.

<img src="http://www.americanbantam.com/images/Silverado_2004_Steam_1.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doble_Steam_Car">"more"</a>

There are so many lovely classic Bugattis, where to begin? If I had to pick one, it would be the T57 chassis in either the Gangloff body or Atalante body.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/EvilPaladin/2.jpg">

Thank Tatra designer Hans Ledwinka for both the Beetle and Porsche 911. As early as 1923, he was producing a horizontally opposed, air cooled, rear engined small car with a backbone chassis. As with Porsche, handling could be rather evil with the engine hanging off the back of the car, and during WW II, German officers were forbidden from driving Tatras. My favourite is the Tatra T77.

<img src="http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/carros/classicos/tatra-t77-2.jpg">

<img src="http://www.veteran.plivnik.cz/tatra/t77/t77_1.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_%28car%29">"more"</a>

Based on the pre-war race winning chassis of the 6c 2300 and 6c 2900, the post-war Freccia d'Oro (Golden Arrow) clearly points to a more modern design sensibility. I like the Villa d'Este by Touring. These were considered the last of the true exotic Alfas, before the cars moved to a mass produced priorities.

<img src="http://www.carbodydesign.com/archive/2006/06/16-alfa-romeo-villa-d-este-design-story/1949-Alfa-Romeo-6C-2500-Villa-d-Este-lg.jpg">

<a href="http://www.supercars.net/cars/2617.html">"more"</a>

Talbot Lago has given us some of the world's most beautiful cars with the post-war Grand Sport models often the most over-looked. A neat option was the Wilson preselect gearbox, which was the predecessor to the F1 gearboxes of today. You moved the shifter to the next desired gear while driving, and when you pushed the clutch in, the gear you had chosen would be engaged. This system was not exclusive to Talbots, and could be found across a range of post-war cars. Arguably the Freilic (sp?) clutch system was more advanced, but tricky to adjust so that it worked correctly.

<img src="http://www.blackhawkcollection.com/image/cars/1951%20talbot%20saoutchik%20f2.jpg">

<img src="http://www.velocityjournal.com/images/full/2004/91/tb1955grandsport915226.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talbot-Lago">"more"</a>

The Packard Clipper was designed before WW II. However, the war stopped production very early. Had Packard been able to continue, they would probably still be with us today. Meanwhile, other US car companies copied Packard's innovations in preparation of the resumption of car production.

<img src="http://www.nadcomm.com/images/42clipper160.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_Clipper">"more"</a>

Studebaker was making it's last gasps when they hired Brook Stevens to design a coupe for them. I like the facelifted GT model with a supercharger (R2 option or R3) good for 289hp or 335hp.

<img src="http://www.globaldial.com/~shl/resources/63GTHA~1.JPG">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studebaker_Gran_Turismo_Hawk">"more"</a>

Similar in many ways to the Hawk, but mixing in a little Mercedes swagger, the Facel Vega was a fairly small car with a large engine. In this case a Chrysler V8 in a coach built French chassis. They made several versions over the years

<img src="http://www.partaj.cz/imgs/frantici/facel/facel_vega_ii_3.jpg">

<img src="http://www.facel-vega-ig.de/new/ausfahrten/img/jpg/rs_Amiens02.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facel_Vega_II">"more"</a>

I like the Ford Galaxy 500 XL just for the way it looks. Period. I should say specifically 1964. Black with red guts with the hardtop please.

<img src="http://www.brandonclassics.com/www/images/1964_ford_galaxie/1964-Ford-Galaxie-500-XL.jpg">

Where would we be without Ferrari! Taking over Alfa's old position at the top of the racing and exotic car heap after WW II, I like the 212 for it's minimalist approach.

<img src="http://digilander.libero.it/Logiko2031/1951%20Ferrari%20212%20Export%20Vignale%20Spyder.j pg">

<img src="http://webhome.idirect.com/~rharring/img_2042.jpg">

Then the lovely 330 GTC

<img src="http://www.barchetta.cc/Common/Images/SN/9013/XLarge/330.GTC.9013.010.jpg">

And finally the luxurious and stately 365 GT 2+2 (Queen Mother) with it's elegant tapered tail.

<img src="http://www.autoblog.nl/images/spot9_ferrari_365gt-2-2_3.jpg">

<img src="http://www.retromobil.ro/galerie_foto/veh_rcr/poze_membri/danciu.ferrari.365.jpg">

We owe a huge debt to the NSU Ro80 for ushering in the modern car era. Although the Wankel engine was not sorted properly at the start and resulted in the company's sale to VW, features of that car have been showing up in our modern cars ever since. When you see one in person, it's utterly striking.

<img src="http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/carros/outros/nsu-ro80-3.jpg">

<img src="http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/carros/outros/nsu-ro80-9.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSU_Ro_80">"more"</a>

The Renault Alpine 110 is a tiny car, however, it's status as a race car is huge. Backbone chassis with the engine slung off the rear like a Porsche 911. Later Alpines got turbo V6 engines, and made names for themselves as well. Real giant killers.

<img src="http://www.atspeedimages.com/paconcours2001/1973_renault_alpine_a110-130og_coupe.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_A110">"more"</a>

The Toyota 2000GT was an early attempt by Toyota to put themselves on the map with regards to sporty cars. They farmed out much of the design for both the body (Albrecht Goertz of BMW 507 and Datsun 240z fame) and engine (Yamaha), but the result remains a classic. Lovely engine note.

<img src="http://www.2000gt.net/Photos/1024x768/0196a.jpg">

<img src="http://www.2000gt.net/Photos/400x300/0239b.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_2000GT">"more"</a>

Old man Lamborghini started building cars because he felt slighted by old man Ferrari whn he complained about his cars. The Lamborghini 400GT gets on my list because I'm endlessly fascinated with the front windshield. The rest is a pretty car no doubt, but that windshield keeps pulling me back again and again. Oh, and the headlights.....and the low flat trunk.... and the curl of the fender line......

<img src="http://www.photodesignstudios.com/i/port_27.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_400GT">"more"</a>

The Jaguar XJS is my guilty pleasure. Marketed as a grand tourer, it was surprisingly competitive in racing, and won a number of events. I love the effortless shove the big V12 wafting you around in total elegance.

<img src="http://img.2dehands.nl/f/normal/9850273.jpg">

<img src="http://www.legendmotors.fr/catalog/images/xjsracing.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_xjs">"more"</a>

Most people would never understand my obsession with the Lancia Delta Integrale. Lancia has a long history of innovation, offering the first unit body chassis back in the 1920s, along with the first production V6 in the Aurelia. The Integrale is not only a family car by day, but turbocharged all-wheel-drive rally monster by night. It cleaned up in the rally world. These same underpinnings would create the Alfa 155 Q4 road racing car that dominated Touring Car racing all over Europe for years.

<img src="http://news.caradisiac.com/IMG/jpg/Lancia-Delta-Integrale-7.jpg">

<img src="http://www.u-blog.net/delta/img/lancia_delta_integrale_002.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia_Delta">"more"</a>

Imagine if Mercedes built a Lamborghini. That's the Isdera Imperator 108i. Porsche designer Eberhard Schulz worked on the Mercedes C111 wankel engine project, and when Mercedes decided to stop, he took the design, refined it, and slapped in the customer's choice of Mercedes V8. I love the rear view mirror periscope!

<img src="http://img360.exs.cx/img360/9053/isdera3zo.jpg">

<img src="http://storm.tocmp.com/isdera/1985/04c.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isdera">"more"</a>

Hardened Porsche nuts turn their noses up at the front engines water cooled Porsche 928 Club Sport GT, but I love how these sound and look. The V8 burbles at idle, and howls up high. The Club Sport is the ultimate expression of the car. Those integrated bumpers were some of the first to ever be used on a production car, and keep it looking fresh to this day. Love the shark's eyes headlamps.

<img src="http://www.amicale928.org/media/annonces/928GT_FL.jpg">

<img src="http://www.pca.org/ozk/photos/month/200510_Jay_Wellwood.jpg">

<a href="http://www.928s4vr.com/928s4005.htm">"more"</a>

The Alfa SZ is a limited production car designed by Zagato. It uses composite body panels, and yet under the skin, it is a racing version of our trusty Milano Verde. Testors have frequently seen over 1 lateral G on the skidpad, and so despite having "only" 210hp, it is a formidable car as well as a rare collectible. The looks are love it or hate it, and while I started out hating it, I have come to love it. For good reason it's known as 'il Mostro' (the Monster)!

<img src="http://www.246g.com/nyoi_es30/es3025_.jpg">

<img src="http://www.lanciaflavia.it/archivio_carrozzieri/inc_file/zagato/arczag82.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_SZ">"more"</a>


Although I love the slinky shape of the current Maserati Quattroporte, the version IV holds a special place in my heart. Chunky and muscular in an Armani suit. Never imported to the US, it's tiny for a luxury sedan on par with the BMW 5 series. Built before the Ferrari takeover, it's still a remarkable old school sports sedan. 335hp V8 made sure it was never slow. No fancy traction control or stability control here! Just a transmission in the back and screaming V8 engine in the front. The design is by Marcello Gandini, who also penned many of the most famous Lamborghinis - you can see his signature rear arch here.

<img src="http://www.maseraticlub.co.uk/Gallery/geoff-ottocilindri-01a.jpg">

<img src="http://www.maserati.org.au/images/MaseratiPhotos/ROAD_Cars/Qporte_IV/QporteIV_spRacer1.jpg">

<img src="http://www.maserati.org.au/images/MaseratiPhotos/ROAD_Cars/Qporte_IV/QporteIV_spRacer3.jpg">

<img src="http://quattroporte.online.fr/images/quattro_0797_motor.jpg">

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maserati_Quattroporte">"more"</a>

 

I'd rather have a CGT

Dave