Sunday, November 1, 2009

Octane picks the greatest cars from 1900 to 2010 - have they got it right?

Octane Magazine just published their view on what the greatest cars between 1900 and 2010 are.
As we know picking the best or greatest is a true passion for motoring journalists. Well, let's see what they came up with. Here the top threes for every ten year since 1900:
1900-1909
Mercedes 60HP (runners-up: 1907 Vanderbilt Renault, 75HP Fiat, 60HP Napier)
1910-1919
Vauxhall Prince Henry (runners--up: Rolls Silver Ghost Alpine Eagle, Hispano-Suiza H6, Packhard Twin-Six)
1920-1929
Bentley Speed Six (runners-up: Bugatti T35, Mercedes-Benz SSK, Lancia Lambda)
1930-1939
Alfa-Romeo 8C 2300 (runners-up: Jaguar SS100, Duesenberg SJ, Mercedes-Benz 500/540K)
1940-1949
Jaguar XK120 (runners-up: Bentley MkVI, Porsche 356, Cadillac V8)
1950-1959
Lancia Aurelia B20GT (runners-up: Bentley Continental, Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, BMW 507)
1960-1969
Jaguar E-Type (runners-up: Jaguar XJ6, Lamborghini Miura, Mini Cooper S)
1970-1979
Porsche Carrera RS (runners-up: Range Rover, Lamborghini Countach, Lancia Stratos)
1980-1989
Ferrari F40 (runners-up: Ferrari 288 GTO, Audi Quattro, Porsche 959)
1990-1999
McLaren F1 (runners-up: Bugatti EB110, Ferrari 550 Maranello), Lamborghini Diablo)
2000-2010
Aston Martin V12 Vantage (Bentley Continental GT, Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce Phantom)

What a selection of cars. Obviously it's very difficult to compare a Mini with a Range Rover and a Ferrari F40. So is the list really helpful? And would I agree with the journalists' selction?
Well, I fully agree that the Alfa-Romeo 8C 2300, the Ferrari F40 and even the McLaren F1 belong on such a list. But in some cases there seems to be a bit too much patriotism involved, or why would you put the Aston Martin V12 Vantage on this list, or the 200x Rolls-Royce Phantom? On the other side, some really exciting and important cars are missing, i.e. the Ferraro 250 GT SWB, the iconic 250 GTO or the Pagani Zonda that I would prefer against the Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Some cars seem to be underrated, I certainly would prefer the Lamborghini Miura against the E-Type for the 60ies, however that's a tough choice to make as these two cars are so different.
But as said, picking the greatest cars of 110 years car building history is an almost impossible task. I still love to read such articles, as so many memories are triggered.

2 comments:

John L said...

What? No Bolwells?

Bruno von Rotz said...

No JWF, no TVR, no Devin neither ;-)