The 60 Coolest Cars
Six Decades of the Rides Everyone Wanted
They weren't always the fastest or the most expensive. The sexiest or best designed or engineered. The most radical, iconic, famous, desired, or most outrageous. But they're the coolest. It's hard to define cool, but you know it when you see (or drive) it. As we kick off Motor Trend's 60th Anniversary celebration, here's a look-in random order-at 60 of the coolest, illist, chillist machines to roll earth's highway during our watch, 1949-2009.
- 1962-1969 AC SHELBY COBRA
If you could grab the $100 bill taped to the windshield of one owner's when he floored his 427, you could keep the money. The owner never lost his Benjamin.
- 1963 AUSTIN MINI COOPER S
Grand Prix engineering shoehorned into the Gucci loafer of micro cars.
- 1955-1963 MERCEDES-BENZ 300SL GULLWING
Before Jim Morrison, these were the Doors. The direct-injection Gullwing was the fastest, most advanced production automobile of its time.
- 2002-2004 FERRARI ENZO
For the very rich, simply the V-12 supercar to crash. Of just 400 built, at least 14 have been destroyed and many more mangled spectacularly (see also YouTube: Eddie Griffin).
- 1963-1965 ASTON MARTIN DB5
Famous for its ejector seat. And for helping 007 find ***** Galore.
- 1955-1975 CITROEN DS
A paragon of innovation, including a hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension. The styling isn't weird. It's French.
- 1955-1957 CHEVROLET BEL AIR
Look up the word "Fifties" in the dictionary, and you'll see picture of a Bel Air. (The scary, bloated thing in the other picture is the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Or Joe McCarthy.)
- 1955-1957 FORD THUNDERBIRD
The first-ever "personal luxury car." When a white one drove past in "American Graffiti," Richard Dreyfuss began dreaming of endless Somers.
- 2009 NISSAN GT-R
The original Godzilla breathed fire and stomped on almost every vehicle in sight. Come to think of it, so does this one.
- 1974-1989 LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH
After Farah Fawcett, sparked more fantasies than any other poster model of the 1970s.
- 1968 FORD MUSTANG GT FASTBACK
Mix McQueen, a rumbling, Highland Green Mustang, and 10 minutes of chase-scene mayhem through the streets of San Francisco. Result: Indelible movie magic.
- 1964 PONTIAC GTO
The first true musclecar. Promoted and nurtured by John DeLorean in the years before he began appearing on "The FBI's Funniest Videos."
- 1961-1969 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL
It had suicide doors, carried JFK past the grassy knoll, and appeared on the TV series "Pushing Daisies." Just a big ol' funmobile. (Still one of the best-looking sedans ever, though.)
- 1949 CADILLAC SERIES 62
Sporting a sensational new overhead-valve V-8, this was Motor Trend's first-ever Car of the Year. Many subsequent COTY winners, ahem, are not on this list.
- 1992-1995 DODGE VIPER
When this V-10 monster first hit the streets, sales of Depend underwear skyrocketed. Probably.