Do you know that type of cars that they marked put their name with letters of gold in the calendar of the history of the automotive sector? How big they were and how much we missed them, although sometimes we can throw confetti into the air and let out a tearful of happiness because brands dare to reinvent their concepts.
The last to be confirmed that will come back to life has been the portentous McLaren F1, a car that left a deep impression among the mythical sports, but it was not the only one. Many other cars left their mark parked for years to come back later, and here we bring you to our selection of the 11 best …
McLaren F1 (1992)
If there is, a supercar that marked an era without a doubt it was the F1 McLaren. When he burst on roads and circuits in 1992 he became the king of high-performance cars in his own right to the point of becoming the fastest street car on the planet, a distinction he would hold for more than 10 years when in 2005 the Bugatti Veyron arrived.
A few months ago it was rumored with his return in the form of GT with 700 horses, shortly afterwards it was denied from the own brand and finally it was finally confirmed a few days ago that the prodigious F1 will have a reissue. As almost a quarter of a century ago, only 106 units will be manufactured and although there are no official data on its price, benefits or anything, they are all sold.
It will come back to mark another era in the 21st century just as it did at the end of the 20th century, and if you want to get one of these pieces of history you can still go to McLaren to see if they sell you the immaculate black number 60 with an estimated price of 9 million euros.
DeLorean DMC-12 (1981)
Marty McFly and his flux condenser placed in 1985 a sport discretito with only 130 horsepower in the olympus of pop culture. The DeLorean DMC-12 never stood out precisely because of its features, but it had such a particular design that its appearance in ‘Back to the Future’ was enough to remain engraved in our retinas for the rest of the time.
Now, 30 years after that and after spending a lot of time manufacturing spare parts under license, DeLorean Motor Company retrieves the original design of the DMC-12 signed by Giugiaro to delight with twice the power of only 300 more nostalgic fans with between 70,000 and 90,000 euros to spare in your pocket.
Ford GT40 (1964)
In response to the insulting dominance that Ferrari was exercising in the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the 1960s, Ford Motor Company devoted all its efforts to the creation of its most radical sports car, a car that had as its only goal to beat the Italians in the most prestigious endurance race in the world. Thus was born the Ford GT40, a machine capable of winning the victory for four consecutive years between 1966 and 1969.
With its eight-cylinder engine in uve and an aerodynamic studied in depth, the GT40 managed to take root in the circuits and in the form of a poster on the walls of teenagers for decades. A whopping half a century later, his spirit has been reincarnated in the impressive Ford GT, an uncompromising machine with an EcoBoost V6 twin-turbo engine with an output of more than 600 horsepower.
You could have done one of these spectacular machines, only if you had gone through the fine screen that Ford has imposed on its customers and if you had been one of the 500 chosen among the 7,000 interested. Although you will always have the fantasy of creating one to your liking in your web configuration. And yes, in case you were wondering, it’s going to give wax again at Le Mans.
Chevrolet Camaro (1967)
We stay in the United States to recover a pony car that has risen from its ashes to face the almighty Ford Mustang. It was in 1967 when in the height of the muscle car boom appeared the first Chevrolet Camaro, one of the most identified models with the hot rod movement but unfortunately was losing its identity over the years to cease production in 2002.
Looking at its origins and with the old fashions returning to be in force, the Camaro reinvented itself to return to the market in 2006 with a modern appearance but with direct influence of the first models. The result was spectacular and its success, helped in part by its appearance in the Transformers saga, has allowed it to continue 10 years later evolving as one of the most desirable sports, including the desired ZL1 versions with more than 600 HP, both coupe and convertible and the radical COPO Camaro de dragster.
Dodge Charger (1966) and Dodge Challenger (1970)
The American sports couple of the ram followed a similar path to the Camaro. First the Dodge Charger in 1966 hit the market like a big muscle car and four years later the Dodge Challenger made an appearance as a reduced and more affordable version of its big brother.
Together they enjoyed great popularity and even today, they are object of cult between the passionate ones of the classic sport cars of Chrysler, but in both cases their design was only respected during the first generation. The Challenger was marketed from 70 to 74, while the Charger was longest, from 66 to 78 to then become a rare sedan and lose all its essence.
Already stuck in the 21st century the Charger was reinvented in 2006 as a four-door saloon with rear-wheel drive and muscular appearance, while the Challenger returned in 2008 as the most beautiful and elegant (for my taste) of the modern pony car. Both have a lot of life ahead, especially the Challenger and rumors that point to a much more performance version on the way.
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Citroën Méhari (1968)
If you thought we were just going to talk about sports you were very wrong. When we look at the past and think of mythical cars, it is very difficult not to remember that Citroën ball that turned out to be a totem of beach culture and absolute versatility.
Built on the basis of the Citroën 2CV, the Citroën Méhari was a compact convertible, sturdy, lightweight (only 535 kg) and very reliable today is one of the most sought-after classics. There were 144,953 units produced between 1968 and 1988, including a Méhari 4×4 between 1980 and 1983.
The remastering of this French concept will be in the form of an electric vehicle, because the Citroën e-Méhari recaptures the surfer spirit with an electric motorization powered by lithium-metal polymer batteries with a range of 200 km. The same as the original will be convertible, but with a removable rigid roof in combination with a thermoformed plastic body and an interior washable to pressure-proof adventures.
Peugeot 205 GTi (1984)
From 1984 to 1994 the Peugeot 205 GTI made history. For a decade this little Frenchman carried on his shoulders a good part of the weight of the hot-hatchback culture, carrying the banner in the war of the small compact powerhouses, with bad grapes and very light that we missed so much on our roads.
They were other times in which this mythical car was forged an extensive fame in the World Rally Championship and Peugeot applied its knowledge to street cars. Its four-cylinder engines in two versions, 1.6 and 1.9 liters, offered a range of power between 105 and 125 HP depending on the version and year.
Although its acronyms were used more or less freely in other models and other brands, the authentic GTI has remained for many that small 205 with those tires so characteristic. We had to wait 30 years for Peugeot to offer us a worthy successor: the Peugeot 208 GTi.
Born in 2015, the 208 GTi retrieves the main lines marked by the original to make a small hatchback as fun as we could check in our test. With 208 HP from its 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, a weight of 1260 kg and a set-up by Peugeot Sport this compact will become one of the most sought-after second-hand toys for those looking for a car with claw.
MINI (1959)
One of the town cars par excellence in the second half of the 20th century was the Morris MINI. That little thing with four wheels that moved quickly wandering through the haze of London had it very strong since it appeared in 1959.
Small, useful, affordable, easy to use, quality and reliable. His good qualities earned him a space from the garage of any urbanite as in the rally stages. The years did not seem to pass over his bare body with rounded shapes, so after a break BMW got the rights and found a reef.
Perhaps the current MINI is the best example in terms of the reissue of classic cars. Keeping certain similarities with the original model (aesthetically above all) but with current technology, safety and habitability, the MINI has formed since 2001 not only a model, but a whole family that is in good health.
Fiat 500 (1957)
We continue with the European brands that produced utility cars for everyone, and this time we stopped at the Bambino, the Fiat 500. Materializing the idea of Benito Mussolini in the decade of the 30, the 500 was born in 1957 as an affordable and practical mobility solution to mobilize the Italian people, and ended up becoming a great success with multiple versions (D, Giardiniera, Furoncino, Saloon, Lusso, Rinnovata …) that transcended the political and geographic borders extending to Latin America until reaching a production of almost 4 million units.
He was in good health until 1975 when the production of the model as it was known ceased permanently. With its concept parked in the fat days, when the first lashes of the crisis began Fiat recovered the 500 to launch a new model in 2007 with the same philosophy: an accessible utility, without fanfare, very practical and with a careful design.
Volkswagen Beetle (1938)
The history of the Volkswagen Beetle is quite similar to that of the Fiat 500, although in this case Hitler was the promoter of the original idea. They had to give the Germans a car that would be good for everything, not expensive and hard as stone. So well did the Volkswagen engineers with Ferdinand Porsche at the helm that the Beetle became the car with the longest production time in the history of motorsport.
Actually, I should not be in this selection because in Mexico it did not stop producing due to its great reception in the Latin American country. Its robust construction, its two-cylinder rear engine and an affordable replacement price have made it one of the most influential cars in history.
Its rising price in the second-hand market led Volkswagen to take up the concept and launch the New Beetle in 2001, a reinterpretation of the original model but with much higher measures and a stubby body that has been shaping up over the years and that a new generation has just launched.
Alpine A110 (1961)
To top this selection we could not forget one of those brands that we yearn from the depths of our little heart of petrolhead. The Alpine A110 was released in 1961 as one of those great French section sports driven with Renault engines. At the beginning of the 70s it managed to carve a gap between the best rally cars with engines ranging from 1108 cc to 1647 cc with powers of 66 to 127 hp.
Now we are in luck because the Alpine A110 know that it will return to the roads, and will do so with the Renault Group being 80% faithful to the prototype presented a few months ago. A rebirth that will be driven by engines not too high power but moving very light sets.
