In the contemporary era, where cars are meant to deliver much more than just conveyance and where the automobile sector has become a multi-billion dollar industry, the significance of classic cars of old times remains the same, or even more elevated. That is the reason why the monetary value of these longstanding beasts has never been plummeted.
Today, I am going to spotlight some of the exclusive classic cars from the specific era of 1960s the cars that are still cherished by the world for their style, grace and permanence.
1) Chevrolet Camaro (first generation):
Image Credit: Albert
The first generation of Chevrolet Camaro dominated the concerned market in its entire period of production, 1967-1969. Made in two different body styles, coupe and convertible, the engine of Chevrolet Camaro first generation ranged from 230 cu in to 427 cu in. This piece of class was undoubtedly a breakthrough achievement of General Motors. The SS convertible and RS 327 blessed GMC with new altitudes of acclamations. Although Chevrolet was not indorsed, and prohibited to excess 400 cu in engines, Don Yenko requested to install a 427 cu in for its ultimate consumer market.
2) Shelby Mustang GT 500 Eleanor:
Image Credit: Todd Fowler
Born in 1967, Shelby Mustang GT 500 is a custom car with forgotten history. It drew its owed eminence and recognition, while being used in Nicholas Cage starrer Gone in 60 seconds. Though the piece was recreated for the action in movie, it had the very same style and form as that back in 60s. The reconstructed Mustang GT 500 was implanted with Ford V8 crate engine rated at 400 horsepower. This is actually a former version of Ford Mustang and was then built by Shelby American. The vehicle reborn for cinema is reported to be sold for $1 million.
3) Ferrari 250 GTO:
Image Credit: Gloumouf
Seen for the first time in 1962, Ferrari 250 GTO was among the earliest classic sports cars. An engine of 3.0 V12, able to generate 220 KW or 300 HP, was meant to be the whizz of its era. Giotto Bizzarrini and Sergio Scaglietti, both from Italy, were the initiators to design this piece of class. This is the only car to escape the regulations of FIA (Federation of International Automobile) and made itself to Group 3 Grand Touring Car racing. In 2004, Motor Trend Classic placed this vehicle first on the list of Greatest Ferraris of all times.
4) Mercedes Benz 300SL Roadster:
Image Credit: Ed Callow
Initiated since 1957, the production was carried on up till 1963. In these seven long years, only 1858 number of these masterpieces was manufactured. This machine with 222 HP is classified as a sports car having a 4-speed manual transmission. Its gull-wing doors gave it a distinct look and could have been the reason of attraction. The design coming from the desk of Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Chief Developing Engineer of Daimler-Benz at that time, made this car to be declared as number 5 sports car of all times (Sports Car International magazine).
5) Ford GT40:
Image Credit: Jim Culp
Assembled in both UK and USA, Fort GT40 is one of the most elegant creations of Ford Advanced Vehicles of all time. Built in consortium with John Wyer Automotive Engineering and Shelby American, this 4-speed manual transmission car had a Ford V-8 6997cc engine. It is extremely expensive to have it in your garage, as a very limited number of these vehicles were manufactured. In the same decade when it was born, Ford won 4 international titles with GT40. These titles include: international manufacturers Championship 1966, international Championship for Sports Cars in 1966 and 18.
6) Aston Martin DB5:
Image Credit: Aaron Spielman
Being used by James Bond in Goldfinger (1964), Aston Martin DB5 is one of the most famous cars in the world. In its production era from 1963 to 1965, the producers manufactured not more than 1030 pieces in all. The 3995cc third party engine of Tadek Marek I6 became known for its affiliation with Aston martin.
7) Porsche 911:
Image Credit: Jseph_S
Architected by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche and Erwin Komenda, this was the second consumer model from Porsche Automobil Holding, following Porsche 356. This model (911) was initially constructed in 1964 96KW of flat-6 engine. Later on, further developments were carried in terms of engine capacity and design.
8) Lamborghini Miura:
Image Credit: Ron
Lamborghini Miura is an Italian made sports car with 3929cc V12 engine. In 1966, when car debuted at Geneva Auto show, it collected many appreciations from the motoring press and other biggies of the same industry. Its appearance in The Italian job (1969) made its acquaintance to the worldwide audience. It already had a competitive advantage to be the fastest car at the time of its production.
9) BMW E9:
Image Credit: Georg Sander
BMW E9 or BMW New Six, first built in 1968, was among the first cars to be available with manual as well as automatic transmission. Although, it was manufactured by a third party production for BMW, the customized engine and design was able to create a benchmark of the company. At its early stage, E9 came out with 75KW of engine power, which was really cherished by a large part of consumers.
10) Lotus Elan:
Image Credit: Will Carter
This was a highly praised model, subsequent to the not so efficient Lotus Elite. It had an advance 1557cc engine and originally came out to be a roadster. Latterly, hardtop and coupe versions also hit the markets for a short while. It was listed at number six among the Top sports cars of 1960s by Sports Cars International. The vehicle also appeared at an instance in The Avengers (2004).