50 Classics to buy before you die!

There are some classics that bring together a set of qualities in a way that can change the way you look at cars, change how you spend your spare time, even change your outlook on life! They offer an experience that stimulates the senses and enriches your appreciation of the great diversity and creativity that has shaped our motoring world.

Below I am listing "50 Classics to Buy Before You Die" - From the beguiling agility of the Peugeot 205 GTI to the sensory overload of the Ferrari 250 GT short wheelbase, you owe it to yourself to try AT LEAST ONE of these very special cars!

1. Alfa Romeo 105-Series
2. AC Cobra MkIV
3. Aston Martin DB4-6
4. Austin Healey 100 and 3000
5. Austin Mini Cooper
6. Austin Seven
7. Bentley 3-Litre
8. BMW M3
9. Bugatti Type 35B
10. Buick Electra 225
11. Caterham Seven
12. Chevrolet 150/210
13. Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray
14. Citroën 2CV
15. Citroën SM
16. Datsun 240Z
17. Ferrari 250 GT SWB
18. Ferrari Dino 246
19. Ferrari 365 GTB/4
20. Ferrari 308
21. Ford Model T
22. Ford Galaxie
 23. Ford Mustang
24. Gordon Keeble GK1
25. Honda S800
26. Honda NSX
27. Jaguar E-Type
 28. Jaguar XJ12 Series I
29. Jensen Interceptor
30. Lamborghini Countach
31. Lancia Aurelia B20 GT
32. Lotus Cortina MkI
 33. Lotus Elise S1
34. Marcos GT
35. Maserati Ghibli
36. Mazda MX-5
37. MG TC
38. MG Midget/A-H Sprite
39. Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing
40. Morgan Plus 8
41. Peugeot 205 GTI
 42. Porsche 911
43. Range
44. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
45. Tatra 603
46. Toyota MR2 MkI
 47. Triumph TR3A
48. TVR Griffith and Chimaera
49. VW Golf GTI MkI
50. Willys Jeep

1983-94 AC COBRA MKIV

To see hairy sports car demography from a true perspective, you have to spend time with the granddaddy of them all: the rawest, fastest, most dangerous sports car, a light-weight Brit two-seater stuffed with far too much power for its own good. If only to prove that they're not really that hairy at all - even a leaf-sprung Cobra has the character to look after you, as long as you're not silly with it, though coil-sprung cars are better, and easier, on your back.

 Real MKII's and AC289's (the smaller-engined Brit version of Shelby's seven-litre MKIII) have gone over the £250k mark, but there is a cheaper alternative: sample the raw delights of the Cobra in MkIV form.

The Eighties Autokraft-built MkIV has all the style, all the grunt, in a slightly more comfortable package. Early cars are now more than 20 years old and many have been retro-fitted with Sixties-style dashboards, so you could just as well be in the real thing. Even these cars are £60,000-plus now, with one of the 26 Light-weights built approaching £100,000.

 AUTOKRAFT BOSS Brian Angliss gave the Cobra a new lease on life 15 years after production ended, but attempts to revive the marque with an all-new Ace proved short-lived. Angliss also restored classic air craft, including a Hurricane, at the AC factory.

Photography : Classic Cars Archive 

ENGINE	4736-5000cc V8
POWER	250-300bhp
PERFORMANCE	Top Speed : 140mph 0-60mph: 4.5sec
FUEL CONSUMPTION	20mpg

Never think of your car as a cold machine, but as a hot-blooded horse.
- Juan Manuel Fangio (1958)

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- by Be For