Many cars signify a specific moment in history. For example, classic cars how the Mercedes-Benz C 111 and the Ford Galaxie 500 remind us of the Cold War era when the Soviet Union and the United States competed with each other to see who could conquer space; also known as the “Space Race” era. However, sometimes a car comes along and changes the world around it.
Major automotive brands such as Porsche, BMW, Volkswagen and Italian exotic car manufacturers played a pivotal role in the evolution of the automobile industry. While brands like Ferrari have glaring problems that no one talks about, a tiny issue like this is irrelevant when looking at the big picture. Today we turn back the clock and look at some of the most influential cars in history. In turn, these cars changed the auto industry forever and forced everyone around them to adapt.
10 Ford Model T
Nowadays, Ford it is known for its wide range of different vehicles and its tendency to go bankrupt through maintenance and repairs. But back in the day, Ford paved the way for the auto industry as we know it today. In 1908, Henry Ford gave the world the Ford Model T, one of the world’s first mass-produced vehicles.
This allowed Ford to manufacture the Model T at an unprecedented rate, while keeping costs much lower than its competition. As a result, Ford’s innovative and efficient production process allowed the Model T to cost between $260 and $850. At the end of the day, Ford sold over 15 million Ford Model T units between 1908 and 1925, blowing away the competition.
9 McLaren F1
With three seats in the cockpit, a golden V12 engine built by BMW and a top speed of 240.1 mph, the McLaren F1 was way ahead of its time. Costing between $800,000 and $1 million, the McLaren F1 was one of the most expensive cars of its time and remains one of the most valuable today, with pristine examples selling for north of $20 million. dollars
The naturally aspirated 6.1-liter BMW S70/2 V12 that powers the McLaren F1 produced 618 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. To this day, the McLaren F1 remains the fastest production car with a naturally aspirated engine. It probably goes without saying, but the McLaren F1 is one of the few sports cars we’d rather own than a Porsche 911.
8 Volkswagen Beetle
The story behind the Volkswagen Beetle is peculiar. During the early days of World War II, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler identified the public’s need for a car. The requirements to fill this need included an affordable price, an abundant supply, and nothing too complicated. The end result was “the people’s car”, the Volkswagen Beetle, also known as the VW Type 1.
In German, “Volkswagen” roughly translates to “the people’s car.” To say that one of the most vile autocratic leaders of all time is responsible for one of the finest cars ever might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was.
7 Tesla Model S
Although not the first electric vehicle, or even the first car produced by Tesla, the Tesla Model S remains the most important electric vehicle of all time. When it launched in 2012, the Model S was the somewhat affordable best sleeper. The base Model S 60 made 362 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque with an electric motor, but today things are very different.
With huge sales numbers, the Model S proved to be a profitable product for Tesla. Therefore, they continued production and began to improve where they could. In 2023, the most powerful Model S is the Plaid, which has three electric motors at its disposal that produce up to 1,020 hp and 1,050 lb-ft of torque. And that’s why the Tesla Model S Plaid can do 0-60 mph in less than 2 seconds. That said, there are still some formidable competitors that tend to go up against Tesla; just take the perfect Lucid Air EV as an example that no one is buying.
6 Ford GT40
Not only was the Ford GT40 one of the best supercars ever built, but its history at Le Mans changed the way the world saw Ford. The Mk1 Ford GT40 had a 350bhp 4.2 liter Ford Fairlane engine, the Mk2 Ford GT40 a 380bhp 4.7 liter Ford V8 and finally with the help of Carroll Shelby it had a V8 of 7.0 liters of 485 hp.
And as you all know, the Ford GT40 got its fame from a historical event, there is even a movie made about it called Ford v Ferrari. After losing first place to Ferrari in 1964 and 1965, Ford wiped the floor with the Italians at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. This particular event gave Ford new respect from automotive enthusiasts from all over the world
5 Toyota Prius
In 2023, hybrids seemed to be everywhere, but back in the day they were as rare as hen’s teeth. And at the top of it all, was the Toyota Prius. Although not the first hybrid vehicle in history, the Toyota Prius was the first successful commercial hybrid car, and is still one of the best sellers today.
Over the years, the Prius underwent many design updates and major revisions, but still, it remained hated among the car community. That was until the new Toyota Prius rolled around and it’s still a formidable competitor in 2023.
4 Citroën DS
If we talk about revolutionary cars, we have to talk about the original Citroën DS. Modern car features like air suspension, rotating headlights and grippy brakes were present in the classic Citroën DS, believe it or not.
The first Citroën DS models left the factory in the late 1950s and had what Citroën called hydropneumatic suspension.
The DS was also the first mass-produced car to have disc brakes all round instead of drum brakes. Finally, in the late 1960s, Citroën gave the DS headlights that could turn their headlights according to the direction the steering wheels were pointed. It’s radical to think that features we thought were recently invented became reality a long time ago.
3 Audi Quattro
In the 1980s, the world’s most dangerous motorsport, Group B rally racing, was all the rage. Automakers had virtually no limits on what they could build, and that, unsurprisingly, led to some crazy Group B rally cars. The only requirement was that there had to be 200 examples per road.
This brings us to Audi’s Group B rally car, the Audi Quattro. Sure, Audi made a few road-legal versions of the Quattro rally car, but the Audi Sport Quattro S1 was the star of the show. This aggressive machine had an extravagant body kit, a turbocharged 444 hp inline-five engine, and was the first rally car to use an all-wheel drive system, more specifically, Quattro all-wheel drive. A name that still endures to this day.
2 Oldsmobile Jetfire
To the average person, the Oldsmobile Jetfire looks like any old overrated muscle car we wouldn’t waste our money on, but it was so much more. The Jetfire was the first turbocharged car available to the public. In all honesty, both the Oldsmobile Jetfire and the Chevrolet Corvair Monza came with turbocharged engines in 1962, but we still refer to the Jetfire as the first to do so.
The Jetfire was powered by a turbocharged 3.5-liter V8 engine that generated 215 hp. For reference, that was 30bhp more than the naturally aspirated V8 unit, which had no more than 185bhp. Another benefit of forced induction was a greater amount of torque at the low end. Accelerating to 3,200 rpm, the Oldsmobile Jetfire had nearly 300 lb-ft of torque at its disposal.
1 BMC Mini
The BMC suffered a bit of an identity crisis. In certain parts of the world, it was called the Morris Mini-Minor, and in others, it was called the Austin Mini. This was because BMC owned Morris and Austin at the time. Regardless, the BMC Mini revolutionized what the ideal commuter car was.
Along with the original Fiat 500, the Mini was one of the first cars with a front-engine, front-wheel-drive design. In turn, this allowed for a more affordable price, more interior space, more cargo space, and a small transverse-mounted four-cylinder without being a gigantic gas-guzzling car. Today, many cars follow the same recipe that the BMC created in 1959 due to the oil crisis.
Sources: Ford, Dyler, Car and Driver
