The 8 Best British Classic Cars of All Time

British-built motors are some of the best in the world, but we think these 8 Great British Classic Cars are the best and brightest… 

McLaren F1

The iconic F1

The impossible dream made glorious reality, Gordon Murray’s universally worshipped masterpiece still looks more like a jet fighter than a street car.

Radical in every conceivable way, only 106 F1s were ever made, but it supercharged the supercar world forever. Its top speed was a blink-it's-gone 240.14mph.

Back in 1992, a McLaren F1 cost a heart-stopping £540,000. Today, you can pick one up for the price of a Learjet plane, around £16m.

Classic fact: Ron Dennis suggested the needles sweep the dials on start-up. This spine-tingling drama was later nicked adopted by other car brands.

Land Rover Series 1

A before-and-after Series 1
 

Rover’s chief engineer Maurice Wilks reckoned he could improve upon the US Army Jeep. In 1948, he did just that – and created a legend.

Tough as guts and virtually indestructible, the Land Rover Series 1 is the brutally stripped-down ancestor of today’s ridiculously comfy Rovers.

The fancy interior is… forget it. Think vinyl seats, a steering wheel and some doors. In other words, bags of charm.

Even today, you'll still find the Rover taking a battering in the countryside – and absolutely loving it.

Classic fact: The Series 1 was designed with the wheel in the middle, which nicely solved the left/right-hand drive conundrum.

Rolls-Royce Phantom VII

The Rolls-Royce Phantom VII

When the Phantom was uncloaked back in 2003, the reaction was awestruck silence. It was the first roller developed under BMW and it single-handedly revived the Rolls-Royce fortunes.

The Phantom VII rewrote the rulebook. It had an aluminium spaceframe, four-wheel steering, and a twin-turbocharged V12 engine. All firsts for Double R.

It was also the quietest Rolls-Royce ever made – with gravity-defying suspension and sound-deadening windows so you can hear a (gold) pin drop in that exquisitely plush interior.

Classic fact: The Phantom’s Spirit of Ecstasy figurine retracts instantly when parked – just in case us commoners get funny ideas.

Mini

The original 1959 Mini

Easily the most identifiable car on the planet, the little Mini has etched itself into our collective mind like no other motor before or since.

Cheap, economical, and surprisingly plucky, the 1959 marvel created by Alec Issigonis became a giant-slayer of auto engineering. It was also a pop icon, a rally champ, and the guiding spirit of the modern Mini. 

The Americans called it ‘cute’, but did they have a small family car that could pull off of bank job in Italy? Exactly

Classic fact: To no one’s surprise, the Mini was awarded ‘European Car of the Century’ by the global auto industry.

Lotus Esprit

A Lotus Esprit S1 
 

If you came of age in the 1970s, chances are you had two posters on your wall: Farrah Fawcett and the Esprit. 

A bona-fide superstar from the moment it was born, this wedge-shaped beauty had a four-cylinder engine and a fibreglass body, making it a thriller to drive.

And let’s not forget, James Bond traded in his Aston Martin DB5 for the Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me. Then again, his was a car and a submarine.

Classic fact: The Esprit was completely hand-built at the Lotus Hethel plant, with each car taking over 580 hours to assemble.

Austin Healey 3000 Mark III

A stunning 3000 MKIII

Quite simply, one of the most gorgeous sport cars ever to grace England’s green land.

The last and best of the ‘Big Healeys’, the Mark III was unleashed during Beatlemania in 1964 and became an overnight star.

Tougher, faster, and more reliable than the Mark II, it had a 2.9-litre V6 engine offering 149BHP and a top speed edging 122mph. And who can resist that purr?

Today, it's widely considered the apex of classic British sports cars.

Classic fact: Although heavier than the Mark II, the Mark III goes from 0-60mph almost a second faster (9.8 seconds).

Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato

The ultra-rare DB4GT Zagato

I’ve been expecting you, Mr Bond. Oh, hang on, that’s the other Aston Martin. 

This, on the other hand, is thought by most purists to be the most beautiful British car ever made.

Part Anglo engineering genius, part sublime Italian flair, the DB4GT Zagato was released – escaped is a better word – in 1960 to an unsuspecting public.

It had a 3.7-litre, six-cylinder engine and could reach a blistering 154mph. Only 19 were ever made. Finding one is the Holy Grail of car collecting.

Classic fact: In 2018, a green DB4GT Zagato driven by F1 legend Jim Clark sold at auction for £10m.

Jaguar E-Type

The timeless E-Type

There are classic cars, and then there’s the E-Type. This British icon celebrated its 60^th birthday this year, giving everyone the excuse to ogle its ageless beauty.

I mean, just look at it. That long, sloping bonnet. Those salacious curves. It could rocket, too. 

Back In 1961, a car priced at £2,097 that could hit 150mph was considered pie in the sky – it’s no fluke an aerodynamicist dreamt it up.

Still, the E-Type is such a classic it can verge on parody. Until you see one in the flesh. Then you’re a goner.

Classic fact: Our research found 4,613 licensed E-Types currently on UK roads, and 1,244 on SORN – the most in 20 years. So, if you’ve got the cash, now’s the time...

Looking for more inspiration? Try our 9 Greatest German Classic Cars of all Time