Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

I was driving home from Llandudno this afternoon and after a few miles north on the A470 there was an early 1970s Mini in front of me. A Mark 3 "K" registered 1000cc in what I think was Bronze Yellow.

Do you know - it looked small, fragile and oh so dated on the road among modern vehicles. Vulnerable was another word that came to mind.

I thought this evening about which classic cars still look modern or vaguely contemporary in appearance in 2016. I thought of the the Rover SD1 but I have reduced my subjective choice to the following from the 1960s through to the 1980s.

Fiat 124 Coupe

[img]

Lotus Esprit Series 1/2

[/img]

And from the 1980s

Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9

[img]

And finally the Fiat X19

[/img]

Your choices and opinions please.
_________________
Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[colwyn500]

I think you could put a lot of Fiats in this category...you already have.
My favourite is the Fiat Coupe.
main_5 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

[JC T ONE]

The obvius choise is ofcourse the Mini, but its not fair, as it staid in production for 41 years.

So another strong conteder will be the NSU RO80, that car is dated 1967, but still looks like it could have been made yesterday.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/NSU_Ro_80_in_hellblau.jpg



Jens Christian
_________________
http://www.eurods.eu/wp/index.html

[Ronniej]

In my view the Citroen DS19 still looks quite modern.
It must have been sensational when it made its appearance in 1955.
(To put this in context the Moggy would not get its one piece windscreen until the following year.)
I suspect it was a bit too clever for its own good with its self leveling suspension but what a looker!!

[baconsdozen]

I think the Rover P5b stands up well.It was certainly the inspiration for those Chrysler things.
_________________
Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[Phil - Nottingham]

The Land Rover Series - which most normal folk these days call the Defender. It was never in date when introduced in 1948 and was still more or less the same shape when ceased production last month

Our 2 (P5 under the cover!)


_________________
Rover P2
Rover P4
Rover P5 & P5B
Land Rover S2 & S3
Morris Mini Traveller Mk2

[Ashley]

MGBs and Jensen CV8s IMO and these:

[emmerson]

I'd nominate the Range Rover Classic. Timeless when introduced, and timeless now.
And how many other cars have been exhibited in the Louvre?

[peter scott]

[Ellis]

One of the reasons why I started this topic was to seek out your opinions about a Jaguar Mark 2 which has been modernised by non other than a Mr Ian Callum who is the design director of Jaguar.
The 1963 Mark 2 is his own property and the "reimagining" (his term) of the car all his own work without any official Jaguar input.

[img]

[/]

Although I have a Jaguar Mark 2 myself I did not include it in my list of cars which have dated least in appearance. I consider the original design stylish, yes, but now it is old fashioned and definitely 1950s.

The car has been clearly completely reworked with a 4.3 litre XK engine, Tremec gearbox, caged rear coil springs, modern design front suspension and the list continues with a total cost of around £300,000. Classic Motor Cars of Shropshire undertook the work.
But does it look dated?
I suspect if the original "armco" front and rear bumpers were fitted, it would, yes. Without them I don't think so but the metallic grey colour suits this restyling exercise.

Please understand I am not trying to start a contentious 100 + post topic on hot rods and customs here, this Mark 2 is the product of the skills of the creme de la creme of car designers.

I like it a lot but doubt if I would want mine to look like this, the superb split rim alloy wheels excepted.
As a redesign or "reimagining" of the Jaguar Mark 2 I think it succeeds.

Do you?
_________________
Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[goneps]

Not to my taste at all. To be blunt, it looks silly and pretentious, and I really can't see the point. If you want the modern driving experience then buy a modern Jaguar at a fraction of the cost and stop messing up good, original examples. I mean, this is tantamount to hot-rodding, isn't it?

For my money a good, clean, original Mk.II, its dignity preserved, wins hands down over this nonsense any day.

Richard

[Rick]

I think I'd prefer the look of that Mk2 with no bumpers at all, rather than the modern bits of trim it now has. The rest I could live with, although I don't remember how modified the interior is now - that might put me off for good.

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[baconsdozen]

More money than sense,it falls between two stools,neither a modern car or a classic.
_________________
Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

[emmerson]

What's the difference between this and "rodding" a model A Ford?
Sorry, not for me either.

[Wizardofaus]

That Jag looks fat.

And not in the way that my young nephews use the word, either...
_________________
1953 Citroen Traction Avant
1956 Citroen Traction Avant