Your votes are in and the list has been compiled – Britains best-ever car is the original Mini The original Mini is the best British car ever built, according to a survey of Autocar readers. It comes as little surprise that the original Mini has topped the list of all-time British greats. It’s such an iconic vehicle and represents so much more than the British car industry. The Mini is associated with Great Britain around the world and, in many ways, it was ahead of its time. But just what constitutes a British car? Cars from Brit-owned firms – Austin, Bristol, Morgan – were shoe-ins. As were models from firms that, like Bentley and Rolls-Royce, have always been based within these shores, but now have foreign owners. That was the easy bit; for the rest we had to dig deeper. The UK has built its share of duffers, but from them our rich motorsport tradition has alchemised gems such as the Lotus Sunbeam, Chevette HSR and Avenger Tiger. We included a few curve balls. The Renault Mégane RS 225 raised eyebrows. It was the first complete car by British engineering firm Ricardo, which developed the chassis, brakes, steering, styling and engine upgrades. And it is perhaps the Renault Mégane that sums up the British car industry best: the world’s most talented engineers making cars the very best they can be. Meanwhile, the results revealed that Lotus is Britain’s most popular manufacturer of all time, with seven models in the top 100 – more than any other. Hot on the Norfolk-based manufacturers heels are Jaguar and Ford, both with six models on the list. Aston Martin is up next with five. Overall, the closest rivals to Sir Alec Issigonis’s original Mini are McLaren’s iconic F1 road car, which placed second on the list, and the Jaguar E-type in third. Click through our gallery above to find out what comes where, or look through the list below for the results. Britains best-ever cars 100. Range Rover Evoque 99. Ginetta G40R 98. Vauxhall Astra 97. Marcos TSO 96. Honda Civic 95. MG A 94. Vauxhall Chevette HSR 93. Triumph Dolomite Sprint 92. Allard J2 91. Honda Jazz 90. Sunbeam Tiger 89. Nissan Juke 88. Invicta Black Prince 87. Noble M12 86. Lotus Carlton 85. Caterham Seven 160 84. Caparo T1 83. Rolls-Royce 10 HP 82. Triumph TR5 PI 81. Radical RXC 80. Triumph 1300 79. Daimler SP250 Dart 78. Morgan 4/4 77. Renault Megane RS 225 76. Noble M600 75. Lotus Sunbeam 74. Morgan Plus 8 73. BAC Mono 72. Gordon-Keeble 71. Austin-Healey Sprite 70. MGB GT 69. Bristol Fighter 68. Ford Cortina 1600E 67. Bowler EXR 66. AC Ace 65. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow 64. Austin FX4 63. Napier-Railton 62. Caterham Supersport 61. Triumph 2000 60. Jaguar F-type 59. Morgan 3 wheeler 58. Reliant Scimitar 57. TVR Sagaris 56. Ford Escort RS2000 55. Bentley Continental GT 54. Ford Capri RS3100 53. Delorean DMC-12 52. Aston Martin V8 51. Ascari KZ1 50. Aston Martin V12 Vantage S 49. Subaru Impreza WRC 48. Hillman Avenger Tiger 47. Triumph Stag 46. Hillman Imp 45. Lister Storm 44. Rover P5B 43. Lotus Evora 42. Rover P6 3500S 41. Nissan Qashqai 40. Ariel Atom 39. Vauxhall Prince Henry 38. Aston Martin One-77 37. Rover 75 36. Jaguar XJ 35. Austin Seven 34. Bristol Blenheim 33. Lotus Cortina 32. Austin-Healey 3000 31. Aston Martin Vanquish 30. Lotus Seven 29. Land Rover 28. Jensen-Healey 27. Lotus Esprit 26. MG Midget 25. McLaren 12C 24. Morris Minor 23. Lotus Elan 22. TVR Speed 12 21. Rover SD1 20. TVR Chimaera 19. BMW Mini 18. Bentley Blower 17. Jaguar XF 16. Ford GT40 15. Rolls-Royce Phantom 14. Lotus Elise 13. Jaguar D-type 12. Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 11. Jensen FF 10. Ford Escort Mexico 9. TVR Griffith 8. Aston Martin DB5 7. Jaguar XJ220 6. McLaren P1 5. Yamaha MOTIV.e 4. Range Rover 3. Jaguar E-type 2. McLaren F1 1. Original Mini The most British car ever is definitely the original Mini, says Autocars James Ruppert. That’s because it was the people’s car. Affordable, innovative and part of the automotive furniture of our great island. That’s why the Mini is Britain’s favourite car. And mine. Read more Autocar reviews here.
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 23:24:07 +0000
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