Motorbooks 50th Anniversary Challenge!

[Wayne 962]

Got this in my email this morning. MBI is my publisher for all of my books (so far), I figured I'd let you guys do the talking.

Hello Motorbooks Authors,

I hope this message finds you well.

2015 marks Motorbooks 50th Anniversary. It’s hard to believe what started in the garage of a gearhead in Wisconsin has grown into the world’s leading transportation book publisher. We give full credit to our authors and our readers… your passion and dedication to the hobby has been an integral part of our success. Thank you!

In celebration of this historic anniversary, we need your help. We want to compile a list of the TOP 50 CARS OF THE LAST 50 YEARS. Our goal is to get input from as many authors, industry executives, automotive media, gearhead celebrities and motorsport participants as possible. Our authors are our key to reaching this large audience.

Please help us reach those people you have in your network and ask them what their favorite car is from the last 50 years and why. We will tally the answers to create a list (and possibly a book!) and also use their quotes to create excitement on social media.

Who are you willing to reach out to on our behalf? We are hoping to gather the responses by July 1.

Your help is really appreciated!

Nichole

[Wayne 962]

I'll start this off. The number one car over the past 50 years is probably the Porsche 956/962. For the following reasons:

- Most successful race car of all time.

- Most victories and podium finishes of any car in history

- Dominated Group C racing in Europe and then went on to dominate IMSA racing here in the US

- Wins:141, Second place finishes:134, Third place finishes:140

- Engine and drivetrain are based upon the Mezger engine, whose design originated with the 1964 911.

- Still holds the record time at the Nürburgring (6:25.91 West Germany Stefan Bellof, Porsche 956, 1983, WEC)

- Great looking piece of autmotive history:

[Flieger]

956 is very cool. I also like the 909 for the madness of the weight saving measures. Drilled Titanium bolts, Beryllium brake discs, etc. All with the Formula 1 engine.

[Quicksilver]

The 917 is on that list.
Basically it dominated endurance racing so it wasn't fun for anyone else so they changed the rules to decrease the engine size. At that point they went to CanAm and made that series no fun for any of the other types of cars so they changed the rules so they weren't allowed enough gas to run it. Then 12 years after it was introduced, without the benefit of years of development, one last 917 went to LeMans and ran as high as 10th!

The 917 held the 24 hour distance record until 2010 and was just a thing of beauty.

And most importantly: Steve McQueen drove one with complete gritty coolness!!!

[DaveE]

911 obviously. Most practical sports car ever made. Great daily driver, grocery getter, etc. And look at it's track history.

[fbarrett]

OK, I'll second the 911. After all, it fits the 50-year span, and if not for the 911, those 917s and 956s and 909s (great as they are) would never have existed.

The "gearhead" who started Motorbooks (first called Classic Motorbooks) was my pal Tom Warth, an English immigrant to Minnesota. He began by importing used Rolls-Royces then saw the demand for automotive books and began filling it. He sold the book business in the 1980s and then began selling out-of-print automotive books. He also founded a charity called Books For Africa, which supplies books to African libraries and schools.

Tom owned a 289 Cobra from 1970 to 2013 and drove it more than 100,000 miles. He also introduced me to the Citroen 2CV, which led me down another automotive path to perdition. He's still going strong, and I hope Motorbooks honors him properly.

Frank

[Luccia at Pelican Parts]

I know it's not a Porsche, but this is open to any car. So, I would like to highlight the Acura (Honda) NSX.



The NSX was even a good enough vehicle for Aryton Senna to have a hand in the making. He not only owned a few, but also "further helped refine the original NSX's suspension tuning and handling spending a whole day test driving prototypes and reporting his findings to Honda engineers after each of the day's five testing sessions. Senna also tested the NSX at the Nurburgring and other tracks." - Wikipedia



The NSX is also another great example of a car that has gained in value with the years passing. They even blue book at remarkable prices still to this day. I've personally driven one for a week and even though it had, stock at high altitude, 220hp it was one of the greatest experiences I've had from driving a vehicle. The looks it gets driving down the road is just amazing. People have no idea what it is and when they hear it drive by they always have the most perplexed look on their faces.

"Today the NSX is still considered by owners of the marque as one of the most reliable exotic cars ever manufactured, with many examples exceeding 100,000 miles (160,000 km) without serious notable reliability issues or having suffered manufacturer recalls." - Bridge Water Acura

Eventually, I will have one in my garage and will enjoy it's elegance, reliability, and unique style for years to come!

[BYprodriver]

Since we are starting in 1965 that brings to mind GTO both by Ferrari & Pontiac, also probably the top selling car that year Mustang.
Perennial Car & Driver Top 10 winners: Accord, BMW 3 series & my personal fav, Boxster the car that saved Porsche.

[03BoxS]

The 1953 Corvette, both C4 and C6 ZR-1 Corvette, 1964 Mustang, Lamborghini Countach, 1955 Thunderbird, 57 Chevy, Shelby A/C Cobra, Porsche 911 and Boxster 986, Ferrari Testarossa and Enzo, just off the top of my head. I'll think about some more.

[Mark at Pelican Parts]

Over 300 hp, massive turbo lag, that undeniably glorious Audi 5-cylinder note, short-wheelbase to keep you on your toes, all-wheel drive and Group B lineage, I propose the Audi Sport Quattro road car for consideration.

As a teen, I had posters of this bad girl plastered all over my bedroom walls. Now if I could just get my hands on one!






Look at that wastegate, same size as a 930's!




Not bad in white too:








All business:




Some day maybe.......I can dream.




Let's see your favorite!

[Cdnone1]

I would have to go with the 911.
I'm lucky enough to live in SoCal and get to drive this car everyday.
I have driven the car from 80 degrees at the beach, 115 through the desert, -15 in the mountains and it never fails to start or put a smile on my face. It's lacking in everything modern cars are and that is part of why I like it so much.
You need to pay attention when driving one of these, especially if your going fast and I firmly believe if everyone drove a classic air cooled 911 we would never need to worry about drivers texting or on their cell phones.
Oh it's older brother is not a bad ride either

[Admin at Pelican Parts]

I'm pushing the 50-year boundary by a hair, but how could you not include the Daytona on this list? These six cars (!) had quite the 64-65 season, and if Shelby wasn't poached for the GT40 program it would've been REALLY interesting to see how they continued to develop:

-1964 12 Hours of Sebring (GT class win, Dave MacDonald/Bob Holbert)
-1964 24 Hours of Le Mans (GT class win, fourth overall, Dan Gurney/Bob Bondurant)
-1964 RAC Tourist Trophy (GT class win)
-1964 Tour de France Automobile (GT class win)
-1965 24 Hours of Daytona (GT class win)
-1965 12 Hours of Sebring (GT class win)
-1965 Italian Grand Prix at Monza (GT class win)
-1965 Nürburgring 1000 km (GT class win)
-1965 12 Hours of Reims (GT class win, clinched 1965 World Sportscar Championship)
-1965 Enna-Pergusa (GT class win)
-1965 25 land speed records at Bonneville



Oh, and did I mention it was designed by one guy (Pete Brock) essentially working out of a Venice beach garage? No real testing or development- he just nailed it on the first pass and they created five more copies. It's honest, elegant, capable and brutal.. just as a proper race car should be.

[prebordao]

For me top of the list is clearly the 911. It'not just the racing history but also has an everyday car.
It was the first really usable, everyday sports car and still probably the best at that.

Other possible entries (after the 911...)-
Range Rover - created a segment
Chrysler Minivan - created a segment
Citroen CX - The car from outer space
Lotus Elise - still going strong after 20years. Popularized the use of load bearing aluminum
First Audi Quattro - no need to explain
Honda Insight - not a fan but started a trend...

Just my 10c

[Competizione]

For me it would have to be the 993 GT2.

It's the absolute pinnacle of Porsche's road going air cooled evolution and an immensely successful racer. The end of an era and turning point in Porsche history.

[Dub_Man_05]

Me personally I have 2 favorites:

The B7 Audi RS4


And the MKIV R32


Both have very clean, aggressive looks and a killer exhaust note straight from the factory. Hearing either one leaves me drooling.

[Scott at Pelican Parts]

If we're going with racecars, I'll nominate two groundbreaking F1 racers:

1967 Lotus 49
The first F1 race winner that used its engine as a stressed member.




1981 McLaren MP4
John Barnard built the first F1 car with a carbon fiber monocoque. A few years later, they added the TAG-Porsche engine and became world champions.

[1QuickS]

Lotus 49 of 1967. Dawn of the Cosworth DFV engine.

[Steve at Pelican Parts]

Maybe it is not iconic as some of the others or as technologically ground breaking, but for me it has to be the 1977 Lotus John Player Special driven by Mario Andretti.

I had turned 16 that summer and my friends and I were car crazy. We made our annual pilgrimage to camp at Mosport for the weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix. Back in those days the cars and drivers where not locked behind barriers and chain link fence. You could actually walk the pits and get close to the drivers and mechanics. I had an opportunity to actually speak with Mario early in the weekend and was awe struck. I think wandering those pits helped cement my life long love affair with just about all things motorsports.
I didn't realize until I was much older what my friends and I actually got to see. The introduction of Gilles Villeneuve driving for Ferrari, the three wheel Tyrrel, James Hunt, Ronnie Peterson, Alan Jones,Riccardo Patrese and Jody Scheckter.
We where just enjoying a fall weekend, drinking beer, chasing girls and watching cars.

[CHICKS]

Why not post this in the OT forum?

[martensson]

Originally Posted by Mark at Pelican Parts

Over 300 hp, massive turbo lag, that undeniably glorious Audi 5-cylinder note, short-wheelbase to keep you on your toes, all-wheel drive and Group B lineage, I propose the Audi Sport Quattro road car for consideration.

As a teen, I had posters of this bad girl plastered all over my bedroom walls. Now if I could just get my hands on one!

Let's see your favorite!

Yes why not, BUT the spq would not have been made if not for the urquattro. This was the great leap forward. From that model we got the short wheel base sport version & all other 4 wd sports cars.

So, the quattro is a must among the top 50


U will love this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlU1C6A41fM