The 80s gave
us a lot of cool cars. After the crisis of the 70's it was the epoch of the
Renaissance in the automotive industry. The 1980s was a great decade for technically
perfect, groundbreaking cars. By what
car was remembered that era? Ferrari F40, Porsche 959, Lamborghini Countach,
Audi Quattro, Lancia Delta HF Integrale, VW Golf GTi..
This list could be very long, because 80s gave us many decent cars. Some of them have become iconic – they embodied the whole spirit of that era, all its latest developments and trends.
Let me introduce
you my own short list of best cars from 80s that are worth to be restored.
Ferrari Testarossa
Ferrari
Testarossa in my humble opinion deserves to head the list of best cars of the
80s. It’s not so pathetic as legendary
Ferrari F40 or Lamborghini Countach, but
it’s really iconic supercar of 80s with classic design for its time. This
mid-size two-door coupe with V12 engine
went into production in 1984 and in short time became one of the most
popular models within Ferrari's range.
It's gorgeous design was developed by famous Pininfarina and was quite
exotic for early 80-s.
How much is
a Ferrari Testarossa? Today you can find Testarossa for less than $60 000,
while cars in better condition and with lower mileage may cost two times more.
Notice, that Ferrari Testarossa convertible was never officially produced . That
single Ferari Testarossa Spider specially made for Gianni Agnelli (Head of Fiat
at the time) in 1986 doesn’t count.
BMW E24 6-series
BMW 6-series
E24 is incarnation of classic BMW style. Shark’s nose and round headlights with
negative slope made big Bavarian coupe look very aggressive. True German style,
as one can say nowadays. 86,219 cars
were built between November 1975 and April 1989 (more than half was sold in
USA), including rare versions such as BMW E24 M6, CSi and tuned high-perfomance
models from Alpina, Schnitzer and Hartge.
BMW
6-series E24 of first years of production don’t cost much today, but most cars
are in poor condition. Get ready to spend $15,000 to start your BMW E24
restoration project. Rare E24 M6 and Alpina-versions will cost you much more.
Lancia Delta HF Integrale
Another
Italian legend in my short list of best cars of the 80s to restore. First
Lancia Delta was released in late 1979 and was voted European Car of the Year
in 1980. But it’s not the reason why small Italian hatch really deserves attention.
While the majority of Deltas were ordinary family hatches, HF Integrale was really outstanding of the
whole model range. Lancia Delta’s top model had four-wheel drive and powerful
turbocharged engine, which made it one of the best hot hatches of the 80s.
7 years -
from 1986 to 1993 - Lancia Delta surely dominated in the World Rally
Championship (WRC). Delta scored 74 wins and 11 league titles. Delta HF Integrale is considered one of the
best models of Lancia's history.
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
Sierra RS
Cosworth was a Ford’s attempt to create charged sports car on the basis of
family saloon. And quite a successful attempt. The engine was developed by
Cosworth – it was twin cam 16-valve turbocharged engine based on Ford’s own T88 engine block,
producing 204 hp in street version. Due to such a powerful engine charged Ford
Sierra became one of the fastest car of its time. Not many cars in middle 80s
could accelerate to 100km/h in 6,1 s!
From the
outside Ford Sierra Cosworth RS distinguished from ordinary Sierras by slightly
modified lighting and brutal rear
spoiler, which immediately became a hallmark of the car. In total there were
5,000 cars produced, 394 of which have been painted in black, 56 - in white, and
52 in special Moonstone Blue.
Alfa Romeo 75
The best
sport sedan of the 80s and the last rear-wheel drive Alfa was introduced in May
1985. Alfa Romeo 75 was named in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Italian
company. The original style created by Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, as well as
high-performance engines and excellent handling made the Alfa 75 a very
successful model and one of the best cars of the 80s.
Exclusive
and rare versions of Alfa Romeo 75 include Quadrifoglio Verde and Turbo
Evoluzione. Alfa 75 is a true old school design and one of the most interesting
car for restoration project.
BMW M3 E30
The first
generation of legendary BMW M3 was introduced in 1986. First M3 was based on BMW E30 3-series and
was aimed to compete with charger Mercedes-Benz
190 2.3-16V, which was released 3 years earlier. BMW M3 wasn't just 3-series E30 with powerful
engine – the car had 12 unique body panels, "box flared" wheel-arches
in the front and rear, stiffer suspension, special rear and frond braking
system. Early BMW M3 E30 had 2,3-liter 4-cylinder engine S14B23 that developed
192 hp. Later after a number of changes were adopted the engine started to
develop 220 hp, and BMW M3 became one of
the most powerful car in it’s class.
BMW M3 E30
was introduced as classic 2-door coupe, but later convertible version became available.
Audi Quattro
Legendary
4-wheel drive coupe from German car maker can also be called an iconic model of
the 80s. The car was first shown an Geneva Motor Show in 1980. It was both the
first coupe with four-wheel drive system and first car to mate four-wheel drive
with a turbocharged engine. The car had 2,1-liter inline-5-cylinder engine with
turbocharger, which was producing 197 hp.
Audi Quattro accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 7.1s and its top speed was
over 220 km/h.
Racing
history of Audi Quattro was not so successful as those of Lancia Delta HF
Integrale, but Audi Coupe Quattro can still boasts by 23 victories in WRC from
1981 to 1985. Seems enough to be called a racing star of the 80s.
Mercedes-Benz 190 2.3-16V
Mercedes
190 is a classic German model of the 80s. From 1982 to 1993 more than 1.8
million examples were produced, which made this baby-Benz one of the most
popular Mercedes in company’s history. Intended to be a competitor for Bavarian
3-series E30, Mercedes 190 need a hot
powerful. Charged baby-Benz was developed in collaboration with Cosworth and its 2,3-liter 4-cylinder engine had 16
valves and was developing 185 hp. Not
too much in comparison with Ford Sierra Cosworth, BMW M3 E30 or Audi Quattro of
middle-80s, which had more powerful engines, but performance of charged 190 was
also impressive: acceleration from 0–100 km/h was less than eight seconds, and
the top speed was 230 km/h!In 1988 more powerful 2.5-16V version was
introduces, with engine developing 200 hp and better dynamics.
Mercedes-Benz
190 E 2.3-16 was available in only two colors, Blue-Black metallic (Pearl Black
in the US), and Smoke Silver. The 2.5-16 added Almandine Red and Astral Silver
in 1988.
Porsche 944
Introducing
a new model based on the 924, the company got involved in a big adventure: when
it appears in a 1981 Porsche 924 was still criticized for the fact that it's
not a “real Porsche”. In reality, the 944 has its own engine, greatly improved
design and performance inherent in Porsche. This convinced the buyers and the
number of orders increased rapidly. Design of the car was developing ideas of
Porsche 924 but became more aggressive, modern and stylish.
Porsche 944
has become very popular for its practicality and style. Many customers have
used it for everyday driving. Porsche 944 was very good for long distance
travel, in spite of its number of seats 2+2.
Porsche 944
is not expensive nowadays and that fact makes it a good basis for restoration
project. Pricing starts from nearly $5 000 for the cars of early years of
production.
Mercedes-Benz W124 Coupe
In my
opinion – elegant coupe of 124-series was the best full-size coupe of the 80s. Even today big Mercedes W124 coupe looks very
stylish and elegant, like modern classic. It has very balanced and really timeless
design.
The car was
presented at 1987 Geneva Motor Show and model range at first included 230 CE
and 300 CE models only. There were 4- and 6-cylinder models available, and on
the top of the range was charged E36 AMG
version with powerful 3,6-liter engine with 270 hp.
No comments:
Post a Comment