The dreaded question: what is the best of the best? The “one”? We can’t make our minds up on our own personal favorite car, let alone to pick one automobile that would be the top-tier selection above all. What do you pick? The highest-dollar auction car out there? Easy, Ferrari 250 GTO. The most popular muscle car out there? (You fill in the blank, I’m not up for reading hate mail today.) Maybe you’re picturing an 1959 Eldorado, the pinnacle of an era, a recognizable shape. Maybe you immediately thought of the Model T Ford: basic roots that truly entrenched what we all enjoy. The possibilities are endless.
Carfection recently took a look at the Mercedes-Benz W123 platform and believe that one of the most recognizable Mercedes-Benz body shapes ever created deserves the title. They make good points, really they do, and we agree that it’s a solid pick, but we just don’t see where they are coming from when they dub it the “ultimate classic”. Maybe we’d have to have lived in Europe to truly understand it. But what say you, readers? Do you have one car that stands out in your mind as the “ultimate”, and if so, why does it deserve the title? We can’t pick just one…if anything, we’re like the biblical Noah: We will take two of each, thank you much. Maybe you can shed a little more light on the right vehicles…
Shelby GT350H
1973 SD Trans Am. Hate me, don’t care!
1929 duesenberg model j
[img]http://www.duesenbergcars.com/duesenberg-00015.jpg[/img]
1961 to 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible – Suicide Doors and the only 4 door convertible ever made.
W123… boring. Might as well have picked the VW beetle.
Choosing the ultimate classic means deciding what \”classic\” means. Is it the most popular? Best expression of an era\’s technology? Fastest? Most luxurious? Does it matter if only 5 or 10 or 100 were ever made? Then there are the subjective elements — design, comfort, driver experience, etc.
I like the Duesenberg, it\’s the only make to give a new word to the English language — \”It\’s a doozy!\” On the other hand, there have been more than 80 years of improvement in automobile technology since that phrase was coined.
My choice isn\’t much newer than that, but I submit it because it combines the best of style, power, drivability and luxury of its era — 1960 Chrysler 300F GT Special.
If we’re talking about regular production cars, for me it’s a toss up between the 66 GT Mustang fastback and the 63 Corvette split window. As far as specialty cars, Cobra Daytona Coupe hands down…..
65 GTO
The 1955 Packard Caribbean convertible. Stunning.
That’s a good one. Very underappreciated were the late Packards.
First car that I thought of is a 300SL in either gull wing or roadster.