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2025 Buick Enclave vs Honda PilotThe Best Cars of the 1960s
It’s not just grandad that thinks the 60s were better, our look back at the best cars of the 1960s reveals a decade full of astounding cars.
A Revolutionary Decade
The 1960s was a tumultuous decade of change. And the cars of the era were no exception; they mark a ground-breaking period in automotive design and engineering and resulted in some of the most iconic cars ever created. In fact, the 1960s was the most revolutionary decade for the automobile since the 1910s, when cars first transitioned from carriages with an engine to resembling the modern cars we know today.
This isn’t boomer nostalgia at work, either. The best cars of the 1960s really did redefine what was possible, what was fashionable, what constituted as “fast.” As you’ll discover below, our pair of retrospective rose-colored glasses are a lighter tint than you might guess.
1960 Austin/Morris Mini
The Mini defined Britain in the 1960s. Modish and practical, the original urban runabout turned out to be a more than capable rally champion and became a film icon thanks to The Italian Job (1969). The transversely mounted four-cylinder wasn’t much for power, just 34 horses, but it helped maximize interior space. The design has been emulated ever since, and the Mini is now considered one of the most influential automotive designs of the 20th century alongside the Ford Model T and the Volkswagen Beetle. As with both of those cars, the Mini sold millions of units across its four-decade run which concluded in 2000.
1961 Lincoln Continental
When Ford wanted to turn the page on the gaudiness of 1950s luxury, designers John Najjar and Elwood Engle dispensed with ostentation in favor of elegance and simplicity. The fourth-generation Lincoln Continental jettisoned the chrome, the massive fins, and the complicated grille works for a hefty slab of sheet metal with just enough ornamentation to signal refinement and expense while remaining restrained and subtle. The Continental’s innovative design was quickly picked up by other luxury brands and gets bonus points for its renowned rear-hinging coach doors.
1961 Jaguar E-Type
The Jaguar E-Type is remembered as one of the most visually stunning cars of the 1960s, or any decade for that matter. But E-Type was also a fantastic performance car that put an emphasis on the grand in grand tourer. It’s naturally-aspirated DOHC straight-six made 265 horsepower and propelled the Jag to a claimed 150 mph. That it was also as well wrought and eye-catching as a diamond necklace made the E-Type into a legend. Even Enzo Ferrari was a fan, supposedly calling the Jaguar E-Type the most beautiful car ever built.
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
Speaking of ol’ Enzo Ferrari, the titular carmaker’s obsession with racing saw its apogee with the creation of the Ferrari 250 GTO. Designed for GT racing, the 250 GTO combined a sleek, aerodynamic design with its Colombo V12 (296 horsepower) into one of the most famed racecars of all time. The Ferrari 250 GTO quickly began dominating the GT circuit, taking the GT Manufacturers’ Championship in 1962, ’63, and ’64. Only 36 cars were built and today they are among the most sought-after collectors’ cars in the world, commanding auction prices in the tens of millions of dollars.
1963 Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 took the formula of the Porsche 356, a small, maneuverable rear-wheel drive sports car powered by a rear-mounted boxer engine and has continued to perfect it since 1963. The design by Ferdinand “Butzi” Porsche and Erwin Komenda was as striking in the early ‘60s as it remains today. Fast, light, and more than a little tail happy, the Porsche 911 has remained the epitome of the sports car ever since.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
In the early 1960s, the Chevrolet Corvette needed saving. It was being badly outsold by the Ford Thunderbird and in real danger of being canceled outright. But with a new design by Larry Shinoda and vastly improved performance courtesy of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the new Corvette Stingray redeemed the nameplate in eyes of both the GM brass and the buying public.
1964 Aston Martin DB5
It doesn’t get much more British than the Mini and the Jaguar E-Type, but the Aston Martin DB5 certainly contends with help from the British Secret Service’s own 007. Cameos in Goldfinger and Thunderball made the DB5 a silver screen legend. Bond’s car was, appropriately, wicked fast 0-60 sprint of 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 145 mph and looked as sharp as his perfectly tailored tuxedo. For more on Bond’s cars, click here.
1964 Chevrolet Impala
The 1964 Chevrolet Impala ranks right alongside the ’51 Merc, as one of the most iconic and popular of lowriders. The lowrider has long been central to Chicano car culture and the ‘64 Impala its greatest canvas perfect for going “bajito y suavecito” or low and slow.
1964 Ford GT40
When Ford wanted to get back into racing in the early 1960s, their hopes rested on a deal with Ferrari. That deal quickly dissolved into acrimony with Henry Ford II vowing to beat Enzo Ferrari on his own turf, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ford hired Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles to create a car capable of wresting a GT class stranglehold from the Ferrari 250 GTO. Their creation, the Ford GT40, did just that, winning Le Mans in ’66, ’67, ’68, and ’69. For more on the Ford vs Ferrari rivalry, click here.
1964 Pontiac GTO
When John DeLorean envisioned a sporty version of the Pontiac Le Mans marketed to younger Americans, few could have guessed the Pontiac GTO would be the beginning of a tidal wave of muscle cars that would come to dominate the automotive landscape for nearly a decade.
1965 Ford Mustang
The GTO might have gotten there first, but it was the Ford Mustang that stole the show. The anemic base six-cylinder had some calling the initial 64 ½ Mustang a secretary’s car, but performance variants, starting with the Shelby GT350 in 1965 and more powerful V8s, quickly converted critics to believers.
1965 Shelby Cobra
Carroll Shelby liked going fast, very fast. Following his triumphant but abbreviated racing career, Shelby devoted himself to building fast cars. His first major venture was the AC Cobra. The formula was simple, a lightweight body like the British roadsters he’d raced combined with the massive power of an American V8. The Cobra was a frighteningly fast, aggressive car that proved successful on the track and terrifying on the street. Its pinnacle was the Cobra Mk III 427. Equipped with a Ford FE 427 V8, the diminutive Cobra now had a thunderous 425 horsepower with a curb weight of just 2,355 lbs. resulting in a zero to sixty time of 4 seconds. Its spirit has lived on in the Dodge Viper and in every Miata with a V8 swap.
1966 Lamborghini Miura
The Lamborghini Miura has garnered more than its share of superlatives. It is considered by many the first true super car (mid-engine, RWD, two-seater of exceeding refinement and exorbitant pricing). It also often tops lists of the most beautiful cars ever built (a title it trades with the Jaguar E-Type). And it was, when it debuted, the fastest production car in the world with a top speed of 171 mph. The Miura broke the mold for luxury sports cars and then created a new one that continues to influence designs today.
1968 BMW 2002
The BMW 2002 can seem like a funny little European car by today’s eyes, not unlike the Mini in resemblance. But in 1968, the 2002 was a breath of fresh air. A sporty alternative to the meaty, muscle-bound behemoths coming out of Detroit. The 2002 traded straight line speed for handling prowess and changed what the BWM badge meant in the US. Plus, I’m quite sure the 2002 was also the peak of BMW styling (just look at the likes of the current 3-Series for instance).
Honorable Mention
Volkswagen Beetle and Microbus
Even though both the Volkswagen Beetle and the VW Bus were already long in the tooth by the 1960s, their iconic status had only just begun. Flower power elevated both cars as the hippest of hippy alternatives and lent new meaning to the phrase, “Turn on, tune in, and drop the clutch.”
