We’ve written a few posts about our top cars of yesteryear and this time around we’re going to take another trip down memory lane and reminisce about our favourite 70s motors – an era when it was all about muscle, angular design and the subtlety of a sledgehammer! It was the decade of funk and disco, and each of these great cars embodied that vibe to the max.
Lamborghini Countach
With its wedge design, gull wing doors and 3.9-litre V12 engine delivering a staggering 375 horses, the Countach was the car of every boy’s fantasies back in the mid-70s. It could be argued that the Lamborghini was the first supercar to focus on style and raw power over any degree of practicality at all, which makes it about the funkiest car ever built!
Lancia Stratos
Built to blow the competition away on the World Rally circuit, the Stratos achieved exactly what it set out to do. With 17 World Championship wins and three WCR titles, this ultra-light powerhouse of a car set the world on fire with its mid-engine 2.4-litre Ferrari power plant. Producing between 275-320bhp in a car that weighed around 900kg means that this beast would hold its own against today’s best sports cars.
Pontiac Firebird
The Firebird was made legend by the Smokey and the Bandit movies – there’s nothing funkier than seeing Burt Reynolds leaving the police for dust in his black Pontiac! The earlier models had more of the Mustang look about them, but the Firebird from the movies is the 1978 Trans Am special edition that, if we’re honest, was a massive car that made a lot of noise but wasn’t that quick or powerful. Does that make it any less cool? Not in our eyes!
BMW 2002 Turbo
The first turbocharged saloon in the world, the iconic 2002 is as loved today as it was back in the 70s. Its 2-litre engine delivered 170bhp – ridiculous for a tiny saloon car you could drop the kids off at school in – and quickly became a sought after classic. With less than 1700 rolling off the assembly line, a mint version will set you back anything up to £100,000 today – and that doesn’t stop us wanting one really badly!
If you’re lucky enough to own one of these beautiful cars of the 70s, we’d love to see you down at Trafalgar Street – we’re a modern 24-hour manned car park with wide bays that are big enough to fit even the chunkiest of vehicles, so your collector’s item will be safe with us.