The 1970s provided some of the best automobiles in the world, with some great muscle cars and sports cars in the early part of the decade, although the oil crises hit the automotive industry hard.
Despite this, we still miss plenty of cars from the 1970s. This list contains 13 of them, and we have selected these retro cars based on their looks, performance, rarity, and, in some cases, daily usability.
Porsche 917
We are stretching things a bit with this one, as the Porsche 917 is a race car that the German giant took to the Le Mans 24 Hours. However, it is one of the best ever raced at Le Mans, with Porsche dominating the race in the early 1970s with the 917.
Porsche won its first race in 1970 and repeated the feat in 1971. The 917 also won the International Championship for Makes in 1970 and 1971. The 917 would also win at Watkins Glen, the 24 Hours of Daytona, Sebring 12 Hours, and Brands Hatch and Spa. Porsche also developed the 917 for the Can-Am racing series, turning the sports car into a mighty 12-cylinder monster with 750 hp.
Citroen SM
While they have lost some of their cool, there was a time when Citroen made some of the coolest cars on the planet. Coolest of all might be the Citroen SM, a sporty version of the Citroen DS that gained extra impetus following Maserati’s acquisition of the French manufacturer in 1968.
Maserati lent Citroen its 2.7-liter V6 derived from Giulio Alfieri’s V8 engine, but they left Citroen to finish the job. They created a gorgeous, teardrop-shaped car with hydropneumatic suspension and cornering headlights. The SM also had speed-sensitive power steering, all-around disc brakes with automatic balance adjustment, rain-sensitive wipers, and the option of carbon fiber-reinforced wheels. The teardrop shape gave the SM a drag coefficient of 0.26.
Lamborghini Countach
Having stunned the world with the Lamborghini Miura, the Italian manufacturer needed to follow it up with a sequel. That sequel was the Countach, which would go on to be one of the most famous supercars in the world, with the exceptional wedge design of my Marcello Gandini and an excellent Lamborghini V12 engine under the hood.
Power ranged from 440 hp in the prototype to 370 hp in the production version LP400 and all the way to 449 hp with the 25th Anniversary and Evoluzione models. While the Countach wasn’t a supercar you’d happily use every day, it was brilliantly bonkers and one of the best automobiles to come out of the 1970s.
Lotus Esprit
The Lotus Esprit was one of the finest cars of the 1970s, and amazingly, Lotus continued to produce the sports car until 2004. The British manufacturer produced over 10,600 examples of the Esprit over the years, and power would gradually increase from the original 148 hp versions to the final, twin-turbocharged V8 with 350 hp.
Giorgetto Giugiaro and Italdesign worked hard to create a design that would please Lotus founder Colin Chapman. After a robust public reception at the 1972 Turin Auto Show, Chapman gave the go-ahead for the project. The first Lotus S1 Esprit rolled off the production line in 1975, with a Lotus 907 inline-four under the hood, and Lotus worked hard to make the Esprit one of the best sports cars of the decade.
Lancia Stratos
Lancia were the kings of the World Rally Championship in the 1970s and 1980s. The Italian manufacturer built exceptional Lancia Stratos to do just that. Even though the sports car was in production for three years, it made a huge impact that few cars following it could replicate.
The Stratos would dominate in the WRC and win the manufacturers’ championship in 1974, 1975, and 1976, with Sandro Munari adding a driver’s title to the car’s tally in 1977. Power came from a Ferrari-Dino V6 engine, and the Italian manufacturer built 492 road-going versions, making the Stratos one of the rarest sports cars in the world. Each road-going Stratos was just as wild and ferocious an animal as its rallying sibling.
Range Rover
The original Range Rover from the 1970s is THE original luxury off-roader. It introduced us all to the concept of an off-roader and SUV that could also offer levels of comfort usually reserved for high-end luxury sedans. Ironically, Range Rover never intended for the SUV to become a luxury object, but their work spoke for itself.
Under that gorgeous design were coil springs, all-around disc brakes, a lightweight but powerful V8 licensed from Buick, and permanent four-wheel drive. The Range Rover was a massive change from the earlier Land Rovers’ more agricultural and rugged appearances, and the original Range Rover would remain in production for more than a quarter of a century.
Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS
The 1970s was one of the leaner periods for Italian manufacturer Ferrari. But that didn’t stop the Maranello company from producing one or two winners, and arguably the finest Ferrari products of the decade were the 308 GTB and 308 GTS.
Ferrari took the covers off the 308 GTB at the 1975 Paris Motor Show, and it was the first Ferrari to have a complete fiberglass body. The 308 was a breath of fresh air in an oil crisis-riddled world. Ferrari would return to conventional steel and aluminum construction before launching the 308 GTS in 1977. Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I. made the 308 such a famous sports car and helped it become one of Ferrari’s best sellers up to that point.
Volkswagen Golf Mk1
If we are discussing the greatest hatchbacks of all time, look no further than the iconic Volkswagen Golf Mk1. The Golf was significant as it marked a massive change in direction for Volkswagen, which had built its reputation on the rear-engine, air-cooled Beetle for years. A front-engine, water-cooled hatchback was alien to both the company and its customers.
But the gamble worked, with Volkswagen selling more than a million Golfs in its first three years. Further developments, such as the Golf Diesel and Golf GTI, came later. The original Golf GTI is the hot hatchback that made the segment so popular, and it is a perfect ambassador for the Golf Mk1.
Renault 5
The Renault 5 is back in the headlines right now thanks to the French manufacturer’s all-new electric version of the famous city car. The original Renault 5 launched in the 1970s, and incredibly, Renault built 5.47 million of them over five years, which shows us just how successful the small car was.
Yet Renault wasn’t finished there. The manufacturer launched an Alpine version of the Renault 5, and then came the formidable Renault 5 Turbo, one of the best hot hatches ever. The Renault 5 Turbo was a rally homologation special with a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine, mid-mounted, under the hood. As far as 1970s icons go, the Renault 5 is one of the best.
Jaguar XJS
After the success of the Jaguar E-Type, the British manufacturer had to follow it up with a difficult second album. No matter what Jaguar did, it would never have the same reception as the E-Type, but they gave it a good go with the brilliant XJS.
Taking the final form of the E-Type as its starting point, Jaguar handed the styling over to Malcolm Sayer before Doug Thorpe completed the work following Sayer’s death. Under the hood, the XJS had a 5.3-liter V12 available at launch, which meant its performance was well above the competition’s. Adding a straight-six made the XJS more economical, and it remained in production until 1996.
Porsche 928
There have been points in Porsche’s history where it has worried that the 911 might not have the longevity it hoped for. Of course, that never came to pass, but in the late 1970s, the paranoia, thanks to a sales slump, was high enough for Porsche to create the 928. This was Porsche’s first-ever clean sheet design, and the German manufacturer settled on a front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car.
Under the hood was a 4.5-liter V8 with water cooling, a Porsche first at the time. The engine was of all-alloy construction. Combined with the rear-mounted transaxle, the 928 had a perfect 50:50 weight distribution and was almost as fast as the 911. Porsche kept the 928 on sale until the mid-1990s.
Saab 99 Turbo
A world without Saab feels wrong, and the Swedish manufacturer could produce some truly spectacular cars. One of these was the Saab 99 Turbo, which transformed the safe and dependable car into one of the performance icons of the decade. It laid the foundations for future generations of turbocharged family vehicles.
The humble Saab 99 now had enough power to reach a top speed of 120 mph, thanks to the 143 hp engine and four different body styles available for the 99 Turbo. The 99’s roots lay in the 1960s, so the new turbocharged model breathed fresh life into the car and ensured it would become one of the greatest ever to leave the Swedish manufacturer’s factory.
1972 Fiat X1/9
It hasn’t always had the best reputation, but there is something very pleasing about the little Fiat X1/9. The Italian sports car has a striking design, thanks to legendary coachbuilder Bertone and Fiat, who produced the car from 1972 to 1988. Bertone then took over manufacturing until 1989.
Under the hood is a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine, and while it provides just 75 hp, it’s enough to push the X1/9 up to 106 mph. The diminutive Fiat is light and nimble, making it a blast in the corners, and values are slowly rising. The Fiat X1/9 is becoming rarer each year, and finding one up for sale for over $20,000 is not unheard of.
