1959 BMW 507
To this day, no BMW has topped the 507's good looks. Sleek and relatively powerful, with classic proportions and a 160-hp, 3.1-liter V-8. Often emulated but never duplicated — not even when BMW aped its looks with the Z8.
1968 Dodge Dart GTS
The 1968 Dodge Dart GTS is a perfect example of vintage Mopar awesomeness: It's kind of ugly, hugely fast, and has nonexistent steering feel or brakes. It's a also unquestionably cool. A 375-hp, 440-cube V-8 is all the persuasion you should need.
1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona
Indifferently built and heavier than the Washington Monument, the trucklike Daytona is a testament to how far looks and a great engine will take you. A 352-hp V-12 sits in that long nose. You know you want it.
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1
The Mustang Mach 1 brought miles of style and a tough-guy attitude to the Mustang lineup. Familiar engines were offered, from the ordinary 351 all the way up to the 428. Parnelli Jones took one (a 1970) to Trans-Am glory. What more to you need to know?
1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport
A truly great car for its era, the '72 Gran Torino Sport was a tough-looking fastback with an engine range that included the beastly 429. It also was good enough to snag the title role in Clint Eastwood's excellent Gran Torino.
1973 Ford Falcon GT XB
Modern Aussie hoon cars trace a lot of their heritage back to the XB-chassis Ford Falcon GT. It's the car that Mad Max drove in The Road Warrior, and it all but invented the notion of apocalypse vehicle.
1976 Ford Gran Torino
You're won't find many '76 Gran Torinos that haven't received the Starsky and Hutch treatment. Cool stripe aside, this is still a malaise-era coupe with a big hunk of iron up front. Handling isn't in its vocabulary, but it'll chase down junkie perps all day long.
1977 Aston Martin V8 Vantage
At its launch, this 170-mph behemoth was hailed as Britain's first supercar. In the right hands, the massive Vantage could out-accelerate a Ferrari Daytona and out-testosterone a big-block Corvette. Rule Britannia.
1984 Fiat Strada Abarth 130 TC
An oft-forgotten hero of the hot hatch's golden age, the Abarth 130TC could outrun Volkswagen's legendary Golf GTI. Fuel injection? Nope — just a pair of Weber carburetors. Ahh, Italy.
1984 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE
The GSL-SE was the best of Mazda's early rotary breed. With fuel injection, refined suspension tuning, and big brakes, it was the RX-7 to have.
1986 Alfa Romeo GTV/6
The GTV/6 has plenty for the '80s-focused Italophile: Pininfarina styling, a 2.8-liter V-6 making 150 hp, and a five-speed manual. Plus, lookee there — do we spot the inspiration for the Corvette ZR1's hood window?
1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
The '87 Monte Carlo was a light at the end of the awful '80's Detroit tunnel. The tough looks, reasonably powerful V-8 made it a surprisingly interesting — and capable — car.
1988 Renault 5 Turbo
Compared to the ridiculous Renault R5, the dull-as-dishwater 1988 Renault 5 Turbo may seem like a letdown, but there's no sense in comparing mid-engine, batshit apples to front-wheel-drive oranges. The 5 Turbo was a nimble, talented hot hatch, and there's no shame in that.
1989 Fiat X1/9
Mid-engine goodness with a Fiat price tag. Since we're talking the digital realm, you won't have to deal with reliability woes, and with that out of the picture, the Fiat X1/9 is awesome. It's roughly the size of a bathtub, and it has an 85-hp four cylinder tucked in back. Think of it as a quirky, slightly dysfunctional Toyota MR2.
1990 Alfa Romeo Milano/75
The 75, sold in America as the Milano, was the last great Alfa to hit our shores. Rear-wheel drive, a transaxle, and some of the sexiest powerplants — including a twin-plug, 3.0-liter V-6 — ever stuffed inside a four-door sedan.
1992 GMC Syclone
A turbocharged V6 in a lightweight, all-wheel-drive pickup with ABS and discs at all four corners. The Syclone accelerates like a bat outta Hoonville and doesn't mind turning or stopping. Car and Driver famously tested it against a Ferrari. Is it any wonder that people still go nuts for these things?
1992 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution I GSR
The first iteration of Mitsubish's bat-guano Lancer Evo, fitted with a 4G63 with 244 hp and 228 lb-ft. The all-wheel-drive system was borrowed from the VR-4.
1994 Porsche 928 GTS
When the 928 GTS was introduced, it was a case of too little, too late for a car that essentially ahead of its time. Despite being spectacularly good, Porsche's luxury GT didn't find much of an audience.
1996 Subaru Impreza WRX Type R STi
The WRX Type R STi was a 271-hp, 2700-pound homage to Subaru's WRX rally car. It never came to the United States, but it's still a lustworthy piece of Fuji Heavy heritage.
1998 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V GSR
By 1998, Mitsubishi had figured the rally thing out and refined the concept of the homologation special. That the engine churned out 276 hp and 275 lb-ft of torque? That just helped things along.