Ten Heart-Pounding Cars

There are some cars that make us smile, make our heart beats redouble, and give us a tingling feeling in the pit of our stomachs. With the help of our readers, we've come up with the ten heart-pounding cars.

This is Answers of the Day – where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's "Question Of The Day". It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers.

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(Photo Credit: CarPlatform!)

10.) Ferrari 355

Suggested by: dmcshinobi

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: The 355 is just beautiful in the simplest sense of the word. The lines are smooth and refined, there are no unnecessary wings or ducts, and everything is in the right proportion. The Testarossa is a magnificent car, but it's an 80s box when compared to the curvaceous 355. The 355 is what the Testarossa was, but with a timeless design.

Photo Credit: Victor Ramos

9.) Porsche 356

Suggested by: clinto

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: The 356 takes us to a time when things were simpler. The roads only had two lanes, the scenery consisted of magnificent landscapes, and it all twisted and turned for your pleasure. The 356 is Porsche's beginning and is the progenitor of countless lust-machinery today. All that history is summed up in the car's shape. The sight of a 356 conjures 62 years of history in mere seconds.

Photo Credit: Nathan Bittinger

8.) Renault 5 Turbo

Suggested by: gessvt

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: There was a time in rally where all that mattered was going faster and faster, a sea of people crowded around a dirt road moving in and out like the tide, and the chirp of blow-off valves tingled your spine. This was the Group B era that created the Renault 5 Turbo. This is what happens when you want to go fast in a cheap, small hatchback. You have to make it go crazy. Wide hips, rear engine, and large intake ducts. Our hands start to tremble in anticipation and you can almost feel yourself on a French country road, powersliding around an R2.

Photo Credit: Wouter Duijndam

7.) Lancia Delta Integrale

Suggested by: POLAR

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: The Delta Integrale formed the basis for a Group B rally car that could accelerate on gravel to 62 in a mere 2.3 seconds. The same excitement and speed is found in the Integrale, maybe 60 comes in 5.7 seconds but the effect is the same. Seeing the machines evokes images of wheels spinning, the tach approaching redline, and a rooster tail of snow, making our hearts fill with longing and desire.

Photo Credit: Ed Callow

6.) Honda NSX

Suggested by: Alfisted

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: The NSX has a magical quality that not many cars have. It is legendary. Developed by Ayrton Senna on Honda's Suzuka track, the NSX offers something not many Japanese sports cars are capable of. The NSX's classic shape is complemented by the car's exhaust note as pulls away from a stop and your vision blurs. There are no words to express the feelings of honor and amazement that are evoked by the NSX.

Photo Credit: Markus

5.) Dodge Viper

Suggested by: RickAKATed10

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: It's vicious, it's powerful, and it'll burn you in more ways than one. The best thing about it though is not its thunderous ten cylinder engine or its impractical exhaust location, but the fact that it's American and that it's styled to look like the snake that it is. Our minds race between images of smoke pouring out the tires and spits of fire coming out the side of this speedy serpent. Rev that V10 and feel the fury.

Photo Credit: Eric Kilby

4.) Lamborghini Diablo

Suggested by: NickyL

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: If you were a kid in the 90s you probably had a poster of the Diablo with a beautiful woman (or just the Diablo) in your bedroom, much like the kids who grew up in the 80s and their posters of the Countach. For many it brings back teenage memories of lust and adoration (not like that, pervs).

3.) Pagani Zonda

Suggested by: Jackie

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: Pagani Zonda, I love you, but you're breaking my heart. Can a man really love an inanimate object? Yes, a man can. The Pagani is just insane. Scoops, intakes, ducts, wings, fins, and curves everywhere. We feel a rush of emotions ranging from excitement to happiness to love. Just wait until you hear the car's exhaust note and you'll fall in love again and again.

2.) Ford GT

Suggested by: jakebonz

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: $kaycog knows what this is all about. All that speed still carries through even though the car is standing still. The car's brutality and pedigree adds another level of pure awesome. Envision yourself behind the wheel, your hand on the white-ball shifter knob, and the whine of the supercharger in your ear. Careful, you might need to wait a little before getting up.

Photo Credit: Derek Purdy

1.) Ferrari F40

Suggested by: HammerheadFistpunch

Why It Makes Our Heart Race: Serving as Ferrari's 40th anniversary celebration, the F40 is a timeless piece of automotive history. Many more were produced than originally thought, but that's all right. It just means the chances of seeing one are much greater. But when you do see this rare prancing horse, you won't be able to hide your giddiness. Take out your camera and snap away, you'll want to remember this moment in time and you'll regret it later if you don't.

Photo Credit: Axion23