Revolutionary Cars

JupiterKid

What cars do you consider revolutionary? When they came out they totally changed the face of motoring?

My three picks would be the following...

The VW Beetle (1937). Given birth by the Nazis, ended up being an icon of the hippies.

The Austin Mini (1959). Just changed everything and heralded the incredible decade of social and cultural change - the 1960s - that just lay ahead.

The VW Golf (1974). Another revolution in cars. Introduced the modern hatchback to the world.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/11/citi-mk1-002_opt.jpg

FatherLen

the batmobile....

Andrewf20

E28 M5, the 1st super saloon as far as I remember. And my pick of M5s in the desireablilty stakes.

Scioch

Model T.

Shane-KornSpace

Doc Browns' DeLorean!! Hands down.

Rabidlamb

Some electric car in the next few years will be seen as important as the Model T by future historians.

eth0

Skoda Octavia. First car with an infinitely large boot

fergal.b

The Citroen DS.

Kxiii

I'd go for the Lamborghini Miura. It kicked of the mid engined supercar revolution.

4zn76tysfajdxp

This car is revolutionary from fifty seconds in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L81qRm-tsQ

firefly08

I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces

-Henry Ford, 1909

It's hard to fathom the sheer scale of this ambition - back then, this was crazy. He wasn't just talking about making a cheap car, he was talking about making a car that compromised nothing - it would be the best, and it would be made by the highest paid workers in America, but it would still be cheaper than anything else on the market. So +1 for the Model T!

Also +1 for the VW Bug though...first made in the 30s, and still being manufactured new right now in some banana republic countries, more or less unchanged from Ferdinand Porsche's original design.

mickrock

The XRT762 B Series.

opinion guy

eth0 wrote: »

Skoda Octavia. First car with an infinitely large boot

Rumour has it that Doctor Who's Tardis is in fact an advanced Octavia

Nothingbetter2d

this was a revolutionary car... the first petroluem based motorcar

opinion guy

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

this was a revolutionary car... the first petroluem based motorcar

Seriously how fast did this go ?
It looks like a recipe for death.

Stained Class

Range Rover 1970.

Took 4x4s out of the farmyard overnight.

So revolutionary that it took other manufacturers 25 years to emulate.

Nothingbetter2d

opinion guy wrote: »

Seriously how fast did this go ?
It looks like a recipe for death.

it went a whopping 10mph / 16kmh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benz_Patent-Motorwagen

I really thought I'd be living like the Jetsons by now.

I Was VB

Toyota Carina E, rural Ireland and taxis would never be the same again.

Snowie

Mk1 golf gti deserves a mention.
Audi quattro
Mini
BMW M1
Lamborghini Miura
Jag e-type for a timeless looking design
Ferrari Dino
Alfa remeo
Lotus cortina
Talbot sunbeam



I could go type r civic skyline supra and tons of Italians and such Evos et but they were just fast....

newmug

eth0 wrote: »

Skoda Octavia. First car with an infinitely large boot

You nust be too young to remember the Jetta. Legend of a car.

nokia69

Rabidlamb wrote: »

Some electric car in the next few years will be seen as important as the Model T by future historians.

this is that car

biko

AH->Vroom vroom

alias no.9

JupiterKid wrote: »

VW Golf (1974). Another revolution in cars. Introduced the modern hatchback to the world.

It did what?

Jimbob 83

Yea Testa is a great simple idea that will work.

No plugs/charging stations and the like just fill your engine with fuel as we do now but instead of powering the car the motor now recharges the electrical cells, it's so simple it's brilliant and you use like 1/4 the fuel. Brilliant idea to start the change from combustion to electrical/hybrid cars mainstream.

kirving

No, the Tesla Model S is purely an electric car. And a brilliant one at that. Are you thinking of the Fisker Karma?

Chuck Stone

Deleted User wrote: »

I really thought I'd be living like the Jetsons by now.

Apart from the flying personal transport we pretty much are.

lostboy

not a car but, it did for italy what the beetle did for germany

carbon nanotube

JupiterKid wrote: »

What cars do you consider revolutionary? When they came out they totally changed the face of motoring?

My three picks would be the following...

The VW Beetle (1937). Given birth by the Nazis, ended up being an icon of the hippies.

The Austin Mini (1959). Just changed everything and heralded the incredible decade of social and cultural change - the 1960s - that just lay ahead.

The VW Golf (1974). Another revolution in cars. Introduced the modern hatchback to the world.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/11/citi-mk1-002_opt.jpg

the E36 bmw is a classic, really looks good even now.


(not 316is )

kuro2k

lostboy wrote: »

not a car but, it did for italy what the beetle did for germany

changed the world

dgt

I might be a fanboi but it did use a Turbo and S/C

mb1725

Citroen Traction Avant



.... for doing exactly what it says on the tin.

mb1725

Chrysler Voyager


--- first minivan.

Voodoomelon

Not a terribly interesting car, but the Renault Scenic pretty much jump started the whole MPV scene.

kuro2k

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Not a terribly interesting car, but the Renault Scenic pretty much jump started the whole MPV scene.

I'd say it was probably the Renault Espace, maybe not in Ireland but definitely everywhere else

conzy

Audi Quattro, just epic

Rich11

im shocked no-one said this:eek:, some people say it a pointless car.... but its truly ground breaking


Its need no introduction........
Just amazing, 1st production car with 1000bph(1001bhp), fastest car in the world by a long shot, and also the car weighs almost 2 tons..... like..... how is that possible





and then they made the super sport:pac:

Its a bugatti veyron, if ya didnt know:D

Plug

I was going to post up the Bugatti too. Really was and still is the greatest car ever built. So much more to it than the power and speed, like the window wiper stalks, they are about 4500 sterlings.

RobAMerc

saab 99 turbo has to get a mention

barone

need i say more

duploelabs

Rich11 wrote: »

im shocked no-one said this:eek:, some people say it a pointless car.... but its truly ground breaking


Its need no introduction........
Just amazing, 1st production car with 1000bph(1001bhp), fastest car in the world by a long shot, and also the car weighs almost 2 tons..... like..... how is that possible





and then they made the super sport:pac:

Its a bugatti veyron, if ya didnt know:D

I would say that the Veron aint revolutionary as it goes nowhere, as in it's an evolutionary dead end. No one is ever going to make something like it or dump so much money into the design and build of a car again.
My money's on the mini as it straddled the affordability and practicality of a city car with also being a sports car (how many rally wins did it have?)

Seweryn

Rabidlamb wrote: »

Some electric car in the next few years will be seen as important as the Model T by future historians.

Nothing new there. 100 years ago there were more electric cars than IC engined cars.

Mycroft H

The Land Rover!

Why?

Simplicity itself. Reliable simple design using leftovers from the war.
Got a nation moving again after the war.
Classless.
Go anywhere, see anything.

Richard Hammond describes it far better then I can.

Honorable mention

Citroen Traction Avant (given that the DS was already mentioned :P)



Why?

Pioneered front wheel drive as we know it today.
Monocoque chassis (considering most cars were still made like horse coaches back then)
Independent torsion bar suspension.

This car was designed in the early 1930's. Way ahead of its time. Amazing.

ValerieR

Probably because I'm French .... but I'd add the 2CV to the list!

TrailerBob

The Toyota BJ75 pick-up - Has carried the leaders of more Revolutions in Africa and the Middle East than you could shake a stick at. Not even a joke, this vehicle has given the revolutionaries the tough and reliable mobility they needed to take on the dictatorships. (unfortunately the Taliban and a few other unsavouries also see the merits in the Jap 4x4)





Impossibly reliable, will go anywhere a Land Rover will, but the Toyota will come back...

mb1725

1916 cadillac Type 53



First car to get three pedal (clutch, brake and throttle) layout as we know it today.

mb1725

Maybe this qualifies as revolutionary?



Amphicar

BEASTERLY

About as revolutionary as it gets, the Audi Quattro. Made 4WD a technology of performance, not just utility. A design which caused a renaissance in rallying. Everything from Porches to Subaru's and Evo's now have this technology at their heart. And of course Audi themselves still keep the Quattro's legacy alive in some fantastic cars.

RandomAccess

The Mini and the 911, perhaps even the Lotus Elise in its original guise.

The Making of the Lotus Elise

I don't consider the Veyron revolutionary at all.

bijapos

JupiterKid wrote: »

What cars do you consider revolutionary? When they came out they totally changed the face of motoring?

My three picks would be the following...

The VW Beetle (1937). Given birth by the Nazis, ended up being an icon of the hippies.

Given birth by Hans Ledwinka of Tatra with due respect. Hitler with the assistance of Ferdinand Porsche stole the designs and VW duly paid Tatra compensation in the 1960's.

The Austin Mini (1959). Just changed everything and heralded the incredible decade of social and cultural change - the 1960s - that just lay ahead.

The VW Golf (1974). Another revolution in cars. Introduced the modern hatchback to the world.

Agree with the Mini, the R4 (early 60's) and R16 (mid 60's) were the first really big selling hatchbacks, over a decade before the Golf.


Revolutionary for me are cars such as the DKW F1, the first mass produced FWD car which was bettered by the Traction Avant. The DS brought so many new things in one car. Audi mass produced four wheel drive in cars, though Jensen had a four wheel drive system in the 60's. Saab mass producing Turbo driven cars is also revolutionary as was Mercedes' decision to produce diesel engines in upmarket cars in the 30's and the ford Model T for obvious reasons.

The Renault Scenic is also revolutionary for it's design as are the Prius and Tesla for their alternative drivetrains, so too are safety innovators such as a range of Volvo cars, or the Merc W126 being the first car with ABS widely available as an option and the Ford Granada III offering it as standard in the mid 80's.