In the 1970s the automotive world was going through monumental changes. A long-sceptical Ferrari was coming around to the idea of mid-engined cars, BMW had launched the first turbocharged car in Europe, Land Rover had introduced the first luxurious off-roader, and the Citroen SM was so cutting edge it was more like a four-wheel patent. In other words, the 1970s was one of the most exciting decades in car making. Here are ten of our favourites from the era.
De Tomaso Pantera (1971)
The AC Cobra had already given the world an idea of how wonderful the offspring could be when a European chassis and an American V8 powertrain got busy – the blend of deft handling and big-bore firepower proved a stunning combination on road and track.
While the Cobra was a feral sports car, the Pantera was a Countach-baiting supercar with a body from Ghia and an engine from Ford. It was every bit as breathtaking to look at – if not quite as cultured as the Lamborghini – and no less stunning to drive, thanks to the ample torque and thunderous rumble of its 5.8-litre V8. The (somewhat optimistic) theory was that Ford power iron and girders would make the Pantera nigh on indestructible, but that was certainly borne out in practice, as one Elvis Pressley found out. The Cuban collared great one – in need of a quick and dramatic getaway, having just split with his girlfriend – put two bullets in the steering wheel and one in the floor of his Pantera after its Cleveland V8 refused to turn.
BMW 2002 Turbo (1974)
Anyone turned off by the current crop of BMWs – their turbocharged engines and gawkish looks – needs only look at the 2002 Turbo to understand how kind time can be for such machines. Back in the 1970s, when the original Volkswagen Golf was considered shockingly modern, the Turbo, with its ‘Turbo’ stickers, tri-colour decals and wide arches, was just a little too much for a world in the depths of a fuel crisis. Now, though, its simple shark nose grille and single circular headlights are a marked contrast to the gopher-face, LED onslaught of its modern brethren.
Anyone who believes that the engines of modern BMWs are compromised by turbocharging should consider the 2002. Its engine struggled to generate much power below 4,000rpm – barely enough to pull the skin off a rice pudding, a popular dessert in the 1970s. However, beyond that threshold, the engine transformed entirely, delivering a surge of power through forced induction. As Europe’s first turbocharged car, the 2002 offered an exhilarating experience, propelling drivers to a top speed of 132mph. This iconic model laid the foundation for the BMW M cars cherished today and raises the question of how today’s often-criticised vehicles might be viewed 50 years from now.
Ferrari 365 GT4 BB (1971)
The 1970s was a special time for Ferrari that would see the dawn of the mid-engine machines that provide the core of the line-up today. Enzo Ferrari had always been wary of mid-engined machines; he disliked the physics – telling dinner guests in 1959, “The horse doesn’t push the cart along with its nose” – and realised his road cars’ success relied on their close ties to his race cars. But, by 1960s, he was wavering; mid-engined cars from Cooper and Lotus were dominating motorsport, and Ferrari would win its last Grand Prix with a front-engined car at Monza in 1960 after the mid-engine machines, unhappy about the track layout, boycotted the race.
The writing was on the wall, and as Ferrari’s race cars transitioned to mid-engine layouts, its road cars followed suit, beginning with the 1971 365 GT4 BB. Powered by a 4.4-liter V12, Ferrari referred to it as a “Boxer,” though it was technically a 180-degree V12 with a shared crankshaft. While Ferrari’s claim that the BB could exceed 180mph might require some skepticism, the 365 GT4 BB undoubtedly laid the groundwork for the Ferrari supercars that define the brand today.
Citroen SM (1970)
Genuine question; is the Citroen SM the coolest car of all time? Work on a sporting variant of the Citroen DS had begun in the previous decade, getting increasingly complex and spurred on by the firm’s purchase of Maserati in 1968. The Italians contributed a 2.7-litre V6, derived from Giulio Alfieri’s V8, but the rest was pure Citroen innovation. As well as the DS’s hydropneumatic suspension and cornering headlights the SM gained speed sensitive power steering, all-round disc brakes with automatic balance adjustment, rain sensitive wipers and even carbon fibre reinforced wheels as an option.
Incredibly aerodynamic for its time, the SM’s beautiful teardrop shape gave it a drag coefficient of 0.26, making it the fastest front-wheel drive production car of its day. Despite being the first non-American model to be named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year the SM was outlawed in the US as it couldn’t adopt the federal 5mph bumpers and with European buyers leery of owning a car that required both Citroen and Maserati specialists to service it, the SM was not a sales success with just under 13,000 produced.
Range Rover (1970)
The latest iteration of the Range Rover, only the fifth new generation in just over 50 years, remains true to the template established by the original. Initially inspired by some of the more refined 4x4s emerging in the US, the Range Rover was not originally conceived as the luxury icon it would soon become. Instead, it was the brainchild of Rover engineers Spen King and Gordon Bashford, who sought to create a versatile and capable vehicle that balanced rugged utility with on-road comfort.
With coil springs and disc brakes all-round, permanent four-wheel-drive and a lightweight, powerful V8 licensed from Buick, the Range Rover was a world away from the very agricultural Series Land Rovers that preceded it. Its styling, displayed in the Louvre as an “exemplary work of industrial design” was apocryphally simply the temporary sheet metal created for the prototype, but which the Rover board liked so much it insisted it stay. The original Range Rover, now referred to as the ‘Classic’ stayed in production for more than a quarter of a century and even today is in a class of its own.
Mercedes S-Class (1972)
And now another car that could be said to be the one by which all others are measured. Although its predecessor had been unofficially dubbed the ‘Sonderklasse’ or ‘special class’, the W116 generation launched in 1972 was the first to officially be designated an S-Class. Development began in 1966, just a year after the launch of the preceding W108 series with an emphasis, for the first time, on safety above styling.
So, the S-Class received more rounded styling to reduce pedestrian injuries, a padded dashboard and steering wheel, a standard first aid kit and rain gutters to help visibility. Those famous ribbed taillights were designed to remain clear of dirt and later the S-Class was among the first to fit airbags and anti-lock braking. Engines were inline six and V8 units, the latter including the monster M100 unit. At the time this was the largest engine fitted to a post-war Mercedes, creating the legendary 450 SEL 6.9 which became the fastest and quickest European saloon on sale for a number of years.
Lamborghini Countach (1974)
How do you follow a car like the Lamborghini Miura? Well initially by detailing areas for improvement in the car regarded as the first true supercar. The Miura’s high-speed handling was poor, with stability issues and a tendency to lift off oversteer. The transverse engine placement also caused weight distribution, access and cooling issues. Its replacement, dubbed ‘LP112’ had a longitudinally mounted V12 – a first for a road car – with the transmission between the front seats and driveshaft running back from it, through the engine sump, to the rear differential, placing most of the mass centrally in the space frame chassis.
The next step was to invite the Miura’s designer, Marcello Gandini back for a second go. After the curvaceous Miura, Gandini had gone on to explore extreme wedge styling with the Lancia Stratos Zero and Alfa Romeo Carabo. It was these he looked to for inspiration for the new Lamborghini with its extremely low, steep nose running straight into the windscreen, trapezoidal shapes, scissor doors and sharply truncated tail. Gandini has also claimed it was he who jokingly suggested that the car be called ‘Countach’, a Piedmontese profanity expressing surprise.
Jaguar XJ-S (1975)
Never mind the Countach, was this the hardest second album of all time? The XJ-S was Jaguar’s replacement for the E-type, so perhaps nothing would have been good enough for the era’s equivalent of internet haters. The E-type had evolved from sports car to grand tourer over its lifetime, gaining a longer wheelbase for all variants and the then-new V12 as well as the option of an automatic gearbox.
The XJS took the E-type’s final form as its starting point and ran with it. The chassis was shared with the XJ saloon and initial styling work was undertaken by Malcolm Sayer, the aerodynamicist behind the C, D and E-types. After his death it was completed by Jaguar’s in-house team led by Doug Thorpe. At launch the only engine available was Jaguar’s 5.3-litre V12, a configuration that was still something of a rarity, otherwise only offered by Ferrari and Lamborghini. This placed the XJS’s performance well above most of its competition but its consumption was not ideal in an era of fuel crises. It was joined by a straight-six variant and later a High Efficiency V12. It went on to become Jaguar’s longest serving model, soldiering on until 1996.
Lotus Esprit (1976)
Speaking of longevity, surely no one would have predicted that the Lotus Esprit would remain in production clear into another millennium. Lotus engineer Tony Rudd first outlined a successor to the Europa in 1970. Like that car it would be a mid-engined two-seat coupe and a meeting was arranged between Lotus founder Colin Chapman and Giorgetto Giugiaro. The Italian presented a quarter-scale model which Chapman was apparently dissatisfied with and minded to scrap the project.
Italdesign pushed ahead with a full-sized concept on a stretched Europa chassis, presenting it at the 1972 Turin Auto Show where public reception convinced Chapman to continue. The S1 Esprit launched in 1975 with a fibreglass body over a steel backbone chassis and fitted with the Lotus 907 inline-four. Initially underpowered despite a sub-1,000kg weight it wasn’t until early in the following decade that Lotus added turbocharging and the Esprit legend began to grow. Various redesigns and eventually a V8 kept the Esprit alive until 2004.
Porsche 928 (1977)
The 928 came about during one of Porsche’s periodic wobbles over the longevity of the 911 due to a sales slump in the mid-1970s. Then managing director Ernst Fuhrmann believed that Porsche’s future lay in luxury grand tourers rather than spartan sports cars like the 911. Porsche’s first ever clean sheet design toyed with both rear and mid-engined layouts before eventually deciding on a front engine, rear-wheel-drive set-up for packaging practicalities. A V10 based on the Audi Quattro’s five-cylinder was proposed but a 4.5-litre V8 won out with a Porsche-first of water-cooling
Thanks to all-alloy engine construction and a rear-mounted transaxle the 928 ended up with ideal 50:50 weight balance making it almost as quick as a 911 as well as easier to drive quickly, helped by a passive rear steering ‘Weissach axle’. Styling was done in-house by Wolfgang Möbius under the aegis of Porsche’s design chief Anatole Lapine. The car’s pop-up headlights were shared with the Lamborghini Miura, it had a practical hatchback and an instrument panel which moved with the steering wheel. In 1978 it was crowned European Car of the Year in 1978 – the only sports car to have done so – and remained on sale into the mid-1990s.
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