Top Exotic Cars of the 60s

The 1960s were an era of contrast – peace and love, and the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam. Civil rights progression, and active hatred. Cars are something of an exception in this time of dualities, there weren’t really huge contrasts, but there was a huge amount of experimentation that fits in with the zeitgeist of the decade – one of pushing boundaries and trying things that had never been attempted before. It’d be extremely easy to make a top 20, or even top 50 lists of cars of that era, but instead, I am limited to 5, and an advisory word limit that I’m encroaching on even now. So, let’s get down to business, and take a look through the most exceptional cars the decade has to offer.

#5 The Aston Martin DB5 (1963-1965)

Aston Martin DB5

The epitome of Aston Martin, the DB5 combined Aston’s engineering expertise with the design skill of Italian design house Carrozzeria Touring. The car boasted an extremely powerful 4L straight six, producing nearly 300bhp, and boosting wannabe Bonds to 60 mph in 8 seconds. Inside, Aston laid on a feast of accessories, including an in-dash record player.

The car is a beautiful thing to behold, and is more than just a car, it’s a symbol of the 1960s and swinging London, a symbol of success and elegance, and a car that will never be forgotten, either by Aston Martin or car-lovers, and that’s why its on our list.

#4 Porsche 911 (1963-present)

Porsche 911

From a car that its manufacturers will never forget to one that is still being built and raced today – the Porsche 911. Yep, that’s right, the Porsche 911 has been around for over 50 years, beginning life as a replacement for the Porsche 356, a car which had its design rooted firmly in the 1950s. The 911 was like a breath of fresh air after nearly 20 years of the 356, bringing crisper, more modern looks, and better performance. For a comparison, just take a look at the most powerful engine available in the 356, a 2L flat four, producing around 129hp, and compare it to the 1966 911S’ engine, which produced 160hp. The 911 was a much-needed improvement over its predecessor.

The 911 has come a long way since 1964, but it could be argued that the successes and respect given to both modern 911s and Porsche as a whole, owes almost everything to this little car that rolled out of the Stuttgart works over 50 years ago.

#3 Lamborghini Miura (1966-1973)

Lamborghini Miura

The Miura is probably most widely known as the car featured in the beginning of the Italian Job, being ruthlessly destroyed by members of the Mafia…a hell of a waste of a great car. The Miura was Lamborghini’s flagship model throughout the late 60s, and was an instant design classic, boasting a sculpted body, and a powerful 4L V12 tucked away inside.

The car could hit a top speed of around 170 mph, making it a supercar even by today’s standards, and was named for a type of fighting bull, with Lamborghini’s iconic badge being new at the time. The Miura made a huge impact on the world of supercars, and is still regarded as a very important car to this day. This mixture of influence, power, and beauty make it a natural fit on our list.

#2 The Jaguar E-Type (1961-1975)

Jaguar E-Type

Now granted, this car’s production run outlasted the 60s by half a decade, but if you want to look at where high-performance British car making was in that era, you need only look at the E-Type. Jaguar managed to create a car that elegantly mixed breath taking looks with high performance. The car’s sculpted headlights, and long, elegant body shape made it, like the Miura, instantly iconic, with the MoMA going so far as to have a roadster permanently installed, recognizing its importance in the history of automotive design.

The car’s 4.2L straight six let it reach 60 mph in 7 seconds, and letting it hit a top speed of 150 mph, numbers which, for the time, were really something, and are not too shabby today. They go for a pretty penny these days, but when they were new, they were actually pretty cheap – an XKE E-Type could be picked up new in 1967 for as little as $5,380, or around $38,000 today. The car was a winning combination of looks and speed, and was accessible to a wide-range of customers, bringing the joys of supercar motoring to a more general audience. For all of these reasons, it’s more than earned a place on our list.

#1 The Ford Mustang (1964-present)

Ford Mustang

When I was compiling this list, I knew that there had to be at least one muscle car in here somewhere…the hard part was choosing which one. You’ve got the Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, and Pontiac Firebird, all of which are landmarks in their own right, but in the end there can only be one. I chose the Mustang because it is everything that a muscle car should be, loud, powerful, and, well, muscular. Bullit may have had something to do with it too.

In the end though, the classic combination of looks and power won me over. You’ve only got to look at the Mustang to know that you’ve got a beast on your hands. No car that looks like this: bulky, aggressive, and ready for a fight, could be anything other than a powerhouse. Under the hood, you could find a range of engines, all of them powerful, from a 2.8L straight-six to the monster that is the 7L Ford 385 engine. If you went for 7L Cobra Jet V8, you’d be getting one of the fastest cars of the era, taking just 5.5 seconds to hit 60, and completing a quarter mile in 8.4 more. The Mustang was the King of the Drag Race, driven by the King of Cool. A natural match, and a natural number 1 on our list.

Also Read: Top 5 Cars of the 90s