We all know what were the greatest sports cars of the sixties—cars like the Jag E-type, Shelby Cobra, Ferrari 275 GTB/C among them. Yeah, if you were around back when any of those were new, you probably couldn’t have afforded them. Today, they’re all worth a king’s ransom and so you probably still can’t afford them. That doesn’t mean however that there weren’t some great sports cars in the sixties—arguably the genre’s heyday—that weren’t then and perhaps aren’t now out of reach.
What we want to know today is your opinion on which of those was the greatest sports car for the rest of us. From the Midgets, Alpines, 850s, B-GTs, Spitfires, Datsun Fairladys, etc, which do you think was the greatest everyman sports car?
Image: ThingsLooksGood
Hooniverse Asks: What’s the Greatest Everyman Sports Car of the 1960s?
By Robert Emslie
Feb 8, 2016
Jeff Glucker
America’s sports car.
Big block, small block, fuel injection or a whole bunch of carburetion, independent suspension, 4 wheel discs, knock off wheels, and more, starting around $4,000.
http://tocmp.org/chevrolet/corvette/Vette'65%2008&09.jpg
Came here to say that. Adjusted for inflation, it works out to low $30k price range in today’s dollars, about the same as a nicely equipped V-6 Camaro.
Was the Corvette ever an everyman’s car though? The values given by inflation calculators always seem low to me, or perhaps they do not relate to the real value of money well.
They might be on the upper end of an eye everyman car when new, but as a less than 5 year old used car, they definitely qualify. I bought my 1994 Corvette in 1998 with less than 10k miles for the same price as a new Z -28.
I was referring to the 1960s, wouldn’t $4,000 have been roughly double the standard family car back then?
A new Chevy was in the high $2000 price range. Corvettes have always been about twice the price of a full size Chevrolet.
America’s affordable sports car. Starting in the low $2000s.
http://mycarquest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/volvo-1963-p1800-ad-a1-766×102-553e50eeec85e.jpg
In today’s dollars, that tag line is even more amusing.
If that were today’s dollars, I’d doubtless own at least one brand-spanking-new 1800. Inflation is mind-boggling, and it, of course, appears worse the higher the nominal amounts are.
What we don’t often consider, is our wages at the time. I didn’t start driving until 1969, and considering minimum wage was $1.65 and only working part time my first car was $100. It took almost 20 years before I could afford a new car.
According to the BLS Inflation Calculator, that $3995 is $30,943.89 currently. Just for an added reference point, that’s within a couple bucks of the Mazda6 i Grand Touring’s MSRP.
So the 13k Ferrari would be ~100kUSD today. Would this get you a new one today, in the US? I don’t even know what the smallest/cheapest current one is called, and where I live, 100k will get you a Volvo XC90, an Alfa 4C, or a 2.3L Mustang convertible…
and the BMW 507 ?? that is the one I wants
Okay, so how about the investment? I had a look at NADA guide numbers. Going for average retail, even though I was tempted to go for “low” – Hooniverse! – but that would be…harsh on the Volvo. Cough. List goes: car – original MSRP – average retail 2016 – nominal value increase. The ad is from 1963, so that’s what I was looking for:
1963 Aston Martin DB5 – 12500 – 352500 – factor 28.2
1963 BMW 507 – 10500 – not listed ~ someone who can chime in?
1963 Facel Vega Facel II – 12990 – 276500 – factor 21.3
1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica – 12900 – 2172100 – factor 168.4
1963 Maserati 3500 GTI – 11400 – 139100 – factor 12.2
1963 Mercedes Benz 300SL – 11099 – 501500 – factor 45.2
1963 Volvo P1800 – 3995 – 18700 – factor 4.7
As an investment, the economics of these purchases are pretty clear. Wow.
that last BMW 507 I saw sold for a zillion or two, something like that.
Close to what I was expecting…
Big Healey.
http://cdn.barrett-jackson.com/staging/carlist/items/Fullsize/Cars/19403/19403_Front_3-4_Web.jpg
Little Healey
Much more everyman, sadly.
Especially in it’s native UK. Punitive post-war purchase tax, which was still in effect made most sports car much more expensive in relation to average income than in most export markets. The more “luxurious” a car was percieved as, the higher the tax. The spartan little sprite was a hell of a lot more affordable. Anyone interested in the social context of the british sports car in the UK at the time, or just interested in british sports cars in general should find this BBC Timeshift documentary interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzoolNs7sHQ
Both came out in the 1950s though, but the Spridget is a great nomination, arguably more interior space than the MGB, no archaic lever action shoccks and can be made to go faster
The 1960s were the height for British sports cars in America. Pick your favorite.
Datsun 2000 roadster – capable performance, 5-speed gearbox, style, and build quality that would embarrass the English makers. The only real weak point was rust.
I’d love to say the BMW 1600, but it wasn’t 100% there yet as far as how good BMWs became as everyday, daily driven sports sedans.
I’d throw an Alfa Giulia in the mix, but it was too expensive (to buy and maintain for the discussion.
So I’ll say the 1966 Lotus Cortina, original MSRP $3420.
http://image.automobilemag.com/f/10549913+w1000+h667+q80+re0/0809_01_z%2b1963-66_ford_lotus_cortina%2bside_view.jpg
You took my answer. Well done.
came here to say the same thing. Nice choice.
Posted at…you know where…just now. Fits well:
Can’t agree that a Lotus Cortina is a sportscar, I am a fan of them but it is a sedan. I don’t know that it was a lot cheaper than the Alfa either.
The MGB is hard to argue against, sales-wise, but I’ve always liked the Fiat 124 Spider..
Italian styling, Italian engineering, Italian reliability.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/64/51/a7/6451a7dfdc263acc715ca39a74cb8751.jpg
And yes, I do want a new one.
This, and “is your mechanic having more fun with your sports car than you?”-ads was Volvo’s angle back in the day:
http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/1e/00/27/1e0027e8f815d0876eca77fb5cd7bb42.jpg
If I were a sports car guy, I’m not sure if that alone would convince me. Yet I lean more towards the grand tourer anyway.
Lord, yes. The Miata of its day for sure. I’d take one now.
Go-kart handling, strong enough to rally, and affordable enough for a young man just getting his start in the world.
http://media.caranddriver.com/images/10q1/338131/mini-cooper-s-at-the-1965-monte-carlo-rally-photo-338235-s-1280×782.jpg
sorry for the accidental down vote!
I hadn’t tought about the mini… but it looks like the right answer. What was the original price? (to compare it to the $3420 of the cortina above)
1964 – $1730
1965-1966 – $2350
I apologize for the post-74 rubber bumper car but something about this pic struck me.
http://www.thecarbar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/1977-MGB-For-Sale-1-1024×768.jpg
There’s no car in that photo.
There ARE big bumpers though. Whether they contain rubber or not is unknown.
I suppose the answer depends upon how sporting you wanted your sports car. This was a tick under $3K in 1965.
Not for everyone of course, too extreme for some, even among misery loving brits, but it was a brilliant cheap sports car in the sens of a dual purpose road/race car and really evolved out of the Austin 7 specials that were the backbone of grassroots motorsport in the UK (like hot rodding was in the US). There is still a motorsport club running that is named after the engine capacity that 7 specials ran under the “750 formula”
http://www.750mc.co.uk/about.htm
built by a few kids, under the shed out back, with little money, hammers, and brazing torches. ( all I could think of , the other great answers are taken )
With only 7,500-10,000 produced and sold throughout the world,I don’t know if they were exactly for every man, but they sure were great cars.
Then there’s the Matra Djet…
http://motorbase.s3.amazonaws.com/pictures/contributions/990913/std_1966_matra_djet_5s_luxe-1.jpg
I’ve only owned one ’60s sports car, so my opinion may be subject to sampling bias.
https://themarquisblogger.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/110.jpg