Ten Cool Cars from the 1970s

The 1970s is a decade known for many things, and one of them should be cool cars. While we had to deal with fuel shortages, stricter emission standards, and regulations that made some cars die out, there were some seriously fun cars developed in the 1970s. Let’s take a look at these cars and take a ride down the road of nostalgia for a bit of fun.

DeTomaso Pantera

The DeTomaso Pantera was a collaboration car in the greatest sense. Alejandro DeTomaso was from Argentina and lived in Modena, Italy. The Pantera was designed by Tom Tjaarda, an American, and it was powered by a Ford 351 V8 engine. You could find this car at Lincoln-Mercury dealerships in the 1970s. This beautiful car offered the style, performance, and fun that many Americans enjoyed driving on the road. More than 7,000 of these cars were made during the 20 years the car was being built and it’s one of the coolest cars that you can find when you want to have a great drive.

Lancia Stratos HF

If you wanted a car that oozed cool for your drive on the road, the Lancia Stratos HF is the car that’s right for you. The original concept was designed by Bertone to bring more business to Lancia. The Stratos HF was the production model of the Stratos Zero concept and the first car specifically designed to be a rally car. This car was a huge success at rally championships in 1974, 1975, and 1976 after the required 400 models were built and sold. The only reason this car wasn’t more dominant was a change in the rules for rally car driving.

BMW M1

The first car from the BMW Motorsports division was the M1 and it was a car that BMW jointly developed with Lamborghini. There were a few prototypes created before the BMW team brought the car home. Early development issues ensued, but that didn’t stop the BMW team from creating the street-legal M1 car. The M1 Procar Series models were driven by the five fastest F1 drivers which gave the BMW team a great way to show off this incredible car. The M1 was and still is one of the most impressive cars from the 1970s.

Iso Rivolta Grifo Series II

With a name that long, you expect a car to be great. The Iso Rivolta Grifo Series II is a car that was powered by a simple Corvette engine and designed by Giugiaro. This car became an instant classic and when it came into the 1970s, it received a new front-end with hidden headlights and the Chevy 454 engine. There’s no denying the look and the coolness of this car that gave you the power and fun that you desired during the 1970s.

BMW 3.0CSL Batmobile

The BMW 3.0CSL was lightweight and a racing version of one of the most attractive cars ever made by BMW, the E9. This car used aluminum for the hood, trunk, and doors and thinner gauge steel for the body to save weight. The Batmobile version was the most polarizing of the group with the addition of a front air dam, short roof spoiler, and a three-piece wing on the trunk. This was one cool car from the 1970s.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

When you wanted an amazing sound and the power of an excellent engine, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage was the car that gave you everything you were looking for in the 1970s. This car offered the aerodynamics to make it quick with a top speed of 170 mph. You’d find a front air dam, a blanked-off radiator, and a trunk spoiler to keep this car under control. The speed and quickness of the V8 Vantage were unheard of in the 1970s but this car had it in spades.

Porsche 930 –The Widowmaker

In the 1970s, the Porsche 930 was known as one of the most dangerous cars to drive, and that’s why so many people loved it. This car wasn’t one you wanted to drive in the rain or on old tires, but it had the power and performance to carve up the road andgive you a fast lap at the track. You had to make sure you were fully focused on the drive when you pushed this car to the limit, but it was an exhilarating experience.

Ferrari 365 GT4/BB

Every single car that comes out of the Ferrari factory is a cool car for you to have a wild ride. In the 1970s, the Ferrari 365 GT4/BB was at the top of the list. This amazing car used a 12-cylinder mid-engine build to give us a car that had tons of power. This engine was the first boxer-12 engine to make it possible to go fast. You could take this car to 175 mph when you took it out to the track to show off for your friends.

Lamborghini Countach

The walls of the bedrooms around the world were filled with posters of the Lamborghini Countach. Even today, this car is one of the most popular and talked about Lamborghini models in the market. If you wanted to have an iconic look and the benefits of scissor doors, a ground-scraping stance, the wedge style, and absolutely no visibility at all, the Countach was the answer. This car would rocket to a top speed you loved and gave you the excitement you wanted to feel when you took it out on the track.

Citroen SM

One of the absolutely coolest cars of the 1970s was the Citroen SM. This French car was ready to give you the smooth style you admired and the feeling you would always remember. The hydraulic suspension of the SM was so good that Rolls Royce licensed it and the opulent leather interior gave you the feeling of pure French quality during your drive. The odd-single-spoke steering wheel made it easier for you to watch the gauges when you took this car to the track.