15 Cars We Want Retroed From the '60s

In our collective opinion, the '60s might have been the best decade to be an auto enthusiast. The designs were fantastic. There were sporty, powerful, and luxurious cars at every price point, and we were all blissfully ignorant regarding the dangers of greenhouse gases. The auto companies were in great positions to take risks, and so they did. Some of those risks played out nicely.

It was all about the cars. The result is that some of the coolest cars ever made came out of the '60s. So what if car brands could treat their late models like sneaker brands treat old shoes? What if they could say, "you know, everybody loved this car, let's bring it back for a limited release and make everybody wait in line then charge double what they originally cost?" Okay, maybe they could leave out the second half of that, but how great would it be to drive over to your Chevy dealer tomorrow and see a brand new '69 Camaro straight from the factory? We like to fantasize, which is why we built this list of 15 Cars We Want Retroed From the '60s.

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Year: 1961-1973

There was a time when suave super spies on TV could drive a Volvo and it wasn't a joke. That time was the '60s when Volvo was making the beautiful P1800. The company hasn't even been half this cool since.

Year: 1967-1970

The Japanese auto industry, in its early years, did not make many inspiring cars. Most of them were extra-bland commuter appliances, and the ones that had a bit of design flair were usually sporting plagarized designs. The Toyota 2000GT, on the other hand, is just a beautiful example of what a sports car should look like. If you can fit in it, it's perfect.

Year: 1964-1967

In Italy "GTO" means "gran turismo omologato," but here in the States it means a good-looking Pontiac with a massive body and massively powerful V8. Pontiac tried to recapture the magic in later years, but never quite got it right, and now Pontiac's dead. They should have just remade this one.

Year: 1968-1970

We're still mad that Dodge used the Charger's name on a family sedan. Back in the day it was a proper muscle car, and in many ways the heart of Mopar. We miss those days.

Year: 1962-1963

Carroll Shelby is probably the single most influential person when it comes to American motorsport. He had his hand in so many iconic racing cars, but the one that is, to this day, most associated with him is the Cobra. Shelby took a lightweight British sports can and put a roaring American V8 in it. The result was a legend.

Year: 1969

The '60s were the golden era of American muscle cars, and there was something seriously special about this one. Not only was it fantastically powerful, but it featured a perfect design as well. The proportions are spot-on, and there's no element that seems like an afterthought. It's a cohesive whole.

Year: 1967

America used to make it's own big, powerful grand tourers and none is more loved than the Chevelle. The biggest difference between the European and American GTs: Average guys could buy a Chevelle.

Year: 1961-1969

Once upon a time, Lincolns were more than just Fords with a bit more leather on the inside and weird mustache grilles. They were glorious symbols of American economic might and excess, and none moreso than the four-door convertibles. This was the kind of car that was populated by heads-of-state on parade and well-to-do businessmen and entertainers. If the rat pack were headed down to San Deigo for the weekend, it would probably be in one of these.

Year: 1962-1964

Once the words "Gran Turismo Omologato" were emblazoned on a Ferrari, nothing was the same. While the GTO badge may have been tarnished in recent years by the 599 GTO, which wasn't homologated for anything, the first GTO was indeed little more than a race car. It wasn't just a race car, though, it was a race car that was based on the most gorgeous and timeless car Ferrari has ever made: the 250. It's no wonder that 250 GTOs now fetch as much as $52 Million.

Year: 1967-1968

We don't just want a GT 390 Fastback, we want it in dark green, and we want to be Steve McQueen, and we want those sunglasses, and we want to drive it in San Francisco.

Year: 1960-1963

The Aston Martin DB5 gets all the press, because the world's most conspicuous spy drove it in a few noteworthy films, but we don't think it was the sexiest Aston of the '60s. The DB4 GT Zagato was based on the DB4, which was very similar to the DB5, but given a sexier, curvier, and more dramatic body by the brilliant Italian designers at Zagato. This is certainly the greatest vintage Aston.

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Year: 1963

In 1963, for one fleeting year, the beautiful C2 Corvette Stringray was graced by a dramatic split rear window. Internal politics at GM did away with it in '64, but the world has never forgotten, and the '63 Split Window is, to this day, one of the most desired and valuable 'Vettes.

Year: 1961-1974

The Jaguar E-Type had everything going for it. It was on par with Italian supercars that cost three times as much, was luxuriously appointed, and was quite simply just one of the best-looking cars ever made. Enzo Ferrari even went so far as to describe it as the "most beautiful car ever made," despite having an obvious vested interest in not doing so.

Year: 1964-1969

After a botched business deal between Henry Ford and Enzo Ferrari, Ford proved he understood the Italian concept of a vendetta by making the GT40, a Le mans racer designed solely to kick Enzo's ass on track. It did, and the rest is one of the greatest moments in American racing history.

Year: 1967-1969

This is everything we want an exotic Italian car to be. It was made to put Alfa Romeo's racing technology on a road car, which makes for instant credibility, it looks gorgeous, exotic, and organic, and we think it's the coolest Alfa ever. Most importantly, it sounds absolutely perfect.