Top 10 British-made cars of all time | Top 10 - Car News Aug 2012

16:16 Tuesday 23 Apr 2013

The original Mini has been voted the greatest British car ever made in a poll conducted by Autocar magazine.

Launched in 1959, Alec Issigonis's masterpiece of small-car packaging notched up over five million sales before it was finally killed off in 2000.

Editor-in-chief at Autocar, Steve Cropley, said: "The Mini had many faults and was never profitable, but it rewrote the rules and had the biggest impact on Britain's car industry that any car has had.

"It was one of the most remarkable cars ever built, what with its seating for four plus a decent boot in its mere 10-foot length, revolutionary drive-train and gearbox and its ultra-compact suspension."

Take a look at the British cars which made the top ten and be sure to take a look at the top ten worst British-made cars.

10. London Taxi Despite undoubtedly holding the title of 'The world's most vomited-in car', the London taxi is as much a part of the fabric of this great nation as Buckingham Palace or binge-drinking. Nissan has recently unveiled a replacement for the venerable old black cab, but it's clear that the old model still holds a place in the nation's heart.
		9. McLaren MP4-12C There are those who think that the McLaren MP4-12C is the greatest car ever made. And there are those who are wrong. A masterpiece of automotive engineering.
8. Morris Minor What? The Moggy Minor, better than the McLaren MP4-12C? Nope. The Morris Minor was crap when it came out and, take it from us, the patina of age has done nothing to mask its inherent crapness. The Series II model took 52 seconds to reach 60mph which, while catastrophically slow, was a vast improvement over the Series I which ran out of puff altogether at 58mph.
		7. Caterham 7 The Caterham 7 can trace its roots back to 1957 but, despite this, it still offers just about the most fun you can have on four wheels. What has the motor industry been doing for the past fifty-five years?
6. Range Rover Evoque A strange choice, perhaps, but a sound one nevertheless. The Evoque is a superb car -- a scaled-down Range Rover with all the quality of its big brother at a third of the cost.
		5. McLaren F1 The McLaren F1 was the fastest car in the world for twelve years -- TWELVE YEARS! -- before being overtaken by the Bugatti Veyron. This was quite impressive, especially considering that the F1 was the first road car ever produced by McLaren. It was a bit of a handful by all accounts, as Rowan Atkinson discovered to his cost... twice.
4. Land Rover The Land Rover was and is about as sophisticated as a Steven Seagal movie, and as comfortable as an emergency bowel operation. However, it's still one of the greatest off-roaders that planet Earth has ever seen and it's still very cool indeed. Winston Churchill had one, don't you know.
		3. Jaguar E-Type Enzo Ferrari famously proclaimed that the Jaaaaaag E-Type was the most beautiful car ever made, and even fifty years on it still has the ability to make grown men weep with its beauty.
2. Range Rover Although its image has been tarnished somewhat by its association with Premiership footballers and 'yummy-mummies', the Range Rover is still one of the most complete cars on the road today. It does everything, and it does everything brilliantly.
		1. Mini It's no surprise that the Mini takes the crown in this poll. After all, have you ever met anyone who doesn't love it? Its critics will point out that it was long past its sell-by-date by the early seventies and that it rusted at the first sight of rain, snow, slush, hail, or even a light breeze; however, it was cracking fun to drive and retains an enormous cult following.