Top 10 – Cars of the 80s

Monday 23rd May 2011, 8:00AM BST.

KITT car:

The iconic KITT car that helped Michael Knight in Knight Rider is undoubtably one of the most recognisable cars from the 1980s.

The KITT car was a 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am, albeit with one or two modifications - such as artifical intelligence...

Image: Jay Bonvouloir/Flickr

The eighties were a classic decade – you had Back to the Future and Top Gun on the cinema screens, Miami Vice on TV and big hair just about everywhere.

And there were also some great cars released too – many of which retain cult status today.

So click on the gallery to your right to take a trip back in time to the best cars of the eighties.

What is your favourite car from the eighties? Leave a comment below.

1
Phil

May 23, 2011 at 14:47

Poorly considered choice of cars with a couple of exceptions. Ill informed and childish.

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- The Original Jake
  
  May 23, 2011 at 15:28
  
  Poorly considered? I grew up in the eighties and these were THE cars of that decade.
  
  The choice is spot on.
  
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- Andy H
  
  May 25, 2011 at 12:41
  
  rubbish. This kind of list is always going to have a high degree of subjectivity. In my view, its a fair sample of everyman aspirational and fantasy cars.
  
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2
Mark

May 23, 2011 at 15:59

Pretty good list, and generally agree with most of the nominations.

However, is there room for 2 supercars? I would also add the Toyota MR2 Mk1.

Perhaps the ZR3i and / or the Cabriolet.

Maybe try to squeeze in the Corrado too!

Ooh, its a hard choice!
Good stuff.

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- Todd Nash
  
  May 23, 2011 at 16:25
  
  I had a bit of a debate with myself about including two Ferraris in the list, but went with it because the F40 is still considered one of the greatest supercars ever and the Testarossa was in one of the iconic TV shows of the decade and still stands out to me. MR2 is a great shout (maybe I needed a top eleven!)
  
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3
salopian-sparky

May 24, 2011 at 07:19

My 87 Ford Granada the best car of the 80s.

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4
winja

May 24, 2011 at 22:32

To be fair, that’s a pretty representative list of iconic 80′s cars.

For me, it’s a toss up between the F40, the 288GTO, and the Porsche 959. All equally beautiful and examples of the top speed wars of the 80′s (not that I care that the F40 will do 201 compared to the 959′s 198….)

However:

[pedant]The Lancia Delta was not a rally icon of the 80′s, it was conceived in the 70′s. The Delta Integrale was the 80′s icon. Similarly, the Porsche 911 Turbo – although associated with the 80′s – was introduced in 1975. As was the Golf GTi.[/pedant]

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- The Original Jake
  
  May 25, 2011 at 11:28
  
  The 959 was my poster car in the eighties, although I didn’t actually have a poster of it. Then I saw one again recently on Top Gear. What an ugly thing!
  
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- Todd Nash
  
  May 25, 2011 at 12:47
  
  Top knowledge there winja – I was about to argue with you on the Delta point until I did some more research and realised that you’re quite right!
  
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5
Peter

May 25, 2011 at 06:53

Surely instead of the supercars, at least make room for an Escort SR3i? A white one, possibly with the soft top. Seemed like a definitive 80s car to me!

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- Andy
  
  May 27, 2011 at 21:30
  
  Peter,I agree, most young people drove the Ford Escort and I even saw a red one today in Telford in good condition!!
  
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6
twisting my melon

May 25, 2011 at 14:43

The Austin Maestro was a real classic, and an excellent caravan puller

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7
roadrunner

May 25, 2011 at 15:00

“Surely instead of the supercars, at least make room for an Escort SR3i? A white one, possibly with the soft top. Seemed like a definitive 80s car to me!”

Bothe the XR3 and fiesta (one of fords best selling cars) were introduced late seventies but you are right the XR3i was iconic of the eighties.

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- spencer
  
  May 25, 2011 at 16:22
  
  I beg to differ, the XR3 is an 80′s icon because it was launched in 1980.
  
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  - winja
    
    May 25, 2011 at 22:23
    
    I believe you’re correct there, spencer. And endorsed on film by Sir Jackie Stewart (do a youtube search)
    
    On the subject of the 959, looks are – of course – purely subjective. But there was a poster of a silver one on my wall in my teenage years. One cannot argue with the tech deployed in it though: 4 wheel drive, 4 wheel steering, adaptive suspension, twin sequential turbochargers. All in a road car in 1985.
    
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8
Tyrone Shoelaces

May 25, 2011 at 16:43

What no Fiats? The early 80′s were a few years of Fiats for me – a 128 3p (brilliant car), Strada (piece of junk), and a Panda (economical – sorry that’s the best I can offer).

What about the X-19 and Uno turbo? Exactly, what about them?

Closed out the ’80′s with a Golf GTI (possibly the most fun car I have ever owned) and a Jag XJS, straight 6, 32 valve, 5-speed manual (wind it up and it went like a rocket – 2* the limit on the M54 driving up from London late on a Friday night – very naughty).

A good decade from what I can remember!

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9
ANDREW FINCH

May 25, 2011 at 18:23

Where is the YUGO ZASTAVA?,WHERE IS THE LADA?? LOADS ON THE ROAD IN THE MID TO LATE 80′S TRUE CLASSICs OF THE OPEN ROAD.Never saw many of the super cars on the road.

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10
face

May 26, 2011 at 11:00

Peaugeuot 205 simple but effective journeyman of the 80′s

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11
Peter

May 26, 2011 at 15:28

Very good point, face. Can’t believe I didn’t mention the Peugeot 205. My first car was a diesel 205, 1985 vintage in ‘champagne’ (beige!). Fine car, it did about 120,000 miles before I traded it in. Mind you, at the end it had a tendency for the engine to cut out and the driver’s door to pop open, on one occasion at the same time as I pulled out onto Meole island (before the lights arrived)!

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12
Reverend Frog

May 26, 2011 at 16:21

can’t really argue with this list. Would have liked to have seen a McLaren-TAG MP4/2 in there – the most successful F1 of the 80s. The blog wasn’t necessarily about just road cars, after all….

Would also have liked to have seen the VW Scirocco 16V in there, which was the fastest VW of the time, but they didn’t sell too many of them.

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- winja
  
  May 26, 2011 at 22:14
  
  Great call on the MP4/2C.
  
  Another poster car of my teenage years.
  
  Apart from being one of the best looking F1 cars since the Lotus 72, famous for being the car that Niki Lauda won his 3rd F1 title in by half a point from Alain Prost. Lovely thing.
  
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- Todd Nash
  
  May 27, 2011 at 08:55
  
  That’s a brilliant shout Reverend – I’ll admit that I didn’t think about F1 cars, but if I did it again I’d have to find room for the McLaren.
  
  Always difficult to try and cut the list down to ten, but glad to see that it’s got people talking!
  
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13
Paul Eaton-Jones

May 27, 2011 at 11:36

Ah yes the 1980′s, the decade when taste, style and restraint decided to take a sabbatical from music and fashion AND car design. A decade that could be summed up by the Yugo, the elegant but mechanically poor XJS, the shed that was the Granada/Consul and of course the Maestro. The worst decade of the 20th century bar the War years.

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14
atcham jack

May 27, 2011 at 16:41

a mini
b bmw2002
c toyota celica

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15
Andy

May 27, 2011 at 21:28

You forgot the Morris Marina and the Capri!!!

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