TOP 5 LEGENDCAR

The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second

generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Production began in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964

and the car was introduced to the public on April 17, 1964 at the New York World's Fair. It is Ford's second oldest

nameplate currently in production next to the F-Series pickup truck line. However the F-series pickup truck has

undergone major nameplate changes over the years. The Mustang was Ford's most successful launch since the

Model A.

The Mini is a small car that was produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until

2000. The original is considered an icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout (that allowed

80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage) influenced a generation of car-makers.

The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent to its German contemporary, the Volkswagen Beetle,

which enjoyed similar popularity in North America. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of

the 20th Century, behind the Ford Model T

The Chevrolet Corvette (sometimes referred to as a Vette) is a sports car manufactured in six generations by

General Motors (GM) since 1953. The first Corvette was designed by Harley Earl and named by Myron Scott after

the fast ship of the same name. Originally built in Flint, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri, it is currently built at a

GM assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The National Corvette Museum and annual National Corvette

Homecoming, also located in Bowling Green, celebrate the car's history.

The Volkswagen Type 1 is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until

2003. It used an air cooled rear engined rear wheel drive RR layout.

In the 1950s it was more comfortable and powerful than most European small cars, having been designed for

sustained high speed on the Autobahn, and ultimately became the longest-running and most-produced automobile

of a single design. It remained a top seller in the US, even as rear-wheel drive conventional subcompacts were

refined, and eventually replaced by front-wheel drive models. Its success owed much to its extremely high build

quality, and innovative and eye catching advertising. The Beetle car was the benchmark for both generations of

American compact cars such as the Chevrolet Corvair, and subcompact cars such as the Chevrolet Vega and Ford

Pinto. It was a German equivalent and counterpart to the Morris Minor, Renault 4CV, Citroen 2CV, Fiat 600, Saab

92, and Volvo PV444 immediate post war European economy cars. The 1959 Austin Mini that pioneered the use of

the transverse front wheel drive FF layout[citation needed], was the beginning of a switch to front wheel drive by

European manufacturers in the 1960s and 1970s, Volkswagen were among the last to change with the Golf, after

nearly going bankrupt. The Beetle was thirteen feet long and the Mini was only ten feet, but they had similar

interior space.

The AC Cobra was a British built and designed sports car that was produced during the 1960s.

History and development

Like many British specialist manufacturers, AC Cars had been using the smooth, refined Bristol straight-6 engine in

its small-volume production, including its AC Ace 2-seater roadster. This had a hand built body with a steel tube

frame, and aluminium body panels that were made using English wheeling machines. The engine was a pre-World

War II design of BMW which by the 1960s was considered dated. Bristol decided in 1961 to cease production of its

engine and instead to use Chrysler 313cid (5.1 L) V8 engines. Although untrue, it is commonly believed that AC was

left without a future source of power and that American ex-racing driver Carroll Shelby saved the company from

bankruptcy. AC started using the 2.6 litre Ford Zephyr engine in its cars. In September 1961, Shelby airmailed AC a

letter asking them if they would build him a car modified to accept a V8 engine. AC agreed, provided a suitable

engine could be found. He first went to Chevrolet to see if they would provide him with engines, but not wanting

to add competition to the Corvette they said no. Ford however, wanted a car that could compete with the

Corvette and they happened to have a brand new thin-wall small-block engine which could be used in this

endeavor. It was Ford's 260 in³ HiPo (4.2 L) engine - a new lightweight, thin-wall cast small-block V8 tuned for high

performance. In January 1962 mechanics at AC Cars in Thames Ditton, Surrey fitted the prototype chassis CSX0001

with a 221ci Ford V8. After testing and modification, the engine and transmission were removed and the chassis
was air-freighted to Shelby in Los Angeles on 2 February 1962. His team fitted it with an engine and transmission in

less than eight hours and began road-testing.