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5 Best Supercars of the 1970s

They’re inefficient, a little hard to drive in the urban jungle, and not exactly practical. On the upside, they intertwine good looks with performance – both in a straight line and in the corners – like no other type of automobile out there. The supercar is often used to flaunt one’s wealth and status to the detriment of character and personality, but on its own, this kind of automobile is the closest thing to four-wheeled art. Sure, an old-school Alfa Romeo convertible is bite-the-back-of-your-hand gorgeous. But parked next to a Miura P400 from that era, the Alfa simply doesn’t stand a chance of making jaws drop as hard as the Raging Bull.
1977 Lamborghini Countach LP400 Periscopio Remi Dargegen Courtesy of RM Sotheby's (1) 43 photos
Photo: Remi Dargegen Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
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Often considered the first of its kind, the Miura is also contested by some peeps. On the other hand, the naysayers ignore the fact that “supercar” isn’t the right word to describe the Matra Djet, a curious-looking machine offered through 1967 with a selection of 996- to 1,255-cc engines of the four-cylinder variety and of Renault origin. The French sports car may be the first mid-engined production road car, but the Miura improved on this concept with tons of sexiness, the power of a V12, and a desirable badge.

The Miura features a Giotto Bizzarrini-designed engine that produces 345 horsepower (350 ps) in P400 guise, thus casting a shadow over Ferrari’s road-going lineup. The 3.9-liter V12 elevated the Miura to bedroom poster material because it was key to the Miura being the fastest production road car of its time. The numbers game soldiered on to this day, with every single player in the segment pushing for better acceleration, top speed, lateral Gs, and other whatnots that aren’t really pertinent to real-world driving scenarios.

A trendsetter in more ways than one, the Marcello Gandini-designed Miura paved the way for pretty much every supercar in the following list, bar one. Our listicle obviously starts with the wedge-shaped marvel that replaced the Miura, a supercar that ran from 1974 to 1990. Can you believe the R35 Nissan GT-R will soon outlive it? That said, these are the 5 best supercars of the 1970s, a decade of huge changes in many areas of our daily lives:

Lamborghini Countach

1977 Lamborghini Countach LP400 Periscopio
Photo: Remi Dargegen Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
Chief engineer Paolo Stanzani began work on the Countach in 1970, then referred to as LP112. The resultant LP500 concept was revealed at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show to positive reception. Marking a departure from the soft curves of the Miura, the LP500 retained that Lamborghini-esque “je ne sais quoi” that made the Countach an instant hit in the supercar segment.

But alas, the series-production model couldn’t arrive at a worse time. The first example of the breed rolled off the assembly line in 1974, with Lamborghini getting 50 orders for the LP400 right after its debut at the 1974 edition of the Geneva Motor Show. Remember what happened one year prior? OPEC embargoed oil sales to certain western countries, the energy crisis resulted in financial oblivion for many businesses, and Lamborghini simply couldn’t weather this kind of crisis given its limited R&D budget.

The Raging Bull of Sant’Agata Bolognese may have survived the hardships of the 1970s, but Ferruccio Lamborghini called it quits in 1974. He sold his remaining stake in the car-making business to René Leimer, who – together with Georges-Henri Rossetti – would keep Lamborghini afloat until the Mimran brothers assumed control of the company in the ‘80s. The financially challenged Italian brand kept improving the Countach through 1990 when the Diablo came out, with production topping almost 2,000 units.

Ferrari 365 GT4 BB

1974 Ferrari 365 GT4 BB
Photo: Neil Fraser Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
The Daytona is revered to this day, a blue-chip collectible that played a significant role in Ferrari’s transition from the easy-going ‘60s to the more difficult ‘70s. The Daytona – officially designated 365 GTB/4 – was also somewhat anachronistic for 1968 when it came out. Lamborghini was already making the Miura back then. Ferrari itself sold a midship car in the form of the Dino-badged 206 GT, succeeded by the 246 GT in 1969.

Enzo knew that something had to change, which brings us to the first member of the BB series. 365 multiplied by 12 equals 4.4 liters, GT4 stands for gran turismo and four camshafts, and BB can be interpreted in three ways. First and foremost, designer Leonardo Fioravanti had a thing for Brigitte Bardot. Engineer Mauro Forghieri said that the original meaning was Berlinetta Bialbero, indicating the body style and dual camshafts.

The one that stuck, though, is Berlinetta Boxer even though the Tipo F102 and subsequent flat-12 mills aren’t boxers. To qualify as one, the pistons of each opposing pair of cylinders have to move inwards and outwards at the same time. Think Porsche 911. The engines in the 365 GT4 BB and subsequent Testarossa series are best considered V12 powerplants with the cylinder banks arranged at 180 degrees. Each pair of opposing pistons is designed to move in the same direction, for each pair shares a crankpin.

De Tomaso Pantera

1973 De Tomaso Pantera
Photo: KLP_1962 on Bring a Trailer
Originally a racing driver, Alejandro de Tomaso founded the namesake company in 1959. Specialized at first in racing cars and prototypes, De Tomaso would venture into road-going cars in 1963 with the Vallelunga. The Modenese outfit is best remembered for the Pantera, which wouldn’t have happened without the Ford Motor Company’s financial backing.

Styled by Tom Tjaarda at Ghia, the mid-engine super sports car was produced in just under 7,300 units from 1971 through 1992. Later revised by Marcello Gandini, the Pantera came with a selection of Ford V8s. From the 302 small block to the 351 Cleveland and Windsor, that is. The Pantera was also imported stateside, where it was sold and serviced by Lincoln-Mercury dealers as part of De Tomaso’s agreement with the Blue Oval.

Ford stopped importing the Pantera in 1975 due to way too many issues, including minimal rustproofing, poor soldering, and an overheating condition. By that time, Ford sold approximately 5,500 examples in the United States. As for famous owners, Elvis Presley, Jackie Stewart, and Tim Horton come to mind. The latter actually died in one in the early hours of February 21st, 1974, on Queen Elizabeth Way in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Type 930 Porsche 911 Turbo

1979 Porsche 930 Turbo 3\.3
Photo: 911r on Bring a Trailer
Ominously dubbed Windowmaker because it was prone to oversteer, the 930 served as the range-topping 911 for quite a few years. The first was delivered in 1975 with the 3.0-liter 930/60. The final unit would be finished in 1989 with a 3.3-liter version of the turbocharged six-cylinder engine, internally referred to as 930/60 by the Zuffenhausen-based manufacturer.

Extremely fast and pretty demanding to control, the 930 would be discontinued when the 964 replaced the G series. The G-based 930 wouldn’t be gone for good because the 930/60 carried over to the 964-gen Turbo. Initially offered exclusively as a coupe, the 930 is arguably the tamest car to make our list from the standpoint of exterior design. Even though it doesn’t have the visual drama of the aforementioned supercars, the straight-line performance of the 930 shames plenty of supercars from that epoch.

Its legacy can be found in the majority of 992s on sale today. From the entry-level Carrera to the not-yet-revealed GT2, most Neunelfers are turbocharged for better performance and improved efficiency. The GT3, however, rocks a free-breathing mill that revs to an ear-splitting 9k spinnies.

BMW M1

1980 BMW M1
Photo: Otis645 on Bring a Trailer
The origin story of the M1 involves the 1972 BMW Turbo concept (codenamed E25) and Lamborghini. The Raging Bull of Sant’Agata Bolognese, then struggling to survive, would be taken off the project in 1978 after seven prototypes were finished. Chassis production was entrusted to a Modenese company by the name of Marchesi, whereas the fiberglass bodywork was made by Modena-based Trasformazione Italiana Resina.

One of the costliest projects in BMW’s history would see Italdesign and Bauer also contracted. The Turinese outfit was tasked with bringing the bodywork and interior together, whereas the German coachbuilder handled final assembly completely by hand. The BMW M go-faster division, then known as BMW Motorsport GmbH, handled final inspection in Munich.

Referred to as E26, which is only natural given the concept’s codename, the M1 features a straight-six lump developed from that of the 3.0 CSL. The M88/1 was exclusively offered with a ZF-supplied manual transmission. Some 450 examples were produced through 1981, and the closest thing to the M1 after its canning came in the form of the now-discontinued i8.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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