If the end of a year is a time for reflection, the start is a time to think about the future. Or so you’d think, anyway, but just as we do at the start of every year, we’re using 2025 to mark all the milestones of vehicles celebrating significant anniversaries.
Reaching the quarter-way mark in a century feels like some kind of significant moment in itself, but it’s a mark of how quickly cars developed in the latter half of the 20th century and the first bit of this one that cars from 20 and 25 years ago really don’t seem that old – there aren’t many in the first few categories below that we’d not be happy to use on a daily basis. Well, maybe not the ones completely open to the elements.
The usual housekeeping: We’ve tried to keep the list to models you could actually buy in their stated years; we’ve included a few that were first available in the UK market, even if they arrived a little earlier; and for US models we’ve broadly ignored model years and focused on when the car actually hit the road. And yes, we’ve probably missed some, so comment below, and if you’re polite about it, we’ll consider adding them in . . .
20 Years (2005): The Modern Car Had Arrived
Although there’s no set definition for what constitutes a modern classic, a look at the class of 2005’s yearbook isn’t a bad place to start. The year’s star pupil was undoubtedly the Bugatti Veyron, which was already a legend by the time it launched, having had a tortured development (think of it like being held back a few years before finally excelling), but among the year’s more exotic models you’ll also find the still ultra-desirable Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Executive car buyers had a new BMW 3 Series to choose from with the E90 generation, or the Alfa Romeo 159 for something a little different – the latter joined by the hunchbacked Brera coupe. Or, if they were thinking outside the box, Citroën launched the C6. Also dubbed C6, albeit not in the marketing material, was the sixth-generation Chevrolet Corvette that debuted in 2005.
Of the rest, it’s two sports cars that stand out: the third-generation “NC” Mazda MX-5, and the “987″ Porsche Boxster. Actually, make that three, as the Boxster arrived with its coupe equivalent, the Cayman. Elsewhere, other notable 2005 arrivals included the Citroën C1 (and its Peugeot and Toyota equivalents), the eighth-generation Honda Civic, the sliding-door Peugeot 1007, the Range Rover Sport, the Hummer H3 in the US, and Mercedes introduced the new B-Class, R-Class, and the W221 variant of the S-Class.
25 Years (2000): FOTU-Friendly and Sports Car Icons
Twenty-five years is a bit of a turning point in the automotive world. In several countries, it’s the official barrier beyond which cars are considered classics or historic. It’s also when the US allows vehicles to be imported from other countries.
Expect American buyers then to look at importing cars like the original Ariel Atom this year, the Lotus 340R and Exige, as well as the Noble M12, Opel Speedster and Vauxhall VX220, the TVR Typhon, and Japan’s unusual Yaris-based and retro-styled WiLL Vi. As most of that list shows, it was a pretty good year for sports cars, and British ones in particular.
Another model now a quarter-century old is the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition – a long name for perhaps the best-ever Evo variant. It actually arrived in December ’99, but most will be 2000 models as a result, and it’s joined by the Prodrive-developed Subaru Impreza P1 and the all-new second-generation “bugeye” Impreza WRX. Another notable sports model is the stunning BMW Z8.
Twenty-five years also means Festival of the Unexceptional, so eligible for the concours in 2025 are the Alfa Romeo 147, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Daihatsu YRV, the second-generation Ford Mondeo, seventh-gen Honda Civic, the Honda Stream MPV, Renault Scenic RX4, Suzuki Ignis, and Volvo S60. For something a little more upmarket, the W203 Mercedes C-Class also arrived in 2000.
30 Years (1995): Roadsters and Family Favourites
Are we ready to call 1995’s cars classics yet? Some of them, certainly: Take a bow, popular sports cars such as the BMW Z3, Fiat Barchetta, and MGF. The F1-inspired Ferrari F50 doesn’t feel like a classic in the same way a 250 GTO does, but it’s still one of the brand’s greatest-ever supercars, while the Vector M12 is an even rarer 12-cylinder machine celebrating its 30th year.
Alfa Romeo was busy in 1995, launching the 145, 146, GTV, and Spider. Alongside the Z3, BMW also released the E39 5 Series, surely one of the brand’s most accomplished cars – perhaps not something you’d say of Mercedes’ W210-generation E-Class.
Further down the pecking order, the Peugeot 406 and Volvo S40 both arrived, as did the Renault Megane, Nissan Almera, sixth-gen Honda Civic, and European Car of the Year–winning Fiat Bravo and Brava. Smaller still was the talented new Ford Fiesta Mk4, while family-car buyers had the Ford Galaxy and VW Sharan, and the new Honda CR-V to choose from. As for four-wheel drives, there was the daft but likeable Suzuki X-90, and in certain markets, the Hummer-rivalling Toyota Mega Cruiser.
40 Years (1985): Reign of the Turbocharger
Crikey, this feels like a while ago now, and 1985’s cars feel like a very different bunch from those that arrived a decade later. Alfa Romeo was still making rear-wheel-drive cars, for instance, launching the 75 this year. And hot hatches were still turbocharged: Look at the Fiat Uno Turbo and the Renault 5 GT Turbo. In fact, almost everything could be had with a turbocharger, as the Bentley Turbo R, MG Montego Turbo, and Porsche 944 Turbo all arrived in 1985, too.
On the rally stages, twincharging (turbocharging and supercharging) was the order of the day, as witnessed in the Lancia Delta S4. But a turbocharger wasn’t obligatory – the BMW M5, Ferrari 328, and Honda’s Integra, Legend, and Japanese-market Today city car all did without. Some manufacturers gave you a choice (eventually, if not in 1985 itself), such as in the Alpine GTA, “FC” Mazda RX-7, and Subaru XT, all of which debuted this year.
There were still options for the family, though. A few more humble 1985 arrivals included Hyundai’s new Excel and Sonata, as well as the nearly-a-Talbot Peugeot 309 and the Proton Saga.
50 Years (1975): Striking Designs and Profligate Performance
It’s an eclectic bunch celebrating their half-century in 2025. One of the most significant arrivals, at least in retrospect, was probably the E21-generation BMW 3 Series, which took over from the “02” models and has since gone on to pretty much define the BMW brand. Only the Volkswagen Polo from 1975 could be considered similarly significant.
Citroën made its CX available in right-hand drive in 1975. Other striking designs from this year include the Jaguar XJS, Lancia Montecarlo, Lotus Eclat, Rolls-Royce Camargue, and Triumph TR7 – though certainly some were more successful than others. And if you want to know what people were laughing at on either side of the Atlantic in the mid-1970s, then the US gave us the AMC Pacer, and Britain’s BL launched the Princess.
If you had a suitably thick wallet, then the Ferrari 308, Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9, the 930-generation Porsche 911, and the ultra-rare rotary Mazda Roadpacer might all have been options, though family cars such as the Hyundai Pony, Peugeot 604, Renault 20 and 30, and Vauxhall Cavalier were a lot more sensible. Or, if you were really hard up for fuel money, there was the frugal Reliant Kitten . . .
60 Years (1965): Sublime to Ridiculous
From the sublime to the ridiculous: 1965’s crop of new metal included the spectacular Alfa Romeo GTA, Aston Martin DB6, Ford GT40, and Shelby Mustang. But it was also the year the Peel Trident’s three wheels and bubble canopy hit the roads, making its owners look like extras from The Jetsons.
There was luxury, too, with the Bentley T-Series, Mercedes W108 and W109 saloons, and the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow favoured by ‘60s celebs, while sports car buyers had a few options as well – Britain offered the Mini Marcos and the Triumph TR4A, Germany had the four-cylinder Porsche 912, and Japan turned out the twin-cylinder Toyota Sports 800.
America’s most significant family car of 1965 was probably the Ford Bronco – one of the first examples of a more road-friendly sports utility vehicle rather than a hardcore 4×4. But regular family cars were a fixture, too, including the Opel Kadett and Rekord “B”, the Peugeot 204, the Renault 10 and smooth-riding 16, the Triumph 1300, and one of the posher variants of the ADO 16, the Wolseley 1100.
75 Years (1950): Practicality and Style
The cars of 1950 are, in 2025, as far from the present day as whatever cars will be around in the year 2100. Let that sink in for a moment, because 2100’s cars are likely to be as different from today’s as the models that debuted 75 years ago.
When you consider that list includes the original Volkswagen Type 2 split-window van, mechanically a spinoff from the wartime Beetle, it starts to feel quite alien. The Alfa Romeo 1900, for instance, was the firm’s first production line–built car, while the Lancia Aurelia effectively debuted the V6 engine design – both things we accept as commonplace today.
Ferrari was getting into its stride with the 195 Inter and the America, while it was business as usual at the British marques: The Aston Martin DB2, Jaguar Mark VII, Morgan +4, and Rolls-Royce Phantom IV were all replacements of existing models. The Jowett Jupiter expanded the Bradford brand into a new sports car market, though, while the Nash Rambler was new for the US, among the country’s first serious attempts at a “compact” car.
100 Years (1925): Alive and Kicking
A handful of cars would receive a telegram from the King this year, as they reach their century on this planet. Some are from brands no longer with us, such as the Hillman 14 and Sunbeam 3-Litre.
But others are still alive and kicking, even if they’re perhaps undergoing different hardships in 2025 than they might have done in 1925. From small to large, there were the 20bhp Citroën Type B12, the 40bhp Peugeot Type 181, and the luxurious 50bhp Peugeot Type 176, which could reach nearly 70mph.
Lagonda is still around, too, albeit absorbed into the Aston Martin ecosystem, and its 14/60 arrived in 1925 – the latter figure refers to its power, so it topped even the Peugeot Type 176 in this department. Top of the tree, though, had to be the Rolls-Royce Phantom I, with its 7.7-litre inline-six, which served as replacement for the iconic Silver Ghost.
