What’s the greatest British car of all time? It’s a frequently-debated subject with plenty of people ready to give their verdict when crowning the best UK-made vehicle from past and present.
Though there’s typically only one winner when the question is asked which is best of all…
And that’s the case with the latest rankings collated by a panel of motoring judges tasked with ordering the nation’s best models through history, with the original Mini taking the number one spot.
‘Put simply, we reckon no other British-built vehicle better represents the relevant, innovative and pioneering UK automotive industry quite like the world’s original small car,’ Auto Express’s team of boffins concluded as they counted down the top 50.
But have they missed any motors from the list that you think are deserving of being there? Or are there cars ranked too high or too low?
MailOnline and This is Money reveals the vehicles listed from 50 to 11 before giving a detailed breakdown of the top 10 and why the motoring magazine and its panel of experts believe they earn the right to be name among the greatest British cars of all time.
The original Mini (pictured with its creator, Alec Issigonis) has been named – yet again – as Britain’s greatest automotive product of all time. But have experts picking the UK’s top 50 cars missed any from their list? You decide
Auto Express’s judges looked at each car across a number of factors.
This includes engineering pedigree, design, commercial success, significance in automotive history and their long-lasting perception in the hearts of motorists.
With an initial list of 75 motors to choose from, first they had to be whittled the cars down to just 50 before trying to put them in order of distinction.
Steve Walker, of Auto Express – who was one of the panel deciding the top 50 – told This is Money: ‘When we embarked upon the process of deciding on the best British cars of all time, many of us already harboured the suspicion that – after the arguments, recriminations and name-calling were done – the Mini was going to come out on top.
‘What other British car has had the same impact and influence over such a long period of time?
‘You could even argue that the qualities that made the Mini, and BMW’s Mini successor, truly great are even more relevant and desirable today than at any point since the car’s launch in 1959.’
He added: ‘Other cars in our top 50 certainly had their moments of greatness, but the Mini was great from the start and has got better with age.’
But do you agree with Auto Express’s selection?
Here’s a quick countdown from positions 50 to 11 followed by an in-depth look at the top best 10.
Leave a comment below and tell us if you disagree with the rankings or models selected.
10. Land Rover Discovery (1989-1998)
No. built: 385,655
Price new/now: £15,750/ £1,000-£20,000
Auto Express ranked the Land Rover Discovery the 10th greatest British car of all time
While the Range Rover screams luxury, the Land Rover Discovery is all about go-anywhere ruggedness – though without the compromise of comfort.
Launched in 1989, it was originally designed as a ‘lifestyle’ vehicle, blending an off-roader’s ‘go-anywhere’ ability with the practicality and running costs of a family estate.
Built on the same platform as the much more expensive Range Rover, Discos effortlessly blend genuine off-road ability with car-like composure on the tarmac. Even a checkered history of reliability couldn’t keep it out of the top 10.
9. Ford GT40 (1964-1969)
No. built: 105
Price new/now: £5,200/£2,500,000
The Ford GT40 is considered an American muscle car, but its origins tell a very different tale…
The low-slung GT40 racer was actually designed and built in the UK. Engineered by Lola boss Eric Broadly from a shed in Slough, the GT40 mixed the best of Britain’s motorsport know-how with an all-American 4.7-litre V8. Pictured: the Lola Mk6, upon which the GT40 was based
Commissioned by Ford’s US bosses to race under the Stars and Stripes flag and challenge Ferrari’s dominance at the gruelling Le Mans 24-hour race, the low-slung GT40 racer was actually designed and built in the UK.
Engineered by Lola boss Eric Broadly from a shed in Slough, the GT40 mixed the best of Britain’s motorsport know-how with an all-American 4.7-litre V8.
Tricky handling meant early cars weren’t too successful, but tweaks by US racer Carroll Shelby and British ace Ken Miles turned it into a formidable car, taking four consecutive Le Mans wins between 1966 and 1969.
8. Caterham/Lotus Seven (1957-present)
No. built: 2,477 Lotus/22,000 Caterham
Price new/now: £1,157/£15k-£80k
The Lotus Seven first emerged in 1957 but its DNA continues today in the shape of the Caterham Seven. Auto Express ranks it eighth in the all-time greatest British cars
Perhaps the most copied car ever made, apart from the AC Cobra (42nd in the list), the Lotus Seven emerged in 1957 and almost 70 years on it’s still in production, courtesy of Caterham.
Much has changed over the decades, but the uncompromised mechanical driving experience offered certainly hasn’t.
Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s maxim was to ‘just add lightness’, and that’s what the Seven was all about. Basic, cheap to buy and run, and just as fast as supercars four times its value, enthusiasts flocked to buy them. Prices have risen as of late, but so has the performance and quality of production.
7. Lotus Elise (1996-2021)
No. built: 35,124
Price new/now: £8,950/£15,000-£55,000
The Lotus Elise debuted in 199, powered by Rover’s K-series engine and tipping the scale at a featherweight 725kg
The Elise may well be the pinnacle of the Lotus philosophy – and among the last great attainable cars for the lightweight, nimble connection it offers between driver and machine.
When it debuted in 1996, it was a design masterpiece. Powered by Rover’s K-series engine, producing just 118bhp, it was a bullet on four wheels thanks to its featherweight 725kg bulk.
Five years later, the Series 2 replaced the Rover engine with four-cylinder Toyota unit. But even from the Series 3 in 2011 to the very end of production 10 years later, the basic allure was retained and the Elise rightly remains a favourite to this day.
6. Aston Martin DB5 (1963-1965)
No. built: 1,059
Price new/now: £4,248/£300,000-£1,000,000
Some might argue that the DB5 should be placed higher in this list, given it is arguably one of the most famous cars of all time
Aston Martin’s long association with James Bond has made it an icon as well as a wonderful British classic
If there is such a thing as the most famous car in the world, then the DB5 is in with a shout of claiming the title.
As the tricked-out company car of fictional debonair spy James Bond, the Aston Martin has become instantly recognisable to generations of film fans. Yet despite its glamorous reputation and sophisticated image, the DB5 is actually little more than a clever update of its predecessor, the DB4 Vantage.
In fact, apart from a slightly larger 4.0-litre straight-six engine with 282bhp that was mated to a new ZF five-speed manual gearbox, the two cars were largely identical. That said, at twice the price of the even more eye-catching and equally quick Jaguar E-Type, the Aston was not a big seller. Today, you need to hand over a small fortune if you want to get your hands on one.
5. McLaren F1 (1992-1998)
No. built: 108
Price new/now: £540,000/£22m
The McLaren F1 is undoubtedly Britain’s greatest hypercar yet. It was a pioneer and – despite launching in 1992 – is still the fastest naturally-aspirated production model on the planet
In term of British hypercars, the nineties McLaren F1 is undoubtedly the pinnacle.
Created by legendary F1 engineer Gordon Murray and designed by Peter Stephens, the F1 was the world’s fastest car for a seven-year spell from 1993 to 2005 (eventually dethroned by the Bugatti Veyron).
Today, the McLaren still has a top speed – 241mph – that can’t be bettered by any other naturally-aspirated car.
Remembered for its shrieking V12 powertrain, three-seat layout and carbon-fibre tub-style construction, its level of weight saving went far beyond anything of the era.
4. Range Rover (1970-present)
No. built: 1,000,000+
Price new/now: £2,000/£105,675
In terms of luxury SUVs, the Range Rover is the Daddy; it’s arguably the original and today’s most popular
Having been in continuous production for 55 years, the Range Rover is soon set to diversify into the EV market
In terms of luxury SUVs, the Range Rover is the Daddy; it’s arguably the original and today’s most popular. But that wasn’t what the Range Rover was first intended to be. Land Rover had developed it as a workmanlike vehicle with a wash-down interior – and for the first 12 years of its life it had only three doors.
That’s far from the car it has become in 2025, with the Range Rover Sport spin-off added to its arsenal of plush luxury motors.
Today, customers can choose between diesel, mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid power – as well as a hefty V8. Very soon, the Range Rover EV will be launched to guarantee its path into the battery car era.
3. Land Rover Series/Defender (1948-2016)
No. built (UK): 2m+
Price new/now: £300/£4k-£200k
After 68 years of production, the curtain finally dropped on the original Land Rover Defender. This is the last example to come off the Solihull assembly line in January 2016
The Series Land Rovers, and latterly the Defender, were masters of their many crafts. If you were to commission a drawing of the English countryside or even a swanky London street, chances are a Land Rover Defender would sneak in there somewhere, going about its business as an obligatory piece of farmer’s equipment or a fashion accessory.
You could always count on the cars’ off-road ability, which is no surprise because the Series Land Rovers and Defender also made their name in far more dangerous and explorative fields.
In the first decade of production, 70 per cent of Series 1 vehicles were exported, going to 150 countries – including many inhospitable places. As such, it has become a staple in nations across the globe.
2. Jaguar E-Type (1961-1974)
No. built: 72,528
Price new/now: £1,934/£25k-£250k
Launched at the 1961 Geneva motor show, the E-Type Jaguar was a jaw dropper – and not purely because of its achingly good looks
Enzo Ferrari once called it ‘the most beautiful car ever made’. That’s recommendation enough for it to be at the sharp end of this order
Launched at the 1961 Geneva motor show, the E-Type was a jaw dropper – and not purely because of its achingly good looks. It was a sports car that could eclipse 150mph for less than two grand – a fraction of what you’d have to pay for that sort of top speed in the sixties.
Since the moment it was uncovered, many argue that nothing has ever matched its beauty. The sleek looks are an evolution of Jaguar’s D-Type racers – aerodynamically efficient, gloriously curvaceous and with a bonnet that went on forever.
Enzo Ferrari once called it ‘the most beautiful car ever made’ – and Auto Express (and This is Money) are inclined to agree.
1. Mini (1959-2000)
No. built: 5.3 million
Price new/now: £497 (1959)/£15,000-£30,000
There wasn’t any question, was there? The original Mini was always going to take top spot in this list
There can only be one winner in the top 50 countdown of British cars – and the Mini won with an unanimous vote from the Auto Express editorial team.
Launched at the height of a fuel crisis back in the late fifties, now legendary designer Alec Issigonis was tasked by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) with delivering a sub-three-metre compact car that could carry a family of four. For context, a modern BMW-built Mini is almost a metre longer.
Yet Issigonis’s creation wasn’t quite the overnight success its makers had hoped it might be. Perhaps the British car-buying public was too conservative, or too used to uninspiring three-box saloon cars such as the Ford Anglia or Rover P4 to be tempted by something so forward thinking. It wasn’t until the Mini was commandeered by celebrities and racing drivers that its popularity soared.
When the Mini debuted as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor in 1959, it didn’t take off as many believed it did…
It wasn’t until celebrities and racing success pushed the Mini into the limelight that it became a volume seller
More than 5.3 million original Minis were built at the firm’s Oxford site between 1959 and 2000
John Cooper’s name has become synonymous with the Mini, with the legendary tuner turning the compact British car into a racing phenomenon
John Cooper tuning skills turned the Mini into a competition beast.
His cars took victory in various events, including the famous Monte Carlo Rally on four consecutive attempts.
Cooper’s name soon became synonymous with performance variants of the dinky car.
While more than 5.3 million original Minis were built at the firm’s Oxford site between 1959 and 2000 (1.6 million sold in the UK), the modern Mini has also cemented itself as something of a cult classic – though without ever being able to replicate the status of the original.
Do you disagree with the order or want to name another British car you think deserves to be in this list? Leave a comment below and tell us.
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