My Silly Classic Sports Car Dreams

You might notice that I include a lot of Youtube videos from Jay Leno's Garage in this article. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, so often when it comes to cars Jay not only owns one or more of them, but he is also extremely knowlegeble about them. The second reason is because my other sort of paying hobby besides writing is doing stand up comedy and of course Jay Leno is an absolute GOAT when it comes to stand up comedy.

1963 Corvette Stingray

I wrote about this one before, but I think the version I wrote about was a Restomoded 1963 Stingray. A very cool car as well, but it would be cool to own an original as well. 1963 was the first year for the C2 Vettes and the only year they had the split window. Some people consider it the best looking American car ever made. I certainly think it is one of the best looking American cars for sure. This is a great video by Jay Leno talking about and driving his stock 1963 Corvette Stingray.

1967 Porsche 911 Targa

This is the very first sports car I remember seeing at five years old in 1975. My friend's dad had one. I know it was a 911 Porsche and I know it was either a late 60's or early 70's model. I don't know for certain if it was a Targa or not though. But that cool yellow Porsche has remained in my memory for 47 years. I liked the look of the 1967 Porsche 911 Targa the best, so I chose it for this list.

1965 Cobra SC

For several decades whenever anyone asked me, "If you could own any car in the world, which one would it be?" an original 1965 AC Cobra was always my answer. I'm not sure that would still be my answer now, but if someone asked me about the five cars I would like to own this one would most likely be number two on my list. This was the first year Carrol Shelby used the 427s in the Cobras. Only about 100 of them were built that year and they are currently valued at about $1.5 million bucks or more! The one Jay Leno is talking about and driving in this video is worth about $2.5 million!

1966 MKII Ford GT40

There were only 11 of these cars built in 1966, so actually owning one would pretty much be impossible now I would guess, but like I said, these are my silly dream cars. If you saw the movie Ford vs Ferrari then you already know the amazing history of these cars, but if not here is a great Youtube video that tells the story of this car, Ken Miles, Carrol Shelby and the historic race at Le Mans.

1965 Ferrari 250 LM

I think a lot of people know about the 1966 Le Mans because of the movie Ford vs Ferrari, but the 1965 race was an equally amazing and crazy story. The car that eventually won was a 1965 Ferrari 250 LM, which wasn't one of Ferrari's official factory cars. Below are a short video of a 1965 Ferrari 250 LM as well as a great video about the story of the 1965 Le Mans.

1971 De Tomaso Pantera

This is the only car from the 70's that made my list. Some say it is the only true American Supercar. I don't know if that is true or not, but I remember my older brother telling me in the 1970s that it was the car all the cool rich American Rock Stars of the day owned. It is a very cool looking car for sure. From what I understand they weren't great cars straight from the factory, but with some after market upgrades they can be made into true supercars.

1966 Jaguar E Type roadster

Not much to say about this one other than this is an absolutely gorgeous car.

1966 Toyota 2000GT 

I live in Nagoya Japan, which is where Toyota actually started, though there is a Toyota City not too far from here, which is where their headquarters are located. My day job is teaching English and I have taught a few times at the Toyota headquarters. In one of the buildings I taught at in the lobby, they have a mini-car collection. One of the cars featured there is a 1966 Toyota 2000GT. Considered the most sought after Japanese collectors car in the world, the one in Jay Leno's Youtube video is one of only two convertibles, which were both sort of custom built for the James Bond movie, You Only Live Twice.

1966 Lamborghini Miura

I always laugh a little when I think about the little spat between Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferarri that led to the 1966 Lamborghini Miura. Imagine being thrown out of Enzo Ferarri's office after complaining about Ferarri's inferior clutch and then saying to yourself, "Al diavolo! I'll build my own car." Three years later the Miura and some say the Supercar was born.

1980 Lamborghini Countach LP400S

I wanted to save this one for last. This one is the only car from the 1980s on my list. But is one that had a huge impact on me and pretty much all of my friends in 1981 when the movie The Cannonball Run came out. This opening scene from The CannonBall Run is why pretty much every boy between the ages of 9 and 19 had a poster of a Lamborghini Countach poster on the wall right next to the one of Farrah Fawcett. This is a really great documentary about not only the 1980 Lamborghini Countach LP400S used in the movie but also about the history of the real Cannonball Run as well.

In the unlikely event the tiny amount of crypto-currency goes up in value about 10000% then maybe it will be game-on for me actually owning some of these, but until then the best I can do is drool on my laptop while watching the Youtube videos of them.