10 undervalued classics from the 1960s

True classic style – without the hefty price-tag

From its inception the classic car movement has revolved around cars from the 1960s.

That means prices for icons like the Jaguar E-type, Aston Martin DB5 and Lotus Elan shot up years ago, but it’s still possible to find a few undervalued gems.

Here are 10 cars that still represent great value in 2019.

Austin 1300GT

Guide price: £3500-7000

Who doesn’t love an early Mini Cooper? Possibly anyone who’s driven one on a motorway, through a big puddle or seen the way prices have exploded in the last decade or so.

Here’s an alternative that has some of the Mini’s charm, shares plenty of its oily bits, is more usable and yet costs a fraction as much.

Austin 1300GT (cont.)

Following on from the dowdy MG 1100, Austin and Morris got their own performance versions of the ADO16 1100/1300 in 1969, called simply 1300GT.

Featuring a twin-carb 1275cc A-series, producing 70bhp, instead of the 58bhp of the regular 1300s, they had enough pace to stay with a 998 Cooper.

Alvis TD-TF

Guide price: £17-80,000

Alvis was a contemporary of Bentley and Aston Martin in the 1950s and ’60s, building luxurious two-door saloons and convertibles for discerning customers.

But the company was taken over by Rover and absorbed into the British Leyland empire meaning it’s largely forgotten today and values are low.

Alvis TD-TF (cont.)

These stately cars aren’t technically adventurous, being built around a conventional separate chassis, and they’re not hugely quick.

The 3-litre straight-six produced 115bhp in the TD and was still only making 150bhp when the final TF was built in 1967. But when you can look this regal without it costing a king’s ransom, who’s complaining?

AMC AMX

Guide price: £15-28,000

Underfunded American Motors often struggled to compete with the Big Three US car makers, but it was also responsible for some inventive projects, including the 1968 AMX.

Essentially a shortened Javelin, AMC’s answer to the Ford Mustang, this two-seat fastback ate into Chevy fans’ claims that the Corvette was America’s only sports car.

AMC AMX (cont.)

Base cars came with a 225bhp 290cu in (4.8-litre) V8, but could be optioned up with 290bhp and even 315bhp engines.

Unfortunately for AMC, the AMX never caught on and by 1971 the name was just an upscale trim on the regular Javelin.

Fiat Dino

Guide price: £40-60,000

Prices of these gorgeous Bertone-designed, Ferrari-engined coupés have doubled in the last 20-odd years, but they still look incredible value.

Never mind a similarly powerful 911S from the same period; you’d struggle to get a weedy four-cylinder 912 for this money.

Fiat Dino (cont.)

Early cars featured the same 2000cc engine fitted to Ferrari’s two-seat Dino 206, but that was switched for a torquier (but iron block, so heavier) 2.4-litre ‘six’ from 1969.

The Pininfarina-designed Fiat Dino Spider is prettier still, but twice the price.

Lancia Fulvia coupé

Guide price: £11-20,000

While prices for Lancia’s 1980s Delta Integrales are currently rocketing, if you roll back to the company’s ’60s offerings, there are still some great deals.

The Fulvia, launched first in Berlina saloon form, and then as a pretty, petite coupé pictured here, looks great value compared to an equivalent Alfa Giulia.

Lancia Fulvia coupé (cont.)

Unlike its Alfa rival, the Fulvia is front-wheel drive and powered by a compact V4 engine. HF Rallye versions and the rare Zagato-bodied cars aren't cheap, but the standard coupés look great value at around £15k.

Jensen Interceptor

Guide price: £30-65,000

Effortlessly cool and effortlessly quick thanks to brawny Chrysler V8 power, the Interceptor is a design icon, and looks distinctly undervalued next to similar low-volume, high-performance luxury GTs of the era.

Jensen Interceptor (cont.)

Unlike its fibreglass CV8 predecessor, the Interceptor featured steel bodywork design by Touring of Milan.

Seventies cars got engines as big as 7.2-litres, but the 335bhp 383cu in V8 in 1960s cars isn’t going to leave you wanting for go. This for £40k or an Aston DBS for £100k?

Reliant Scimitar SE5

Guide price: £6-9000

And if the Interceptor is too rich, there’s always the Reliant Scimitar.

Reliant had already been building a fibreglass coupé powered by a six-cylinder Ford engine for four years when it asked Tom Karen of Ogle Design to create the new shooting-brake GTE SE5 that appeared in 1968.

Reliant Scimitar SE5 (cont.)

The flip-up rear window gives access to a generous luggage area that makes it a great tourer, even if the 3.0 Essex V6’s thirst isn’t quite so well suited to the same job.

Princess Anne was a fan – though perhaps that, as well as the three-wheeler connection, is one of the reasons they’re not as desirable as they should be. Less than £10k for a distinctive, 120mph GT looks like a bargain in our book.

Renault 4

Guide price: £2500-5500

Renault’s another great source of big-value ’60s classics. Can’t afford a VW Karmann Ghia convertible? Try a Renault Floride/Caravelle for half the price.

Or how about the Renault 16, a pioneering family hatchback that was a European Car of the Year winner in ’66 and makes a Cortina look crude and overpriced? Or an even earlier hatchback, the Renault 4.

Renault 4 (cont.)

While its contemporaries, the Beetle and 2CV, have gained cult status – with prices to match – the classic car world seems to have forgotten about the Renault 4.

You can pick up a ‘60s R4 for half the price of the Citroën and a quarter of what you’ll pay for a Bug.

Triumph TR6

Guide price: £12-25,000

We could probably fill an entire gallery just talking about undervalued Triumphs. Cars like the 2.5Pi saloon, which would be worth three times as much if only it had a BMW badge on its nose. Or the TR6, which arrived right at the end of the 1960s, and is almost half the price of the earlier TR5.

The TR5’s rarity (it was only made for one year, versus eight for the TR6) and its TR4-style nose are the reason, because under the skin they’re almost identical.

Triumph TR6 (cont.)

Early TR6s got the same 150bhp-spec version of the 2.5-litre straight-six, although later ’70s cars were downgraded to 125bhp.

Specialists will tell you the difference feels smaller in real life. The ones to avoid are the puny US-spec cars that swapped injection for twin Stromberg carbs and only just cleared 100bhp.

Vauxhall Viva GT

Guide price: £4500-8000

Classic Ford prices have spiralled so far out of control that you can pay as much as £12k for a basic, slow and decidedly uncool four-door Mk1 Escort 1100 – money that would have once bagged an RS2000.

But jump ship to Vauxhall and you get a whole lot more car for your cash.

Vauxhall Viva GT (cont.)

The HB Viva GT borrowed the 1975cc ‘four’ from the Victor, using its 112bhp to push it to 60mph in around 10 secs and give a top speed of 100mph.

You can buy a smart one for less than £8k. Want similar performance from a Mk1 Escort? You’re looking at a Mexico – and more like £25k…