21 classic car myths busted

Do you know the truth behind these classic fibs?

The classic car world is full of porkies, and no, we’re not talking about 911Ts masquerading as rare RS models.

From the E-type’s headline-grabbing 150mph top speed and the claim that the BMW M5 invented the supersaloon, to the story about Mercedes stripping the paint from its Grand Prix cars to meet a weight limit on race day, we’ve heard dozens of fibs over the years.

We've collected 21 classic misconceptions here, but perhaps you can think of a classic car myth we've missed!

1. The Ford Model T only came in black

‘You can have any colour as long as it’s black.’

We don’t know if Henry Ford really did utter those words, but we do know that between 1913 and 1926 the Model T was indeed only available in black – it dried quickly and that made it cheaper.

But both before and after those dates, the T could be ordered in various other, far less sombre hues, like red or light blue.

2. The Audi quattro was the first fast 4WD GT

Yes, the 1980 quattro did change the course of road and rally car history by distributing its torque between all four wheels.

But Jensen had already proved the concept 14 years earlier on the FF, pictured here. It used a Ferguson four-wheel-drive transmission in a stretched Interceptor chassis to tame the monster torque output of Chrysler’s big-block V8.

3. The Escort Cosworth is an Escort

This 1990s rally weapon certainly looks like a Mk5 Escort, but lift that vented bonnet and all becomes clear.

The engine is mounted longitudinally because this Cossie was based on the earlier Sierra Cosworth’s floorpan, then dressed to look like it came from the front-drive Escort line.

4. The Golf GTI was the first hot hatch

The original VW Golf GTI was almost certainly the first hot hatch that mattered, but it wasn’t the first hot hatch.

Even if you discount the coachbuilt Mini Cooper ‘S’ conversions created in the 1960s (including one for Ringo Starr so he could carry his drum kit around), the 1974 Simca Ti was on sale two years before the Golf GTI and Renault 5 Alpine, both of which arrived in showrooms in 1976.

5. Porsches are built in Germany

We think of Porsche as a German brand, but the company’s first sports cars were built in Austria, and over the years Porsche has had production bases spread far and wide.

There’s a good chance your Porsche Boxster was built by Valmet in Finland, and while the 914, pictured here, was built in Germany, it wasn’t built in Zuffenhausen by Porsche, but in Osnabrück by Karmann.

6. The Corvair delivered handling from hell

Chevy’s rear-engined import fighter was badly bruised by criticisms of its iffy handling in safety-crusader Ralf Nader’s book Unsafe at Any Speed, though it wasn’t the only car to come under attack.

But while Chevrolet’s cost cutting meant the early Corvair was missing the front anti-roll bar engineers intended it to have, it was arguably no less hairy to drive than many other cars of its era fitted with swing-axle rear suspension.

And by the time Nader’s book had been published, Chevy had already introduced the much-improved, second-generation Corvair, pictured above.

7. The Mercedes-Benz 190SL is a slower 300SL Roadster

It’s easy to understand the confusion here. At first glance, Mercedes’ 300SL ‘Gullwing’ from 1954, the 190SL Roadster introduced a year later, and 1957’s 300SL Roadster look similar enough.

But while the 300s were built around a fancy spaceframe chassis, the 190 was based on a shortened W121 ‘Ponton’ saloon.

8. Ferrari’s Berlinetta Boxer had a Boxer engine

Ferrari's first mid-engined road car (the Dino was a Dino, remember) was the 365GT4/BB, that last B signifying its new 12-cylinder boxer engine.

Except it wasn’t technically a boxer at all, but a 180-degree – or flat – V12. True boxer engines have one crankpin per cylinder, while the Ferrari shares each crankpin between opposing cylinders.

9. The Maserati Coupé is just a 3200GT without the cool tail-lights

That’s the Maserati Coupé as in the car many people think is called the 4200GT, but isn’t – consider that a myth-bust bonus.

But onto the main event: while it’s true the Coupé lost the 3200GT’s gorgeous ‘boomerang’ lights, there were far bigger changes going on behind them.

It swapped the old car’s twin-turbo V8 for a Ferrari-built naturally aspirated one, and moved the gearbox out to the rear axle.

10. The Range Rover invented the luxury SUV segment

Now in its 50th year, the Range Rover is widely considered the godfather of the luxury SUV movement. But it wasn’t the first posh off-roader.

Companies like Marmon-Herrington were converting American Woodies into high-riding four-wheel drive family cars back in the 1930s and ’40s, and the factory-built Jeep Wagoneer beat the Rangie to market by seven years.

11. Electric cars are a new-fangled idea

The UK government’s decision to ban sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles after 2030 means your next daily driver might soon have a soulless, almost soundless electric powertrain.

But did you know electric cars have been around almost as long as the car itself? One of Ferdinand Porsche’s first projects was the Lohner-Porsche, which featured a hub-motor at each front wheel, while later cars featured four motors for four-wheel-drive traction.

12. The Jaguar E-type’s 150mph top speed

When Jaguar took the covers off the new E-type at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show, many claimed it was the most beautiful car in the world. And if the 150mph Autocar eked out of 9600HP on a Belgian motorway was to be believed, it was also one of the fastest.

But most other cars failed to reach the magic 150mph mark, and when Autocar’s test car was stripped for restoration years later it was discovered to have a gas-flowed cylinder head and other tweaks.

13. The Silver Arrows went naked to meet a weight limit

You’ve probably heard the legend about Mercedes engineers discovering the W25 single-seater was too heavy to meet the 750kg maximum weight limit at the 1934 Eifelrennen.

The story goes that they stayed up all night stripping off the white paint to reveal the bare aluminium body, which became a hallmark for future Benz racing cars, including this W125.

But it is just a story, one that was widely circulated after team boss Alfred Neubauer recounted it in his memoirs years later. There was no 750kg weight limit at the ’34 Eifelrennen.

14. American muscle car power outputs fell off a cliff in the 1970s

There is some truth to this. Detroit started lowering compression ratios in 1971 to allow the use of low-lead fuel, and catalytic converters appeared in 1975, both of which sapped power.

But much of the on-paper difference is down to a switch from gross power outputs, measured on a dyno with open exhausts and no ancillaries, to more realistic net horsepower ratings in 1972.

Buick advertised the power output of the GS455 as 315bhp in 1971, but a year later the same engine came with a 250bhp rating.

15. The Porsche 924 had a VW LT van engine

The 924 was actually designed by Porsche for Volkswagen (VW later backed out of the deal), so it’s no surprise that there’s a Wolfsburg connection under the bonnet.

It’s true that the 2.0-litre ‘four’ in the 924 and LT do share DNA. But with its own unique cylinder head, fuel injection and 125bhp to the LT’s 75, the 924 certainly wasn’t sporting the same lump as the van.

The later 924S came with a real Porsche engine: the 2.5-litre ‘four’ fitted to the 944 and created by chopping a 928’s V8 in half.

16. The Mini Cooper always had a contrasting roof

While it’s true most Coopers had a contrasting roof colour (either white or black depending on the body colour), you could order your Mk1 and Mk2 in one colour, and there was no two-tone option for the Mk3.

And while we're talking Coopers, we should mention the right-hand fuel tank that supposedly distinguishes a Cooper ‘S’ from a plain Cooper: in fact the second tank wasn't standard on the ‘S’ until 1966, and could be ordered as an option on later Coopers.

17. Buying a TR6? You need the 150bhp CP-code version

We’ve highlighted the TR6 here, but the same sentiment applies to many classics: it’s easy to get hung up on the supposed benefits of a more desirable version.

So while the CP-code TR6 is faster, more powerful and more desirable than the later 125bhp CR version, it does’t mean you won’t enjoy the newer, more affordable car. Buy on condition and buy the best you can afford.

18. This Ferrari is called the Daytona

We all know the Ferrari pictured above as the Daytona, but that’s not what Ferrari called it at its launch in 1968, and even today, Maranello execs still refer to it by its correct, and typically emotionless, Ferrari title, the 365GTB4.

The Daytona name was given to it by fans in recognition of Ferrari’s 1-2-3 finish at the 1967 Daytona 24-Hour race, and it’s now much better known by that nickname.

19. The BMW M5 was BMW’s first supersaloon

The 1985 E28 M5 wasn’t the company's first fast 5 Series. And neither was the 1980 E12 M535i.

Back in the 1970s you could pay BMW’s Motorsport department to retrofit the CS coupé’s 3.0-litre engine to your E12 5 Series, and in 1976, four years before the M535i appeared, BMW South Africa produced a run of 530 MLEs, like the one pictured, to homologate its 5 Series racers.

20. MG’s ugly rubber bumpers decimated sales

It’s easy to imagine that the rubber bumper MGBs and Midgets that are today considered less desirable than their earlier chrome counterparts must have also repelled buyers when they were new.

But while sales of the fastback GT were lower through the second half of the 1970s, the roadster found more homes in both 1976 and 1977 than it had in all but one year during the previous decade when chrome was king.

21. The Lamborghini Countach could do 190mph

While Jaguar did at least tweak E-type test cars to help them reach the magic 150mph mark, Lambo’s marketing men simply calculated a hypothetical top speed for the early Countach based on the car being able to reach the redline in fifth gear, suggesting that 190mph was possible.

In reality, around 170mph was probably closer to the mark for early narrow-bodied production cars, and the later cars with their fat, speed-sapping arches and optional ‘boomerang’ spoiler (which cost 10mph at the top end) struggled to top 160, until the 48-valve QV appeared in 1985.