Dodge Challenger

Like most muscle cars, the Dodge Challenger proved itself on the street in the '70s, got some early cred in an iconic film (1971s Vanishing Point), then had the life squeezed out of it with an embarrassing 1980s version (fundamentally a rebadged Mitsubishi import — with 4-cylinder engines, no less).

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Ford Mustang

A comparative analysis between the body of a 1980s third-generation Mustang & the original pony automobile from the '60s is to make Steve McQueen sob. Gen-three Stangs were a milquetoast exercise in platform design that you had to squint at to identify as sports cars.

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Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

The gullwing doors are the only reference point you need. The Mercedes SLS supercar draws direct inspiration from the most famously collectible coupe ever made: the 1955-63 300SL. The 300SL was the quickest production automobile of its day and the first commercially available direct fuel-injection vehicle. The SLS can claim no such superlatives, but it is darned quick. With a 563-horse 6.2-liter V8 engine hustling it from zero to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, it is definitely able to keep pace with some of the best vehicles Spain has to offer.

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Volkswagen New Beetle

First born (again) in 1998, the New Beetle was a thoroughly modern reimagining of the classic VW Bug shape. But unlike its bare-bones, rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive forebear, the New Beetle is a front-wheel-drive luxury automobile — by comparison, anyway — that is propelled by an engine mounted up front.

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