The public yearns for new cars that look like old cars, and we must be indulged
It's time to fire up the retro machine.
Retro and French — that seems to be the flavour of the month, or year, when it comes to new electric cars. The success of the Renault 4 and 5, and the much heralded announcement of the new 2CV from Citroen, shows that there is a desire and demand for new things that are based on old things. Make em small, make em cheap and make em stylish. It is une formule gagnante, as the French might say.
With that in mind, we considered what else we might like to see return to the roads over the coming years. Will MG provide another small, sporty roadster for us? Is Rover still a thing? Will the 504 light up our driveways once more? All important questions. Not questions we have the answers to, of course, but questions we would like to consider.
Below is a small selection of cheap, affordable(ish) and iconic motors from history that we think our long overdue a return, ideally in a similar style to what made them so great in the first place.
Mark Hedges, Editor — MGB GT
Four seats makes this a family car, right? Right?
The MGB first rolled out of the factory doors of the British Motor Corporation in 1962, a sports car so iconic that many still terrorise the sunny B-roads of the British countryside, before inevitably breaking down in a cloud of smoke.
In 1965 came the MGB GT, a 2+2 coupé part designed by Pininfarina and one of the first ever ‘hatchbacks’. Mark Hedges’s father was a fighter pilot, but unlike Tom Cruise in Top Gun, he swapped the motorbike for an MG. ‘When I was born my father had, very impractically, an MG, a labrador, and me,’ he says. That said, it had space enough for him, his parents, and said labrador to make a journey from Cornwall to Yorkshire when required to visit the in-laws.
MG did launch a sports car back in 2023, known as the Cyberster. While it is quite handsome, it lacks the clean lines of the MGB, and it also costs north of £50,000. Not quite there.
Kate Green, Deputy Editor — Small SUVs please
They gave us the Jimny, then they took it away. Then they gave us another Jimny, before they took that away as well. What did we do to deserve this?
In the wilds of the West Country, the small SUV is king (or queen). The potholes and fields make four-wheel drive essential, while narrow roads make size a significant issue. It’s all fun and games in the Bentley Bentayga until a tractor is coming the other way down 'take-a-deep-breath' lane.
Our correspondent tells me that on their side of the A36, the general lament is that all the cars they like have got too big. The Skoda Yeti, the Toyota RAV4 and the Suzukis Jimny and Ignis were all perfect for life out West, but the new versions of all these cars have all added on a few pounds and inches in places they shouldn’t, ruining their appeal. Bring back small, they say.
Rosie Paterson, Digital Content Director — MG Midget
As classic a British sports car as beans on toast with go-faster stripes.
Back to our friends at MG, the Midget was revealed in 1961 as a lightweight sports car that brought driving to the masses. Executed in that timeless MG style, the car was a tremendous run around, and one that is still very much desirable to this day, as Rosie Paterson explains.
‘I've always wanted one, and an electric version would be rather lovely for quietly cruising around in at the weekend’. Well said Rosie, well said.
James Fisher, Digital Commissioning Editor & Motoring — Saab 9-3
Sexy is actually a portmanteau for 'Swedish' and 'stylish'.
To be bewitched by a Saab is a privilege, and many were disappointed to hear of the Swedish manufacturer’s demise in 2016 (but perhaps none more so than me). It’s hard to put a specific finger on what exactly it was about a Saab that made them so cool and interesting, but like an ouroboros, that sense of mystique only added to the cool and interesting. They just looked right.
The 9-3 was always my favourite. Sportier and more raked than the 9-5, the 9-3 looked fast, but not too fast, and was always a little left-field when compared to more traditional European counterparts. That iconic Saab underbite has aged even better as modern cars become ever more smooth and aerodynamic. Also, Saab’s other business was making jet fighters, which needs no explanation.
I realise that not only am I asking for a new car, but also the revival of an entire brand. But this is a hypothetical world we are currently living in, so I am allowed to take big swings.
Toby Keel, Digital Director — Rover SD1
If 1970s Britain was a car, this would be it.
In 1977, Rover's engineers were charged with making a new executive car — and they went a bit wild. They lifted the design of the Ferrari Daytona, took a 3.5-litre V8 engine, and crafted a four-door grand tourer that was a sensation: the Rover SD1 was a generational leap compared to the other British Leyland designs of the 1960s and 1970s. And while most GTs were two-door coupés in disguise (think Alfetta GTV, Jaguar XJS), this was a proper five-seater — just what the well-heeled family man needs on the driveway. It was named European Car of the Year, and orders came flooding in — not least from most police forces across Britain.
The problem? A wildly thirsty engine and appalling build quality — both things that against the backdrop of the oil crisis and the workforce strikes of the 1970s, hit the car’s success hard. Both of these problems are solved by electric powertrains and modern auto construction skills, so it’s surely time for the SD1 to be reborn.
Agnes Stamp, Assistant Features Editor — Peugeot 504
As much as it pains me to say it, bring back more old French things.
Considering the rocky relationship between France and the continent of Africa, it is perhaps surprising that ‘Africa’s workhorse’ should be a car made by Peugeot. But that is precisely what the 504 was and, in many cases, still is.
It is likely that over the course of its production lifespan, which officially ran from 1970 until 1983 (with knock-down versions still produced until 2006), more than four million 504s were produced during the 20th century. That a car that looks as good as the 504 and runs as reliably as the 504 was so well produced is a testament to the car’s enduring status as a classic.
But most importantly, the 504 had a face. Cars used to have expressions, and the 504, with its slightly frowny face, was one of the more expressive autos out there. Absolutely ripe for a comeback, if you ask me.
