Browse the timeline
Post-War Era
Models from the post-war era. Choose one to explore its history and available coverage.
266 models
Models
AC 2-Litre
AC's post-war restart (1947–1958) — a traditional aluminium-bodied saloon using the long-running Weller six, with about 1,284 built.
AC Ace
AC's lightweight aluminium roadster (1953–1963) — a Le Mans class winner and the direct chassis basis for the Cobra.
AC Aceca
The fixed-head coupe companion to the Ace (1954–1963) — a lightweight aluminium GT with the same chassis and engine choices, about 357 built.
Allard J2
The car that put Allard on the world stage — a featherweight V8 roadster that finished third at Le Mans in 1950 and won 40 major races in nine years of competition.
Allard J2X
The evolved J2 with the engine moved forward for a roomier cockpit — 83 built, still a formidable club racer.
Allard JR
Allard's final factory racer — just seven built, with a Cadillac V8 producing around 300 hp.
Allard K1
Allard's first proper production sports car — 151 built on a 106-inch wheelbase with a tuned Ford V8.
Allard K2
A two-seat open sports car with V8 options from Ford, Mercury, Chrysler, and Cadillac — 119 built.
Allard K3
Allard's most powerful road-going sports car — 62 built, most with a 331 cu in Chrysler Hemi V8 aimed squarely at the US market.
Allard L
A four-seat open tourer on a longer 112-inch wheelbase — 191 built, the practical alternative to the two-seat K1.
Allard P1
A five-seat two-door sports saloon — 559 built and winner of the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally with Sydney Allard himself at the wheel.
Allard Palm Beach
Allard's attempt at a more refined, lighter sports car — only around 80 built across two marks as the company's finances declined.
Alpine A106
Alpine's founding model — a 251-unit, Renault 4CV-based fiberglass coupé that launched the Dieppe marque in 1955.
Alvis TA 14
Alvis's first post-war car — a four-cylinder model based on the pre-war 12/70 that restarted civilian production after WWII.
Alvis TA 21
The first of the post-war 3-litre Alvis cars — its six-cylinder engine became the basis of every Alvis built until 1967.
Alvis TC 21/100 'Grey Lady'
The '100' 3-litre saloon — a genuine 100-mph Alvis nicknamed the Grey Lady, with bonnet scoops and wire wheels.
AMC (American Motors) Metropolitan
A British-built mini economy car (1954–1962) sold under Nash, Hudson, and AMC/Rambler badges — an early American 'captive import.'
Armstrong Siddeley Lancaster
The four-door flagship of Armstrong Siddeley's immediate post-war revival — announced days after VE Day, with 3,597 built.
Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane
A two-door, four-seat drophead coupé sibling of the Lancaster — the glamour car of the post-war range, with 2,606 built.
Armstrong Siddeley Typhoon
A two-door fixed-head coupé variant of the post-war range — the rarest of the aircraft-named siblings, produced 1946–1950.
Armstrong Siddeley Whitley
The 18 hp successor to the Lancaster — a more luxuriously equipped razor-edged saloon named after the Whitley bomber, with 2,582 built.
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 346
Armstrong Siddeley's modern post-war flagship — a 3.4-litre, 125–150 bhp luxury saloon with 7,697 built, the marque's best-seller.
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 234
A high-performance four-cylinder Sapphire aimed at sporting drivers — 803 built, the more driver-focused of the 'Baby Sapphires'.
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 236
A refined entry-level Sapphire with a 2.3-litre six — only 603 built in two years, the smaller and quieter 'Baby Sapphire'.
Armstrong Siddeley Star Sapphire
Armstrong Siddeley's ultimate car — a 165 bhp, 4-litre automatic flagship with power steering; 980 built before the marque closed in 1960.
Austin Austin A30 / A35
Austin's first monocoque car and the debut of the legendary BMC A-Series engine — launched as the 'New Austin Seven'.
Auto Union DKW 3=6 (Sonderklasse)
Auto Union's post-war comeback compact — a front-wheel-drive, two-stroke three-cylinder that the '3=6' name claimed equalled a six-cylinder four-stroke.
Bentley Mark VI
Bentley's first post-war car (1946–1952) — the first complete Bentley with a standard factory steel body, built at Crewe.
Berkeley Sports
Berkeley's founding model — a lightweight GRP two-seater with motorcycle-derived two-stroke power and front-wheel drive, built 1956–1960.
Berkeley B95 / B105
Berkeley's four-stroke Sports variants (1959–1960) powered by Royal Enfield 692 cc twins — up to 100 mph in B105 form.
Berkeley T60
Berkeley's three-wheeled microcar (1959–1960) — motorcycle-licence legal, low-tax, with soft and hardtop body options; the best-selling Berkeley model.
Bertone Alfa Romeo BAT Series
Three radical aerodynamic Alfa Romeo concept cars (BAT 5, 7, 9) designed by Franco Scaglione — a breakthrough in low-drag automotive form.
Bond Minicar
Britain's best-known post-war economy three-wheeler — a Villiers-powered microcar that ran from Mark A through Mark G across 17 years.
Borgward Hansa 1500
Borgward's post-war comeback model (1949–1954), widely regarded as the first all-new German car launched after World War II.
Borgward Hansa 1800
A larger-engined companion to the Hansa 1500, introduced in 1952 and available with a diesel option from 1953.
Borgward Hansa 2400
Borgward's flagship six-cylinder saloon (1952–1959), the largest and most prestigious car the Bremen firm ever offered before the P100.
Borgward Isabella
Borgward's most successful model (1954–1961) — an elegant 1.5-litre compact offered in sedan, coupé, convertible, and estate forms, with over 202,000 built.
Borgward Hansa 1500 RS
Borgward's factory sports-racing car (1954–1958), notable for a technologically advanced 16-valve DOHC direct-injection engine years before such technology became mainstream.
Bristol 400
Bristol's first car (1946–1950) — a post-war fusion of BMW 328 engine and BMW 326 chassis, introduced at the 1947 Geneva Motor Show.
Bristol 401
Bristol's most popular early model — 611 built — with a wind-tunnel-developed aluminium body by Carrozzeria Touring and 85 bhp from the evolved BMW-derived six.
Bristol 403
The most capable of the early six-cylinder Bristols (1953–1955) — 100 bhp, four-wheel disc brakes on test cars, and a 106 mph top speed.
Bristol 404
The short-wheelbase 'Businessman's Express' (1953–1955) — only 52 built, with the spare wheel stowed in the front wings and up to 125 bhp on offer.
Bristol 405
The only four-door Bristol saloon ever built (1954–1958) — 297 saloons and 43 drophead coupes, using a 105 bhp six.
Bristol 406
The final six-cylinder Bristol (1958–1961) — 181 built, with a bored-out 2.2-litre six and the first Bristol disc brakes.
Bugatti Type 101
The last car of the original Bugatti family — seven chassis built from 1951, bodied by four coachbuilders, using the Type 57's proven 3.3-litre straight-eight.
Chrysler Imperial
Chrysler's top-of-the-line luxury car from 1926 — a rival to Cadillac and Lincoln, even spun off as its own marque in the 1950s–70s.
Citroën Traction Avant
The world's first mass-produced front-wheel-drive car with unibody construction — a 1934 engineering revolution that defined the modern automobile.
Cisitalia D46
The Fiat-based single-seat voiturette that launched Cisitalia — a featherweight monoposto raced by Nuvolari and Ascari.
Cisitalia 202
One of the most celebrated car designs ever made — Pininfarina's flowing two-seat coupe that resides in MoMA's permanent collection.
Cisitalia 360 Grand Prix
The visionary mid-engined, four-wheel-drive Grand Prix car designed by Ferry Porsche — a technical marvel that nearly bankrupted Cisitalia.
Cisitalia 505 DF
A Ghia-bodied grand tourer on the Fiat 1900 chassis — Cisitalia's final road-car effort, with fewer than ten examples built.
Connaught L Series
Connaught's tiny run of aluminium-bodied road sports cars — just 14 built across the L2 and L3 variants on a Lea-Francis chassis.
Connaught Type A
Connaught's Formula 2 single-seater — nine built, the Lea-Francis-derived engine developed to 165 bhp, accumulating 21 race wins by 1953.
Connaught Type B
Connaught's Formula 1 challenger — the 'Syracuse' car that gave Tony Brooks a historic 1955 Grand Prix victory, the first by a British car in a Continental European race since 1924.
Connaught Type C
Connaught's final single-seater — a further development of the B-Type Alta-engined car, making a single appearance at the 1959 United States Grand Prix.
Continental Mark II
Ford's hand-built 1956–1957 ultra-luxury coupe — the most expensive American car of its day, aimed at Rolls-Royce and Bentley.
Continental Mark III / IV / V
The 1958–1960 Continental Mark III, IV, and V — huge unibody luxury cars, still badged Continental after the standalone division closed.
Crosley CC / CD Four
Crosley's post-war small car (1946–1952) — the first volume American OHC engine and the first 'Sport Utility' badge.
Crosley Hotshot
America's first post-war sports car (1949–1952) — a doorless ~1,100 lb roadster that won the index of performance at the 1950 Sebring six-hour race.
Crosley Farm-O-Road
A tiny multipurpose runabout (1950–1952) — part light tractor, part pickup, part passenger car — built in fewer than 600 units.
Daimler DB18 / Consort
Daimler's 2.5-litre six-cylinder saloon (1939–1953) — the pre- and post-war DB18 and its restyled Consort successor, with a famous Churchill connection.
Daimler Conquest
A mid-size Daimler saloon (1953–1958) on the Lanchester Fourteen platform — the tuned twin-carb Conquest Century its best-loved version.
Davis Divan
The four-abreast three-wheeled convertible that defined Davis — heavily promoted as the 'car of the future,' fewer than 20 ever built.
Davis Model 494
A three-wheeled military runabout, Jeep-like and open-bodied, built for U.S. Army testing — three examples made.
Delahaye Type 135
Delahaye's most celebrated model — a coachbuilt grand tourer and outright Le Mans winner, produced from 1935 until the marque's closure in 1954.
Delahaye Type 175 / 178 / 180
Delahaye's ambitious postwar flagship — a 4.5-litre six on a semi-monocoque chassis, offered in three wheelbase lengths, with 107 cars built before persistent quality issues ended production.
Delahaye Type 235
Delahaye's final car — a modernised 135MS with full-width ponton styling, 84 examples built before the marque's closure in 1954.
DeSoto Custom
DeSoto's upper postwar series (1946–1952) — six-cylinder cars that included the long-bodied Suburban people-mover.
DeSoto Deluxe
DeSoto's entry-level postwar series (1946–1952), sharing the L-head six with the costlier Custom.
DeSoto Suburban
A long-wheelbase eight-passenger DeSoto (1946–1954) — a roomy sedan-wagon hybrid for taxi, livery and large-family use.
DeSoto Firedome
The car that brought the Hemi V8 to DeSoto — its 276-cubic-inch FireDome V8 (1952) gave the brand eight cylinders again for the first time since 1931.
DeSoto Powermaster
DeSoto's six-cylinder series of the early 1950s, sold alongside the new Hemi V8 Firedome.
DeSoto Fireflite
DeSoto's flashy flagship of the Forward Look (1955–1960) — Hemi V8 power under Virgil Exner's finned, jet-age bodywork.
DeSoto Firesweep
DeSoto's lower-priced V8 (1957–1959), built on shorter Dodge underpinnings to reach down-market.
DeSoto Adventurer
DeSoto's limited high-performance halo (1956–1960) — a Hemi-powered hardtop that was the brand's answer to the Chrysler 300.
DKW Meisterklasse (F89)
The first DKW built in West Germany after the war — a 684 cc two-cylinder two-stroke revival that put the marque back on the road in 1950.
DKW Sonderklasse (F91/F93/F94)
The three-cylinder step-up — DKW's larger 900 cc Sonderklasse debuted at the 1953 Frankfurt IAA and ran in various forms through 1959.
Edsel Ranger
The entry-level Edsel and the only nameplate to survive all three model years (1958–1960).
Edsel Pacer
The upper junior Edsel for 1958 — Ford-based, including a convertible, and offered for one year only.
Edsel Corsair
The Mercury-based Edsel of 1958 that became the surviving flagship for 1959 before the line was discontinued.
Edsel Citation
The top-of-the-line 1958 Edsel — Mercury-based, with Edsel's largest V8 and the push-button Teletouch transmission.
Edsel Villager
Edsel's mainstream 4-door station wagon — the only wagon to survive all three model years, and reportedly the best-selling of the 1958 wagon trio.
Edsel Roundup
Edsel's 2-door station wagon, built only for 1958 and the rarest of the three Edsel wagon nameplates.
Edsel Bermuda
The upscale wood-trimmed 4-door Edsel wagon, offered only for 1958.
EMW EMW 340
The volume model of EMW — a modernised pre-war BMW 326 derivative, 21,250 built from 1949 to 1955.
EMW EMW 327
A rare, elegant pre-war BMW coupe and cabriolet continued under the EMW name — around 650 built in the early 1950s.
Facel Vega FV / HK500
Facel Vega's founding grand tourer (1954–1961) — a Chrysler V8 wrapped in French coachwork, the fastest legitimate four-seater of its era.
Ferrari 125 S
The first Ferrari — a 1.5-litre V12 barchetta that launched the Prancing Horse in 1947.
Ferrari 250 GT
Ferrari's most celebrated classic family — a Colombo V12 series spanning coupés, spiders, and the priceless 250 GTO.
Frazer Frazer
The marque's standard full-size four-door sedan (1947–1951) — a roomy, slab-sided postwar Kaiser-Frazer on a 123.5-inch wheelbase.
Frazer Manhattan
Frazer's top luxury line (1947–1951) — richer trim over the standard sedan, and the source of the rare 1951 four-door convertible.
Frazer Vagabond
A 1951-only utility/hatchback sedan — a sedan-wagon hybrid with a fold-down rear seat and dual liftgate, an early forerunner of the modern hatchback.
Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica
The car that put post-war Frazer Nash on the map — named for its third place at Le Mans in 1949, with around 34–50 examples built on a Bristol-engined BMW 328 lineage.
Frazer Nash Mille Miglia
The curvaceous, full-width-bodied Frazer Nash — designed by BMW's Fritz Fiedler and bodied in Italy, only 11 examples built between 1948 and 1953.
Frazer Nash Targa Florio
Named for Franco Cortese's 1951 Targa Florio victory in a Frazer Nash — 15 examples built with a new parallel-tube chassis and full-width alloy body.
Frazer Nash Le Mans Coupé
A closed coupé variant on the Frazer Nash chassis — only 9 examples built, offering weather protection and reduced aerodynamic drag for longer-distance competition.
Frazer Nash Sebring
Frazer Nash's final model — introduced in 1954 to replace the Le Mans Replica as the competition flagship, with only 3 examples built before the marque ceased production in 1957.
GAZ GAZ-M20 Pobeda
The 'Victory' sedan — the Soviet Union's first fully indigenous, modern post-war passenger car, and a milestone of Soviet engineering.
GAZ GAZ-69
The Soviet Jeep — a rugged 4×4 military utility vehicle that became standard issue across the Eastern Bloc.
Ghia Dual-Ghia
An ultra-exclusive Chrysler-based convertible hand-built in Detroit and Turin — only 117 made, owned by Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Desi Arnaz.
Ghia Chrysler–Ghia Show Cars
A decade-long parade of Chrysler dream cars hand-built by Ghia in Turin under Virgil Exner — 24 of Chrysler's 28 postwar Idea Cars came from Ghia.
Ghia Lincoln Futura
A single Ford-commissioned concept built by Ghia in 1955 — the bubble-top show car that George Barris later converted into the 1966 TV Batmobile.
Goliath GP700 / GP900
Borgward's postwar bubble car and one of the world's first fuel-injected production cars — the GP700 Sport used Bosch injection in 1952.
Goliath 1100
Goliath's final and most ambitious model — a modern 1094 cc four-stroke compact that was rebadged Hansa 1100 in late 1958.
Healey Westland Roadster
Healey's first production car — a wind-tunnel-tested aluminum roadster that became the first all-new British sports car after WWII.
Healey Elliott Saloon
A streamlined closed-body companion to the Westland — the fastest production closed car in the world when introduced in 1948.
Healey Silverstone
Healey's most focused competition car — a stiffer, lighter roadster built for racing and named after the circuit where it debuted.
Healey Tickford Saloon
The more refined successor to the Elliott — a 2-door, 4-seater sports saloon on Healey's improved chassis with Girling brakes.
Healey Abbott Drophead Coupe
An open-air companion to the Tickford — a 2-door drophead coupe on the improved Riley-engined chassis, bodied by Abbott of Farnham.
Healey Nash-Healey
Healey's transatlantic collaboration — a Nash Ambassador-powered roadster (and later hardtop coupe) restyled by Pininfarina, aimed at the American market.
Healey G-Type Roadster
A rare, Alvis-engined luxury roadster — only 25 built, heavier and more expensive than the Riley-powered Healeys.
Heinkel Kabine
Heinkel's sole automobile — a three- or four-wheel aircraft-inspired microcar with a front-hinged door, produced in Germany from 1956 to 1958.
Henry J Henry J
Kaiser-Frazer's stripped-down two-door compact sedan (1950–1954) — powered by Willys four- and six-cylinder engines and priced around $1,300 to reach first-time new-car buyers.
Hillman Minx
Hillman's mainstream family car for nearly four decades — the volume backbone of the Rootes range from 1931 to 1970.
Hindustan Motors Hindustan 10
Hindustan Motors' founding product — an assembled Morris 10 that launched the company's production era in 1948.
Hindustan Motors Landmaster
A short-lived Morris Oxford Series II–derived estate that bridged the pre-Ambassador era, produced 1954–1957.
Hino Renault 4CV (Hino-built)
Hino's first passenger car — a Renault 4CV built under French license, Japan's earliest large-scale domestically assembled car.
Holden 48-215 (FX / FJ)
The first car wholly manufactured in Australia — launched by Prime Minister Chifley on 29 November 1948 to national celebration.
Hotchkiss 686 / Grand Sport
Hotchkiss's sporting six — a 3.5-litre Grand Sport that won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1939, 1949, and 1950 and rivals the great British touring cars of its era.
Hotchkiss Anjou
Hotchkiss's last traditional model — a handsome four-door saloon on the 686 chassis, offered with a four-cylinder or six-cylinder engine.
Hotchkiss Hotchkiss-Grégoire
A radical front-wheel-drive unitary saloon — a fascinating technical dead-end of which only 247 were built before costs ended production.
Hudson Hornet
Hudson's famous 'step-down' performance car (1951–1957) — the 'Fabulous Hudson Hornet' that dominated early-1950s NASCAR.
Hudson Commodore
Hudson's senior full-size line of the 1940s–50s — the upscale companion to the Hornet on the step-down body.
Hudson Wasp
A shorter-wheelbase step-down Hudson (1952–1956) slotted below the Hornet, sharing its handling pedigree.
Hudson Jet
Hudson's ill-fated compact (1953–1954) — a sound car whose high tooling cost helped sink the independent.
Humber Humber Pullman
Humber's flagship limousine — a stately chauffeur-driven seven-seater favoured by officialdom, built (with a wartime gap) from 1930 to 1954.
Humber Humber Hawk
Humber's four-cylinder mainstay — a roomy, well-appointed family/executive saloon, restyled as a transatlantic-look unitary car in 1957.
Humber Humber Super Snipe
Humber's fast six-cylinder flagship — a famous WWII staff car, later a refined executive saloon with an Armstrong Siddeley-derived six.
IFA F8
IFA's first passenger car — a two-cylinder, two-stroke compact directly descended from prewar DKW designs, built at Zwickau from 1948 to 1956.
IFA F9
IFA's three-cylinder compact — a more modern sibling to the F8, using a prewar DKW prototype body and 910 cc engine; its underpinnings went on to underpin the Wartburg 311.
Imperia TA-8
Imperia's last original car — a 1340 cc Hotchkiss-engined post-war tourer on an Adler Trumpf Junior chassis; the final Belgian-designed private car.
Imperia Standard Vanguard (Imperia-assembled)
CKD Standard Vanguards assembled in Nessonvaux and badged as Imperia, including a Belgium-only convertible variant.
Invicta Black Prince
Invicta's lavish postwar comeback — a twin-cam 3-litre six with a torque converter, fully independent suspension, and built-in electric jacks, of which only about 16 were completed.
Iso Rivolta Isetta
Iso's egg-shaped bubble car (1953–1955) — licensed to BMW, which sold 160,000 units and made it a post-war icon.
Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8C Monterosa
Isotta Fraschini's final car — a radical rear-engined, V8-powered post-war grand tourer presented in 1947; only three to six were ever built.
Jaguar XK120
Jaguar's 1948 sensation — the world's fastest production car of its day and the debut of the legendary XK twin-cam six.
Jaguar XK140
The 1954–1957 evolution of the XK120 — more power, more cabin room, and rack-and-pinion steering.
Jaguar XK150
The final XK sports car (1957–1961) — the first Jaguar with four-wheel disc brakes, replaced by the E-Type.
Jaguar C-Type
The XK120-C competition car — won Le Mans in 1951 and 1953, the second time at the first-ever 100-mph average.
Jaguar D-Type
Jaguar's monocoque Le Mans legend — winner of the 24 Hours in 1955, 1956 and 1957.
Jaguar XKSS
A road-legal D-Type — one of the rarest Jaguars, most of an intended run lost in the 1957 Browns Lane fire.
Jaguar Mark VII
Jaguar's big XK-engined luxury saloon of the early 1950s — a Monte Carlo Rally winner and a major US export success.
Jeep Willys MB
The original WWII 'Jeep' — the Willys MB (and Ford-built GPW), the quarter-ton 4x4 that defined the name.
Jensen 541
Jensen's fibreglass-bodied 1950s GT — among the first British production cars with four-wheel disc brakes.
Kaiser Special
Kaiser's core full-size sedan — among the first all-new postwar American cars, with a modern slab-sided full-envelope body.
Kaiser Manhattan
Kaiser's top-of-the-line sedan — and, from 1954, the first US production car offered with a supercharger.
Kaiser Traveler
A sedan/wagon hybrid with a fold-flat rear seat and a two-piece rear hatch — often cited as one of the first American hatchbacks.
Kaiser Henry J
A pioneering low-cost American compact named for Henry J. Kaiser — also sold by Sears as the Allstate.
Kaiser Darrin
A fiberglass-bodied roadster with sliding doors — the second American fiberglass sports car after the Corvette, built for a single year.
Kurogane Mighty
A mid-sized cabover truck and cargo van (1957–1962) that was absorbed by Nissan and rebadged as the Datsun Cablight.
Lagonda 2.6-Litre
The first post-war Lagonda — and the car whose W. O. Bentley straight-six went on to power Aston Martin's DB2 to Le Mans fame.
Lagonda 3-Litre
The enlarged 2.9-litre successor to the post-war saloon — around 270 built before Lagonda production was suspended for three years.
Lanchester Ten (LD10)
Lanchester's post-war small saloon — a 1.3-litre four built by Daimler, with bodies by Briggs and later Barker.
Lanchester Fourteen / Leda
A 2-litre post-war saloon (the Leda being the export version) — among the last Lanchesters before the marque was retired.
Lancia Aprilia
Vincenzo Lancia's final design — a pillarless, wind-tunnel-shaped saloon that was aerodynamically ahead of its era.
Lancia Aurelia
The world's first production V6 engine, a rear transaxle, and a Pinin Farina GT coupé — the Aurelia remains one of the most technically advanced cars of the 1950s.
Lister Lister Knobbly
The definitive 1950s Lister — a Jaguar-powered sports-racer with rippled aluminium bodywork so nicknamed for its curved 'knobbly' panels; Britain's most successful sports-racing car of the era.
Lister Lister-Bristol
Lister's first serious competition car — a lightweight tubular-chassis sports-racer powered by a tuned Bristol two-litre engine, predecessor to the famous Knobbly.
Lloyd LP 300
Lloyd's radical post-war debut — a plywood-and-fabric two-stroke microcar that priced under the Beetle and earned the nickname 'Leukoplastbomber'.
Lloyd LP 400
The LP 300's steel-bodied successor — a 386 cc two-stroke that sold nearly 110,000 units and moved Lloyd firmly into the mainstream.
Lloyd Lloyd 600 / Alexander
Lloyd's first four-stroke model — a 596 cc saloon that finally gave the marque a genuine small car and sold over 176,000 units.
Marcos Xylon
Marcos's first car (1959) — a gullwing competition coupe with a plywood monocoque, nicknamed the 'ugly duckling'.
Mercedes-Benz 300SL
The 1950s 'Gullwing' — the fuel-injected, gull-winged sports car, among the most coveted cars ever built.
Mercury Eight
Mercury's founding model — a V8-powered full-size car sized between Ford and Lincoln, later the icon of 'lead sled' custom culture.
Messerschmitt KR175
The original Kabinenroller — a 173 cc bubble-canopy three-wheeler that put Messerschmitt on the road in 1953.
Messerschmitt KR200
The definitive Kabinenroller — nearly 30,000 built, the KR200 is the bubble car that made Messerschmitt famous.
Messerschmitt FMR Tg500
The 'Tiger' — a four-wheeled, twin-cylinder sports variant capable of 78 mph, built in tiny numbers during 1957–1961.
MG MGA
MG's first modern, full-envelope sports car — a sleek 1955–1962 roadster (and coupe) that broke from the upright T-types.
MG T-Type Midget
MG's classic pre-war-styled roadsters (TA–TF) — the TC and TD ignited America's post-war sports-car craze.
Moretti La Cita
Moretti's first production car — a Piedmontese-dialect word for 'small', a post-war microcar with a 350 cc twin and a sleek two-door body.
Moretti 750 Gran Sport
Moretti's celebrated twin-cam 750 cc sports racer — Michelotti-bodied barchetta and berlinetta variants that dominated their class in Italian events and contested Le Mans.
Moretti 600 Gran Lusso
A Michelotti-styled luxury re-body of the Fiat 600 — Moretti's first major Fiat-based custom, priced at roughly twice the donor car.
Morris Oxford
Morris's founding nameplate — from the 1913 'Bullnose' Oxford to the Pininfarina-styled Oxford VI, a name carried across nearly six decades, ending in 1971.
Morris Minor
Alec Issigonis's much-loved post-war small car — the first British car to sell a million, built 1948–1971 across three series.
Moskvitch Moskvitch 400/401
The Soviet Union's first mass-produced private car — an Opel Kadett-derived compact that rolled out of Moscow in December 1946.
Nardi 750 Nardi-Danese
Fiat 500-chassised hillclimb racer powered by a surplus BMW R75 flat-twin — the car that put Nardi on the Italian motorsport map.
Nardi Bisiluro Damolnar
The strangest car to start the 1955 Le Mans — a twin-boom Mollino-designed torpedo that weighed just 400 kg and is now in a Milan museum.
Nardi Raggio Azzurro
Two Michelotti-styled Lancia Aurelia-based show cars — the bubble-topped 1955 Blue Ray I and the grand-touring 1958 Blue Ray II by Vignale.
Nash Ambassador
Nash's top-line full-size car (1932–1957) — one of the longest-lived nameplates in motoring, home of the 'bathtub' Airflyte and Pinin Farina styling.
Nash 600
The first mass-produced unibody car in the US (1941) — its name claimed 600 miles on a tank of fuel.
Nash Statesman
Nash's mid-tier full-size car (1950–1956), the renamed successor to the unibody 600, slotted below the Ambassador.
Nash Rambler
Widely regarded as the first successful modern American compact (1950–1955) — the car whose name outlived Nash itself under AMC.
Nash Metropolitan
A tiny British-built economy car (Nash-badged 1954–1957) — conceived as America's 'second car' and built by Austin in England.
Nash Nash-Healey
A British-American-Italian sports car (1951–1954) — Nash drivetrain, Healey chassis, Pinin Farina body; among the first postwar American sports cars.
Ohta Ohta PA
Ohta's postwar comeback — a 760 cc two-door pontoon-body saloon that became a staple Tokyo taxi in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Ohta Ohta PK
Ohta's final passenger car — an updated 903 cc sedan with independent torsion-bar suspension, shown at the 1956 Tokyo Motor Show but unable to save the struggling marque.
OSCA MT4
The Maserati brothers' first OSCA, a 1.1-litre twin-cam barchetta sports racer that scored an overall victory at the 1954 12 Hours of Sebring.
OSCA FS 372
A five-car run of desmodromic-valve sports-racers built for Formula 2 and sports-car racing, evolved from the final MT4 engine.
Packard Clipper
Packard's streamlined 'envelope-body' design (1941) that shaped its postwar cars — and briefly became its own make in 1956.
Packard Patrician
Packard's senior flagship sedan of the 1950s (1951–1956) — the last true 'senior' Packard, and the body that ended Detroit production.
Packard Caribbean
Packard's glamorous halo convertible (1953–1956) — a limited-production rival to the Cadillac Eldorado, ending with a 310-hp V8.
Panhard Dyna X
The world's first mass-produced car with an all-aluminum body — a postwar French economy car that rebuilt Panhard's factory after the Occupation.
Panhard Dyna Z
Panhard's aerodynamic masterpiece of the 1950s — a drag coefficient of 0.26, top speed over 80 mph, and 46 mpg from an 851 cc flat-twin.
Pegaso Z-102
ENASA's all-alloy quad-cam V8 supercar (1951–1958) — around 84 built, and briefly the fastest production car in the world.
Pegaso Z-103
The simplified successor to the Z-102 — larger but less exotic engines, only 3 examples built.
Playboy Playboy
Playboy's only car (1947–1951) — a compact, ~$985 convertible with an early power-retractable steel hardtop; about 97 were hand-built before the company failed.
Pontiac Chieftain
Pontiac's mainstream full-size car of the late 1940s and 1950s, including the milestone first V8 cars.
Porsche 356
The car that started it all — a lightweight, Volkswagen-mechanicked sports car hand-built from 1948 to 1965 that gave birth to a dynasty.
Prince Prince Sedan
Prince's debut production car (1952–1957) — Japan's first modern gasoline-powered compact executive sedan.
Rambler Nash Rambler
The Rambler name revived by Nash in 1950 on a pioneering American compact — sold as a Nash (and later a Hudson) before Rambler became its own make.
Rambler Rambler Rebel
AMC's early V8 performance Rambler (1957–1960) — the 1957 Rebel was one of the quickest American sedans of its day.
Renault 4CV
Renault's first postwar car — a rear-engined economy saloon that became the first French model to sell over a million units.
Riley RM Series
The last cars Riley developed independently (1945–1955) — handsome 1½- and 2½-litre saloons, roadsters and dropheads, built before BMC took over.
Riley Pathfinder
A 2½-litre saloon (1953–1957) — the last Riley to use the company's own big four-cylinder engine, in a modern BMC-era body.
Rolls-Royce Phantom (I–VI)
The classic, coachbuilt Phantom limousines (I–VI, 1925–1990) — Rolls-Royce's hand-built flagship through the heart of the 20th century.
Rosengart Ariette
Rosengart's final production car — a post-war front-wheel-drive saloon styled by Philippe Charbonneaux that failed to find enough buyers to save the company.
Rosengart Vivor
A post-war light van and break aimed at tradespeople — Rosengart's commercial vehicle of the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Rover P4
The dignified 'Auntie' Rover — a mid-size luxury saloon that defined the marque's reputation through the 1950s.
Saab 92
Saab's first production car — a radical, aerodynamic two-door with a 764 cc two-stroke engine and a drag coefficient of just 0.30.
Salmson Randonnée
Salmson's ambitious post-war grand tourer — a light-alloy twin-cam saloon with a Cotal electromagnetic gearbox, intended to rival the best French sports cars of the early 1950s.
Salmson 2300 S
Salmson's final model — a handsome 2+2 coupé with a 105–110 hp twin-cam engine that competed at Le Mans three times and closed the marque's history.
SEAT 1400
SEAT's very first production car — a licensed Fiat 1400 sedan that launched Spanish volume automobile manufacturing.
Siata Amica
Siata's first wholly original car (1948–1952) — a lightweight Fiat 500-based roadster that marked the firm's transition from tuner to manufacturer.
Siata Daina
Siata's elegant Fiat 1400-based GT (1950–1958) — bespoke coupé and cabriolet bodies by Stabilimenti Farina and Bertone, with a Sebring class win in 1952.
Siata 300BC Barchetta
A lightweight barchetta spider by Bertone (1951–1956), aimed squarely at US SCCA racing — only about 50 examples built across all body variants.
Siata 208S
A Michelotti-designed aluminium roadster powered by Fiat's 2.0-litre V8 (1953–1955) — only 35 built; Steve McQueen's example became his legendary 'Little Ferrari'.
Simca Aronde
Simca's first original design (1951–1964) — a unibody saloon that propelled the brand to second place among French automakers, with 1.4 million built.
Simca Vedette
An American-flavoured V8 saloon (1954–1961) acquired with Ford's French factory — the largest and most powerful Simca of its era.
Singer Roadster
An affordable open four-seat tourer that carried the Singer sports tradition from before WWII into the early 1950s.
Singer SM1500
A modern full-width post-war saloon with a 1,500 cc overhead-cam engine — advanced, but too costly to save the company.
Singer Hunter
A restyled SM1500 with a traditional grille — the last car of Singer's independent era before the Rootes takeover.
Sisu K-Series
Sisu's postwar conventional-cab lorry family — from the K-23 of 1949 through heavy Jyry, medium Kontio, and small Nalle-Sisu sub-brands.
Sisu KB-24 (Nalle-Sisu)
A compact six-tonne forward-control city lorry — nicknamed 'Teddy Bear Sisu' for its round cab, first Sisu with an all-steel cabin.
Standard Flying Standard
Standard's streamlined 1930s range (1936–1948) — Flying Nine through Twenty plus a rare V8, with sloping tails and a 'waterfall' grille.
Standard Vanguard
Standard's landmark post-war saloon (1947–1963) — Britain's first all-new post-WWII design from a major maker, whose 2.1-litre engine also powered Ferguson tractors and Triumph TR sports cars.
Standard Eight
Standard's cheap unitary small saloon (1953–1959) — a roomy, frugal economy car with the new 803 cc OHV SC engine that undercut the Austin A30 and Morris Minor.
Standard Ten
The better-trimmed sister to the Eight (1954–1961) — a 948 cc version with a proper grille and boot lid; it outlived the Eight before the Triumph Herald replaced it.
Standard Pennant
A tail-finned, restyled Ten (1957–1959) — Standard's brightest small car, with prominent fins, hooded lamps and optional overdrive and two-pedal control.
Standard Motors (India) Standard Vanguard
Standard Motors India's inaugural product — locally assembled British Standard Vanguards built at the Vandalur factory from 1951.
Stanguellini Barchetta Sport (1100 & 750)
Stanguellini's open two-seat sports racers of the late 1940s and 1950s — twin-cam Fiat-derived 750 cc and 1100 cc barchettas that won the Italian 750-class championship five times.
Studebaker Champion
Studebaker's low-priced economy car (1939–1958) — a light, frugal best-seller, later home of the 'bullet-nose' look.
Studebaker Commander
Studebaker's long-running mid-range nameplate (1927–1966) — home of the celebrated 1953 'Loewy coupe'.
Studebaker President
Studebaker's flagship luxury car (1926–1942, revived 1955–1958) — the early straight-eight President was a 1920s prestige model.
Studebaker Land Cruiser
Studebaker's top-line long-wheelbase sedan (1934–1954) — a streamlined flagship designation used intermittently across the range.
Sunbeam Sunbeam-Talbot 90 / Mk III
The rally-winning saloon that fathered the Alpine — Rootes' prestige sporting car renamed 'Sunbeam Mk III' in 1954 when the Talbot name was dropped.
Talbot Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport
Talbot-Lago's post-war flagship — a hand-built 4.5-litre straight-six exotic and one of the first high-performance road cars produced after WWII.
Talbot Sunbeam-Talbot 90
Rootes' first new post-war design — a handsome sports saloon whose Alpine Rally success directly spawned the Sunbeam Alpine sports car.
Talbot-Lago T26 Record
Post-war flagship grand tourer powered by a 4.5-litre twin-cam six — fewer than 590 built, in sedan, cabriolet, and coachbuilt form.
Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport
Road-legal sports racer derived from the T26C Grand Prix car — around 36 built, winner of the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Talbot-Lago T26C Grand Prix
Talbot-Lago's Formula One single-seater — raced in the 1950 and 1951 inaugural F1 seasons, winning the 1949 Belgian and French Grands Prix.
Talbot-Lago T14 LS Sport 2500
Talbot-Lago's last attempt at a modern sports coupé — a 2.5-litre four-cylinder with Italian styling, only 45 units produced.
Talbot-Lago Lago America
Talbot-Lago's swan song — a BMW V8-powered grand tourer of which roughly a dozen were built before Simca acquired the company.
Tama E4S-47
Tama's inaugural four-seat electric sedan — Japan's first notable production EV, capable of 65 km per charge at a top speed of 35 km/h.
Tama Junior
The 1948 compact follow-on to the E4S-47 — a completely restyled body on the same electric platform, marketed as Tama's entry-level passenger car.
Tama Senior
Tama's larger 1949 medium-size electric sedan, claimed to achieve up to 200 km on a single charge — a figure that brought the brand international attention.
Tama EOT-47
Tama's light two-seat pickup truck — offered in both electric and gasoline variants with a 500 kg payload, serving commercial operators alongside the passenger cars.
Tatra Tatra 87
Tatra's definitive pre-war streamliner — a lighter, faster refinement of the T77 with a 2.9-litre rear V8 that could exceed 160 km/h and influenced Porsche's Beetle design.
Touring Superleggera Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta
The car that gave the world the word 'barchetta' — Touring's open roadster body on Ferrari's first great racing chassis, winner of the 1949 Le Mans and Mille Miglia.
Trabant P50 (Trabant 500)
The original Trabant — a 499 cc two-stroke subcompact, 131,495 built from 1957 to 1962.
Triumph Roadster
Triumph's aluminium-bodied post-war tourer — the last production car with a rear 'dickey' seat, later famous from TV's Bergerac.
Triumph Renown
A formal 'razor-edge' saloon whose sharp-creased coachwork echoed contemporary Rolls-Royce and Bentley styling.
Triumph Mayflower
A small 'razor-edge' economy saloon — Bentley-style formal lines shrunk onto a 1.25-litre budget car, named for the North American market.
Triumph TR2
The first true TR — an affordable Standard Vanguard-engined roadster, the cheapest production car of its day able to top 100 mph.
Triumph TR3
The TR2's hugely successful evolution — and, in TR3 form, often cited as the first British production car with standard front disc brakes.
Tucker Tucker 48
The most innovative American car of the 1940s — a rear-engined, safety-first fastback sedan built in 51 examples before Tucker Corporation folded in 1949.
Vignale Ferrari Bespoke Bodies
Vignale bodied ~155 Ferraris in the early 1950s — Enzo's primary coachbuilder, with Mille Miglia wins in 1951, 1952, and 1953.
Volvo PV444/544
Volvo's first volume success — a streamlined, unibody two-door sedan that cemented the brand in Sweden and launched its US export story.
Willys (Willys-Overland) Willys MB
The WWII quarter-ton 4x4 'jeep' — Willys's most famous vehicle and the foundation of the entire Jeep marque.
Willys (Willys-Overland) Willys Jeep Station Wagon
America's first mass-produced all-steel station wagon (1946) — a Brooks Stevens design and a Willys postwar success.
Willys (Willys-Overland) Willys-Overland Jeepster
A sporty open phaeton on the Jeep wagon platform (1948–1951) — the last traditional phaeton built by a major US automaker.
Willys (Willys-Overland) Willys Aero
Willys's last US passenger car (1952–1955) — a unibody compact sedan/hardtop that anticipated the compact-car era.
Wolseley 6/80
Wolseley's post-war flagship saloon (1948–1954) — an overhead-cam six famous as the British police car of its era.
Wolseley 4/50
The four-cylinder companion to the 6/80 (1948–1953) — an upmarket OHC saloon that sold in far smaller numbers than its six.
Wolseley 4/44
An elegant mid-1950s sports saloon (1953–1956) closely related to the MG Magnette ZA — about 29,845 built.
Wolseley 15/50
The B-series-engined successor to the 4/44 (1956–1958) — a short-lived bridge to the Farina-styled 15/60.
ZIL ZIS-110
A post-war Packard-inspired limousine — Stalin's primary state car, 2,089 units built 1945–1958.