Were these the 100 best cars of the 20th century?

Car of the Century

In December 1999, the winner of the Car of the Century award was revealed at a glittering ceremony in Las Vegas. It followed a lengthy selection and voting process that started in 1996 when an initial 716 cars were deemed significant enough to be worthy of the award. Thanks to our friends at Petrolblog, we can reveal the 100 candidates that made it into the official catalogue for the voter, along with the eventual winners.

What was the Car of the Century award?

The Car of the Century (COTC) was the brainchild of the Dutchman Dick Holzhaus who believed that the car was one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century. To underscore its importance, he assembled a team of automotive journalists from 32 countries to create a list of cars eligible for the title. All existing manufacturers were asked to submit three candidate models per 25-year period, but the team also included cars from defunct brands.

The selection process

To be considered for selection, the car must have been designed for the transport of passengers, at least 50 examples needed to have been produced, and of those cars, at least three still had to be in existence. This narrowed the list of 1,500 cars to 716, which became 200 following input from the jury. This was subsequently narrowed to a final 100, which became part of the Car of the Century exhibition in Amsterdam.

The voting procedure

As well as voting online, visitors to the exhibition could vote via interactive computers. The public and jury votes were then used to create a final shortlist of 26 cars, with the professional jury voting again for the five finalists. You might recognise one of the professionals (pictured). The winner was named at a ceremony in Las Vegas. Here are the 100 candidates, presented in batches of 10 cars.

Car of the Century: 1-10

De Dion-Bouton Quadricycle… Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost… Ford Model T… Cadillac Self Starter… Hispano-Suiza Alfonso… Stutz Bearcat… Hispano-Suiza H6… Austin Seven… Bentley 3-Litre… and Lancia Lambda Torpedo.

Car of the Century: 11-20

Bugatti T35… Ford Model A… Mercedes-Benz S/SS/SSK… Bentley Speed Six… Duesenberg Model J… Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GranSport… Cadillac V16… Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider… Auto Union DKW Front… and Ford V8.

Car of the Century: 21-30

Packard Twelve… Bugatti T57… Chrysler Airflow… Citroen Traction Avant… Tatra 77… Auburn Speedster 852… Cord Model 810/812… Jaguar SS100… BMW 328… and Delahaye 135M and 135MS.

Car of the Century: 31-40

Fiat 500 Topolino… Lancia Aprilia… Talbot-Lago T150… Lincoln Continental V12… Willys Jeep… MG TC… Studebaker Champion… Tucker 48… Volkswagen Beetle… and Renault 4CV.

Car of the Century: 41-50

Cisitalia 202-1100 Coupe… Citroen 2CV… Ferrari 166… Jaguar XK120… Morris Minor…. Land Rover Series 1 80… Lancia Aurelia B10… Panhard Dyna… Porsche 356… and Pegaso Z-102 Coupe.

Car of the Century: 51-60

Bentley R-Type Continental… Triumph TR2/3/3a… Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Coupe… Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider… Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe… Citroen DS19… Fiat 600 Multipla… BMW 507… Fiat Nuova 500… and Lotus Elite Type 14.

Car of the Century: 61-70

Aston Martin DB4/DB4GT… Volvo PV544… Cadillac Eldorado… Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta… Jaguar Mk2… Mini… Saab 96… Jaguar E-Type… Lotus Elan Sprint Type 45… and MGB.

Car of the Century: 71-80

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray… Porsche 911… Ford Mustang… AC Cobra 427… Lancia Fulvia Coupe… Renault 16… Jensen FF… Toyota Corolla… Lamborghini Miura… and NSU Ro80.

Car of the Century: 81-90

BMW 2002… Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona… Datsun 240Z… Range Rover… Lamborghini Countach LP400… Alfa Romeo Alfasud… Honda Civic… Lancia Stratos… Volkswagen Golf… and Renault 5.

Car of the Century: 91-100

Mazda RX-7… Audi Quattro… Peugeot 205… Renault Espace… BMW M3… Lexus LS400… Mazda MX-5… Honda NSX… Dodge Viper… and Audi A8.

Car of the Century: 26 nominees

The top 10 from the public vote were combined with the choices of the professional jury with the aim of naming a shortlist of 25 to 35 cars. As it happened, nine of the public choices were among the 25 selected by the journalists, so the shortlist of 26 cars were revealed at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show.

The final five were announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September of the same year. In reverse order, they are…

5th place: Porsche 911

The Porsche 911 finished fifth, with a total of 303 points. In the official COTC catalogue, the 911 was called a ‘world-class sports car’, with an acknowledgement that collectors were ‘currently searching for models from 1963’.

4th place: Volkswagen Beetle

With a total of 521 points, the Volkswagen Beetle was ranked fourth. From the catalogue: ‘The Beetle became a symbol of the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle).’

3rd place: Citroen DS

With 567 points, the Citroen DS, specifically the DS19, grabbed the bronze medal. The COTC jury called it ‘one of the most important specimens in car history’, adding: ‘never before did so many people swarm to a Parisian exhibit as when the DS debuted there in 1955.’

2nd place: Mini

The only British car to make the top five, the Mini scored an impressive 617 points. From the catalogue: ‘After 40 years the Mini is above all still an example for the entire car industry as far as optimal use of interiors with minimal external measurements go.’

1st place: Ford Model T

Romping home to victory with a mighty 742 points, the Ford Model T was named Car of the Century. With production starting in 1908, it was the third-oldest car in the running for the award, with the jury saying that ‘no other car has had such an influence on the mass production of cars’.