The most interesting cars

PAST IMPERFECT: You may never get a chance to drive one, but here's a chance to explore the best of the world's motoring

LIKE MOST of us, I usually avoid coffee-table books like the plague, but a recent volume has caught my eye: 501 Must-Drive Carsis the latest in the 501 series, which covers everything from day trips to diving locations.

As the title suggests, it comprises a listing for 501 cars the authors – three of them – suggest as essential cars any petrol-head should drive in their lifetime. As most of us are unlikely to get the opportunity to drive even a handful of them, the listings in this book are as close to these cars, in the metal, as we will ever get.

Of course, as with most books of this kind, it's the fascination of seeing what cars the authors have chosen that is the draw for readers. List are fodder for debate among car fans. And 501 Must-Drive Carsdoes not disappoint. The listing is well thought out and has sufficient eclectic choices to intrigue even the most knowledgeable of motoring buffs.

The book’s listings are divided up by decade and, strangely, do not include anything earlier than the 1920s, instead including a final section on concept cars. This section is one of the most interesting in the entire book, as the choice of concepts is highly unusual and contains several that readers will previously have been unaware of.

Although the book has the feel of an American production, the authors are all based in the UK and their choices in the main are those of European motoring fans. Thus, the Austin 7 features alongside various Bugattis in the first chapter, which combines the 1920s and 1930s.

Lesser-known models such as the Graham Blue Streak Eight and the Ruxton also find their way into this chapter. The chapter on the 1940s has such gems as the Crosley Hot Shot (yes, honestly) as well as the HRG 1500 Aero, Nash Airflyte and the ill-fated Tucker ‘48 Sedan.

The 1950s section features well-loved cars such as the Austin Healey Sprite, alongside the Panhard Dyna Z and the Tatra 60S. (I’m also glad to note from a personal point of view that the Daimler SP250 Dart finds its way into this chapter).

BMW’s 3200 CS is but one of the cars featured in the section on 1960s cars – a section that shows great diversity, ranging from models such as the Buick Riviera to the exotic De Tomaso Mangusta and the much under-rated Fiat 850 coupé.

The sections on the remaining decades continue in a similar vein, but I found the final section on concept cars particularly fascinating.

It’s a short section, but the choice of cars is highly unusual and includes such gems as the Ford Nucleon – a proposed nuclear-powered car from Ford, who can have had no real concept of what they were proposing, and the Ferrari Modulo Pininfarina – an extraordinary car design which could only drive in a straight line, yet managed to win 22 international design awards.

Overall it’s an entertaining book to browse and, best of all, costs just €9.99.

And before we leave it, the oddest car? Definitely the Peel P50 from 1963. The smallest production car in history and the only one ever to originate on the Isle of Man, it had a single seat and three wheels. The Peel P50 had no starter motor – you used a crank to get it going and it was flat out at all of 30mph.

501 Must-DRIVE CARS is published by Bounty Books and is on sale at €9.99