My Car of the Year 1960-2019 (Part 4: The 1990s)

Welcome back! After a week off, we're on to the 1990s.

1990: Honda NSX

While we did see the E36 3-Series and the Renault Clio in 1990, I have to go for the Honda NSX. It's a brilliant sports car, with a great 3.0 V6 engine, 'fighter-jet inspired styling' and Ayrton Senna-developed handling. It also was the first production car to have an all-aluminum body. A technological masterpiece.

1991: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo

It was a bit of a boring year in 1991, apart from this one. The Lancer Evo was introduced in 1991, but really became famous in 1995 when it started to become a household rally name. Other contenders were the Fiat Cinquecento and Bugatti EB110 but they are both pretty flawed.

1992: McLaren F1

1992 was between Dodge Viper, McLaren F1, Subaru Impreza and... er... um... Hummer H1... anyway. I went with the McLaren. It's just a technological masterpiece. Featuring a BMW V12, an intriguing three seater layout and a brilliant chassis developed by Gordon Murray, the F1 is most famous for 1. holding the world speed record for production cars until the Bugatti Veyron, and 2. winning Le Mans in 1995. It's also been owned by Rowan Atkinson (just like the NSX mentioned above), George Harrison and Elon Musk.

1993: Mercedes-Benz C-Class

There was quite little from 1993... aside from the 993 911 and the first C-Class. I've gone the way of the C-Class as it's a brand new car, as opposed to an (albeit extensively) updated 964 Porsche. It had several engine and transmission options, but no performance models (particularily upon launch, they were added later). However, the point of this car was it's good safety (for its time), and luxurious features.

1994: Audi A8

Audi had a bumper year in 1994, with the A4, A6 and A8 all released then. I'll got for the A8. The biggest of the Audi luxury cars, it could be had with both petrol and diesel V6s and V8s, as well as a W12. It featured even more luxury and safety than the C-Class (as it should for being twice the price), including ESP (a world first), heated seats, side curtain airbags and HID headlights.

1995: Ferrari F50

Hans M, Unsplash

We had the Z3 and E-Class in 1995 but the F50 is an easy choice. The engine, a 4.7L V12, actually was from the 333SP racing car, but the rest of the car is built less for the track and more for the street. It hit 100 in 3.8 seconds and went al the way to 325kmh. While Jeremy Clarkson said it was ugly (and I do have to agree), it is a classic.

1996: Citroen Saxo

The choices for 1996 were Porsche Boxster, Mercedes CL and Citroen Saxo and given the cult following of the latter, as well as the flaws of the former, I'm going to do something very controversial and select the Citroen. Available with a selection of small four-cylinder engines, these were usually taken out by the car's later owners, as the Saxo became alegend in the aftermarket tuning industry.

1997: BMW 3-Series E46

Norbert Buduczki (Unsplash)

Teenage boys got very excited this year for the Honda Civic Type R, but it wasn't really a brilliant car. This defaulted the win to the E46 3-Series. The last of the old-style 3 Series, the E46 came with a variety of trims including the brilliant M3 and the less than brilliant 323ci. But there is a reason why this car is the first choice for executives.

1998: Ford Focus

Mirciov Dan (Unsplash)

There were some absolute tire fires in 1998: Rover 75, VW New Beetle, Smart, Kia Carnival. The two contenders were the Audi TT and Focus, but the TT was too unfocused to beat the Ford. A true people's car, it's now into it's fourth generation, springboarding off the original's success. Hot versions such as the RS and ST170 helped its image, as did a successful WRC stint.

1999: Pagani Zonda

Sam Pearce-Warrilow (Unsplash)

1999 also had some shockers: Kia Carens, BMW X5, Kia Rio and Hummer H2 spring to mind. But it had plenty more good cars than the previous year; the 911 GT3, Ferrari 360 and Honda S2000 can all feel hard done not to win. But there was no way I couldn't pick the Pagani Zonda. Good enough to 1. set the record around the Top Gear test track in 2002 and 2. to stay in production for 13 years, the Zonda was propelled by a Mercedes V12 and, counting one-offs, had no less than 34 variations. All of which were supremely fast (even the earliest model beat 4 seconds to 60mph) and stylish.