Classic cars from a decade where hybrid engines were a fantasy, paper maps were still thing and your music library was stored on a pile of shinny discs.
For those of us old enough to remember the ‘90s in the UK, I’m sure many will associated the era with the arrival of Brit pop and the band wars of Oasis and Blur. John Major then Tony Blair ran the country, the Gulf War broke out, capitalism spread like wildfire across South East Asia, the first McDonalds opened in Moscow. The good Friday agreement was signed ushering peace at last in Ireland, Scotland got its parliament and Wales its National Assembly, Britain came out of an early 90s recession. Even the Berlin wall came down right as it started in ‘89. In the ‘90s it felt like anything could happen. Meanwhile in the world of motoring technological innovations were proving just that.
Cars were becoming more streamline, in Europe they were getting a strange new safety feature, the air bag. Electronic control toque vectoring came in, the smart key, bluetooth integration, even adaptive cruise control.
From a 2021 perspective, 90’s cars have bags of character, weren’t the death traps of old and knew how to be fun. Here’s a few we think helped define the era:
1990 - Lotus Carlton
What a way to kick off the ‘90s, a Vauxhall Carlton upgraded by Lotus to reach speeds of upto 177mph! Sold in one colour similar to British Racing Green and with a number of mad scientist-like enhancements in the engine department - the original 24v straight 6, 3.0 litre became a 3.6 litre with two turbo chargers. Reinforced engine block webbing, a custom crankshaft, modified brakes, steering and suspension, but with only modest exterior alterations this was something of a sleeping dragon. Unfortunately the local villagers weren’t happy. A campaign group was set up to ban the car from Britain when one was stolen from a home in West Midlands and went on to be used in series of ram raids that left the police unable to catch it. Even the UK government called the car “unsafe”. To this day the car was never recovered and now presumably like all dragons, sleeps soundly in a cave somewhere having thoroughly defeated the knights who came to retrieve it’s gold. Well, booze and fags mostly.
1991 - Lancia Delta HF Integrale “Evo”
Having won a five consecutive world rally championships since 1987 Lancia officially retired from Rallying in 1991. In the same year it introduced the “Evo” a highly revised version of it’s hugely successful Intergrale 16v. Two private teams, Martini Racing and the Jolly Club went on with Lancia’s backing with the Evo to win it’s sixth world championship rally in 1992 - a feat which remains a record to this day. There was an Evo II in ‘93 but the private teams never got the same backing, as such Toyota and Ford outclassed Lancia with the Celica and RS Cosworth. Soon after in 1994 the last ever Delta rolled off the production line and into history.
1992 - Ford Escort RS Cosworth
If you were considered a ‘youth’ in 1992 and you could drive, this is probably the car you wanted. Developed by Ford to win world rally championships, from the get go it was the creme de la creme of joy riders throughout the UK. Its ‘whale fin’ spoiler acting as a mating signal to members of your preferred sex, the RS Cosworth became a street icon. It’s sporting aspirations however never materialised, although it did win events, just never the championship which was dominated by Toyota’s Celica at the time. It wasn’t until 2006 that Ford would win the championship with the Focus, the previous occasion being in 1981 with the Talbot.
1993 - Aston Martin DB7
At the opposite end of the cultural scale to the Escort Cosworth sits the DB7. Built in Kidlington Oxfordshire this was the Aston Martin that nearly never was. In the wake of the 1990s economic downturn Ford, then owner of the brand wasn’t keen to invest in a new high end luxury car. Not after the recent Jaguar Xj220’s arrival, another of Ford’s brands. To get the job done on budget, designers pulled parts from one of Fords other brands, Mazda specifically, the 323 F, 323 Estate, and MX-5 and even a Ford Scorpio. The result was a huge success and the birth of a new British legend which went on to become the basis of the Jaguar XK.
1994 - Porsche 993
Last of the water-cooled 911 series the 993 is widely considered by Porscheophiles as the Goldilocks car - just the right amount of modern technology and air-cooled heritage. It also marked a distinct visual break, becoming more aerodynamic, setting the standard for models to come. With the same 3.6 litre engine as the previous 964 better engine management and exhaust design gave it a bump from 250hp to 263hp, in 1996 it jumped again to 283hp. Later a turbo version was released in 1995 with 402hp engine and was the first Porsche to feature permanent all-wheel-drive.
1995 - Volvo V40
Not the most obvious choice for an iconic car of the ‘90s but often what makes a car era- defining can be personal as well as what’s held in cultural high regard. For me it was the fact I rolled one of these in the New Forest, Hampshire whilst avoiding a deer. I walked away unscathed with only a vivid memory of my mini discs (another ‘90s invention) floating in mid air as I revolved around them. To be fair if you’re going to roll a car from 1995 the V40 was a good choice as it was the first car to achieve a 4 star Euro NCAP rating.
1996 - Peugeot 106 GTI
Although the 106 originally came out in 1991 it wasn’t until ‘94 that we saw the arrival of the GTI variant. With the legendary Peugeot 205 discontinued two years earlier the 106 GTI became it’s spiritual successor and as Peugeot put it was about “fewer frills and more thrills”. With a 1.6 litre, 16 valve engine, then omitting power-steering, central locking and electric windows to keep the weight to just 825kg, they weren’t joking. Handling was fantastic and lived up to the Peugeot ‘Drive of Your Life’ mantra yet still had room for a small family in the back.
1997 - Ford Puma
Winner of Top Gear’s car of the year for it’s “incredible feeling and drive sensation” the Puma was somewhat of a short lived success. Only 133,000 were built and sold in Europe alone. During that time however it left an impression garnering a Millennium design award and featured in one of Britain’s top ten ads of all time. The one where Steve McQueen’s Mustang from the film Bullet was replaced with the Puma. There was even a racing Puma variant which featured a race braking system, beefed up bodywork, honed suspension, refined gearbox and slip-differential option. A complete redesign in 2019 however killed that ‘90s spirit of being a bit fun and stupid by making it all economical and safe.
1998 - Audi TT
The Audi TT has become a street staple today, it’s not a rare sight and it doesn’t really turn heads so much despite the current generations newer more super car-esque looks. But back in ‘98 the original TT was something of a low flying space-craft. It was a real head turner, a concept car that wasn’t a concept anymore. That’s why we think it belongs on the list, it normalised the radical, and being able to own a special looking sports car that was at least half practical and didn’t cost the earth. The only trouble is, special isn’t special anymore when it becomes normal, such is the cost of progress.
1999 - Cilla Black
Not a car no, but appropriately she did host the show Cilla’s goodbye to the ‘90s. To be fair there were several crazy sports cars released in ‘99 along with some would be staples of the 2000s like the BMW X5, Citereon Picasso etc but it seems a shame to leave what was a great decade for cars on such a sensible SUV note. Things from now on began to get safer, more sturdy and sat you higher on the road, modern classics became more refined and everything became very capable. It’s pretty hard to buy a bad car now, it’s also hard to buy one with unique character. With the financiers pulling the strings more and more less risks would be taken and established models would be re-worked over and over, a strategy which has affected many creative industries and car design I count as one of those. So instead I leave you with someone who for some will never have heard of; Cilla Black. A working class lass come good, singer and TV personality she was a much loved common sight on British TV. In a way Cilla Black represents a lot of what the 90’s stood for, down to earth, not particularly sophisticated, but an awful lot of fun.
By R Wilson
SES Marketing Director
Comments