Porsche 911 (901)

The original Porsche 911, internally designated 901 before Peugeot’s objection to the naming forced a change, debuted at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show. Its 2.0-litre air-cooled flat-six and rear-engined layout established a formula Porsche has refined — but never abandoned — for over sixty years.

Compared to the 356 it replaced, the 911 offered a genuine 2+2 cabin, a stiffer platform, and considerably more performance, setting the template every subsequent 911 generation would follow.