My top three all time cars...

[jont]

Reserving the right to come back and change my mind (as I've probably forgotten quite a few of the cars I've driven!), in no particular order...

993 C2. Still at an age where Porsches feel like the driver actually makes a difference to how well the car is going.
S1 Lotus Elise (sport 160). Nothing else I've driven has felt like so much of an event. Crap (factory) engine map means lumpy idle, slightly hairy cams and pops and bangs on the overrun.
205 XS. Fond memories of rallying in it, and with a tow hook on it let me borrow a glider for a week just after my finals.

[jont]

1. Porsche 911 Club Sport - mostly for the reasons others have stated, but also because it was a car I achieved something in 8 years ago...
2. Ferrari 550 Maranello - the best front-engined car ever, with a somewhat evocative gearshift
3. McLaren MP4-12C - the best road car in the world

Quoted before Dave realises he's missed the MX5 off the list

[jcochrane]

Difficult to limit to three but not being a lover of 2 seater sports cars it does help. I enjoy the occasional drive in something like an MX5 but only occasional.
Preferring the more civilised cars I would probably go for, in no particular order...

AMG C63
E39 M5 (provided the brakes have been upgraded to something that will stop the car.)
Porsche 911 Club Sport (despite previous comments about 2 seaters. This is an exception.)

If talking of the most fun car to drive then the Suzuki mini van known as the "pogo stick" is the easy winner. More laughter and smiles per mile than anything I've driven in recent years but also demanding high skill levels to get the most fun out of it and with the fun comes a sense of achievement.

[stefan einz]

There are probably two ways I could answer this. First, those cars in which I have had one or more truly memorable drives, where the car was central to my enjoyment. Second, those cars that I've driven which made a huge impression on me.

So, to the first option, it's actually fairly easy for me:

In an easy first place, Porsche Carerra GT. Every single drive in this car is memorable, but some have been sensational. At the top of the list would be the three hour run back up the Col de Vence from French rivieria, roof off, V10 engine note bouncing off the mountains. The car is so visceral, so engaging and demanding of the driver it rewards good driving like no other car I've driven.

In second place, the Porsche 911 Carerra Club Sport. Like the CGT, this is an entirely analogue car. Its centre piece is its steering feel. Non power assisted, no car I've driven communicates through the helm like a CS. It has just the right amount of power - you have to keep the revs between 5,000 and its red line at 6,800 rpm for the engine to sing. You can drive like this for hours without the car feeling even slightly strained. I've lost count of how many wonderful drives on the quiet D-roads on France I have had in this car. Approaching a corner, I love the the way the CS responds to a good H&T double-declutch downchange, the way its natural understeer is quelled by a touch of trail braking, the way the rear of the car rotates and is then balanced by a whiff of throttle, followed by all the gas once the car is past the apex, making use of its sensational traction. Ah, it's just motoring heaven.

Third place is harder. A few cars vie for my attention here. I've had some great drives in V12 front engined Ferraris - 550 Maranello and F12. Ferrari do grand tourers better than anyone. But my third place goes to another Porsche - the 996 generation GT3. I used to own a Mk2 (2003-2006) and now own an RS. I feel more at home in this car than any other. I've driven my own cars and those owned by friends over tens of thousands of road and track miles. I've even raced a 996 GT3 Cup car for two seasons at the Nurburgring. The engine is a masterpiece. The sound between 6,000rpm and 8,400 rpm is pure race car (no surprise - it is a race engine). The handling demands respect and eleven years later I am still enjoying the challenge of mastering it near to and on the limit (on track!). It feels unbreakable as only a Porsche can.

So a Porsche clean sweep. I suppose it's not surprising, given that I've driven so many miles in them.

But if I answer the question a different way - i.e. those cars that have made a huge impression on me, perhaps just from a short drive, the list is a bit different.

Easily at number one is the McLaren F1. I've driven a car belonging to a generous friend twice. Both times it was an almost overwhelming experience. The engine dominates proceedings. The thumping intake sound at mid revs is replaced by the finest V12 scream at 7,000 rpm. The gearbox is rifle bolt precise, and very challenging to use given the lack of flywheel inertia and full carbon clutch. The handling is, well, not great. Heavy steering and lots of understeer are not happy bedfellows. And the brakes are also not assisted, although after a while you do get used to this, and the feel is lovely. The central driving position is, of course, very special and it is also benefits from having a very small footprint on the road. Overall, if money were no object, this would be in my fantasy garage.

Second place goes to the Ferrari F12. There is a theme here. I am a sucker for a great engine, and the best engines are V12s. The engine in this car is, whisper it, even more maniacal than the F1. It punches harder at low revs, and revs to 8,250rpm, at which point it is putting out 740hp. This is in grand tourer! Driving a prancing horse badged car is always evocative, and despite the extraordinary technology in the F12 (e-diff, F1-track, magnetic dampers, double clutch gearbox etc.) it is still enormously exciting and engaging. Even Clarkson wondered if, actually, it had a bit too much power. It is vaguely unhinged!

Third place goes to the Light Car Company Rocket. Like the McLaren F1, it is a Gordon Murray creation so reflects his philosophy of light weight and supple suspension. It is rather extreme to drive (best with a helmet on), and the screaming Yamaha FZR 1-litre engine needs revving to deliver its performance. But no other car better demonstrates the dynamic benefits of low mass - in this case, under 400 kg fully wet. The steering is telepathic. The brakes (from an F3 racer) are powerful and easy to modulate. The chassis balance is near perfect. For a short B-road run, few cars are as quick or engaging.

finally, an honourable mention must go the E39 M5. This is the car I would choose if I had to own just one car that can cover every base - there is no better all rounder.

Thanks for the thread - it's been enjoyable writing about some of the cars that I love!

Cheers

[jcochrane]

Third place goes to the Light Car Company Rocket. Like the McLaren F1, it is a Gordon Murray creation so reflects his philosophy of light weight and supple suspension. It is rather extreme to drive (best with a helmet on), and the screaming Yamaha FZR 1-litre engine needs revving to deliver its performance. But no other car better demonstrates the dynamic benefits of low mass - in this case, under 400 kg fully wet. The steering is telepathic. The brakes (from an F3 racer) are powerful and easy to modulate. The chassis balance is near perfect. For a short B-road run, few cars are as quick or engaging.

finally, an honourable mention must go the E39 M5. This is the car I would choose if I had to own just one car that can cover every base - there is no better all rounder.
Cheers

I didn't think your response could fail to mention these two cars.

[trashbat]

Well, I have almost no empathy with any of this so far, E39 M5 possibly excepted, Suzuki van definitely so, because your chosen cars are - to me - fantasy Top Trumps nonsense that I'm unlikely to ever experience. Sorry!

I can't pick myself because I've driven hardly anything, but I would vote for stuff along the lines of the 2CV - where's that Harris video - and the like, included on account of what they historically contributed, what they made accessible, what they did for the money and so on.

[Adamxck]

Ive got some catching up to do. Ive not driven a great many cars, but from the few I have, the top 3 would be:

Mini cooper 1275.
No car has ever made me grin as much as this one. Its not fast, nor refined, but it is light and chuckable. Every drive was an event and you cant help but giggle as it bounces down the road.

Caterham roadsport 125.
The lowest powered Caterham (before the new 160 came out) but it didnt matter. Id never driven anything like it before, nor since now I think about it. The first car I could really feel. It reacted to every tiny input immediately and predictably and the exhaust produced some lovely pops on overrun. Sadly I hadn't long been exploring advanced driving when I had the pleasure to drive it. If i had another crack at it now, Id probably enjoy it even more.

Jaguar XKRS.
A supercharged 5.0l V8 producing 542bhp and I used all of it. The most powerful and best sounding car Ive driven by a long way. Happily I was on track so was able to listen to the soundtrack over and over again. It was ok around the corners, but I was always anticipating the next opportunity to use WOT for as long as possible. It was a short love affair but one I'll never forget. A truly intoxicating exhaust note.

Here's hoping I get the opportunity to try a 911 CS as its clearly held in very high regard. E39 M5 would be lovely too. Ive got some years ahead of me though. Better get cracking.

[sussex2]

I can't really say there is any car that I'd put into a top three; but here are some cars I've driven or owned that always put a smile on my face.

Alfasud Ti - I owned one and just listening to the engine was pure pleasure.
Vauxhall/Opel Senator - may seem an odd choice but again the noise that straight six made. I used these a lot for chauffeuring etc..The noise was pure mechanical, no computer induced pops and bangs.
MX5 - Certainly not for the engine noise which is nothing to write home about. In fact it is really dull. The car does however always puts a smile on my face.

The list above is not complete but these are a few of the cars I do and have taken the long way home in just to drive them.

[jcochrane]

I can't really say there is any car that I'd put into a top three; but here are some cars I've driven or owned that always put a smile on my face.

Alfasud Ti - I owned one and just listening to the engine was pure pleasure.
Vauxhall/Opel Senator - may seem an odd choice but again the noise that straight six made. I used these a lot for chauffeuring etc..The noise was pure mechanical, no computer induced pops and bangs.
MX5 - Certainly not for the engine noise which is nothing to write home about. In fact it is really dull. The car does however always puts a smile on my face.

The list above is not complete but these are a few of the cars I do and have taken the long way home in just to drive them.

Ah, happy memories. I owned a number of Alfasuds with their flat boxer engine and two twin weber carbs. required careful tuning, I used a specialist in central London. Early hours of the morning just before dawn, with a hint of damp in the air got the best out of the engine. Sheer heaven.

[akirk]

As they have to be cars we have driven - that skews the list a bit...

Top for me is probably the Jag XJS BTCC - with only one seat there is plenty of room for your shopping - and the starting procedure is pure theatre - turn a key, flick down a column of switches and then hit the big red button!

NUB 120 - the Ian Appleyard XK120 - totally different feel, but so much fun - drove this at Silverstone, absolute hoot...

From those I have owned - probably the RR Classic LSE with a hand built chipped 5.0lv8 in it - yes it was as bad as 4mpg at times, but it went like the clappers and its slightly optimistic centre of gravity meant you had to focus on how you approached any corner - you didn't fall over, but you could scrape the side steps!

Alasdair

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

This is hard but I think I'm going to end up the same as Steve, a Porsche clean sweep. I haven't driven as many as him, but all my greatest smiley moments have been in Porsches. It's hard to choose.

993C2 - same as JonT, there are a couple of these I've driven and they're difficult to drive well but really rewarding once you start gelling with the car. There's always room for (driver) improvement though.

Boxster S - sorry all you Boxster haters, I still find them incredibly rewarding. A Cayman is as good - I used to think better, but it's only down to a few horsepower and a tiny bit more stiffness. A Boxster with the roof down on a sunny afternoon in the Brecons is hard to beat though.

928S - very different, but the Porsche pedigree shines through, and as many have said, the faster you go, the smaller the car seems to get. It may just be loyalty chosing this car, since mine was an auto, and not in the first flush of youth, but thousands of miles and hundreds of laps of Castle Combe circuit hold many special memories. I particularly remember a session round CC with Dave Da Costa, one of the instructors. After showing me a better line through Bobbies, he said to me "now put your foot down and drive past them on the inside" and so it proved (on that, and many subsequent occasions).

Like many, I have a great affection for E39 M5s, but it's a different kind of drive, much more weight to control, and hence a slightly more considered and less arse-on-the-ground experience. 7db's Caterham was a huge hoot as well (off road). One day I hope to experience the older 911s and perhaps raise the bar even higher.

[Silk]

...your chosen cars are - to me - fantasy Top Trumps nonsense that I'm unlikely to ever experience. Sorry!

How can you possibly hope to reach driving nirvana without a Porsche?

[trashbat]

By taking off a door card, finding a rattling bit of trim that's fallen off inside, and then putting it back together without breaking anything else?

[Mike H]

As trashbat mentioned some way above, most of the cars here I can only aspire to.

Of the cars that I have driven, then I think that my top three, in no particular order would be 1) my old 1969 Mini that I rebuilt with a 997 Cooper unit, and then tuned and tuned and tuned, eventually sorting the brakes! At the time it was a bit of a lunatic car, especially in comparison to the day to day machinery around at the time. Great fun in a more innocent age. 2) would have to be the S1 Elise, purely because of it's handling capabilities. Hard to keep up with an Elise through the corners. I'm struggling with the third, but it's come down to the Ford Escort RS1600 BDA. Hard to beat in it's day as an everyday road (and rally) car. Equally capable on the road and in motorsport.

Thinking about my choice, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the Mini, the Elise and the Escort were all drivers cars. I've driven some 'nice' cars, and more recently I'm very pleased with my Audi S3, but the more modern machinery is, to my mind, not as engaging.

Sorry if this doesn't meet the expected standards!

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

Let's get some of this in perspective - if you added up the purchase price of the two Porsches I've owned (and currently still own one of), you'd get to about 1/3 of the list price of a new Audi S3.

Porsches are a bit of an addiction - hard to go back once you've tried them. This is an advanced driving forum, and with one notable exception, I think most of the posters on here are also car enthusiasts. Among enthusiasts, Porsches do tend to figure large.

I can fully understand and appreciate the attraction of Mini Coopers, and perhaps even more so Escort BDAs. Never driven either, but would love to. My initial car ownership was mostly Fords of a much more boring character. I've driven an Elise and enjoyed it very much, although I do like something that doesn't fill up with water quite so much when it rains