Throughout the history of automotive production, even as far back as Henry Ford, each generation seems to have its own unique style of vehicle. This doesn’t end at the exterior appearance, either, as limited technology also limits their capabilities at the time.
Sometimes, the rare exception is born that’s loved for decades after its original inception. These particular cars can go for millions, due to their power, looks, on-track performance, and so on. Others, however, manage to fly under the radar. As a result, they go for much cheaper than the alternative.
One such generation or decade with some remarkably expensive cars along with very affordable ones is the 70s. To illustrate this point, here are five expensive 70s cars, and five that are surprisingly cheap…
10 Expensive: Lamborghini Miura
Before Lamborghini became what it’s known as today, they were mostly involved in tractor building. A while after being insulted by Enzo Ferrari, Lamborghini would make their presence known with, arguably, the first supercar: The Lamborghini Miura.
The Miura was, truly, the beginning of a new era. In fact, the Miura was one of the first production vehicles to reach 200 miles-per-hour. Also, it’s a beautiful classic car that means everything to Lamborghini’s fans and history. That’s probably why a Miura will cost anywhere from half a million to several million at auction.
9 Cheap: Porsche 928
Of all the possible hobbies/interest on the planet, a love of cars is, probably, one of the most expensive ones out there, especially if you like the classics. Thankfully, though, not every one of them will break the bank, as evidenced by Porsche’s 928.
Unlike the standard Porsche 911, the 928 is a whole different setup. Rather than being a mid-engine flat six, it sports a front-end V8 option. The car performed well, but ultimately fell away from Porsche’s lineup. As a result, anyone looking to buy one can find them for as low as a couple thousand on Craigslist (Just expect some repairs).
8 Expensive: Ferrari 512 BB
When you’ve successfully created one of the best, and most successful, sports car brands in all of history, you may not care to listen to the advice of outsiders. This was the exact situation Enzo Ferrari was in during the 70s. Several officials had brought up the idea of a mid-engine road car, but Enzo wasn’t hearing any of it. Eventually, though, he relented with the Ferrari 512 BB.
The 512 BB was a “Berlinetta Boxster” designed for comfort, speed, and great looks. For the time, it was a perfect poster car for fans around the world. Later, though, it became even more formidable with the release of the 512 BBi: A fuel-injected version. Nowadays, an original 512 BBi can cost close to (if not beyond) half a million dollars.
7 Cheap: Fiat Dino Coupé
With Fiat and Ferrari's partnership in both motorsports and car manufacturing, it is no surprise that they share/shared information and resources. An example of this can be seen with the Fiat Dino Coupé: A Fiat exterior with a Ferrari heart.
Even though the Dino Coupé had the same engine as the Ferrari Dino 246, it would not meet that car's performance. Due to a lack of reliability and poor performance, the Dino Coupé never really saw its deserved fame. On the bright side, though, this means you can get one for pennies on the dollar (less than $50K at times).
6 Expensive: Lamborghini Countach
When seeing a Lamborghini Countach in the wild, there's only one appropriate response: "Wow!" No wonder, because upon first observing the Countach, the famous Italian designer, Mr. Bertone, said "Countach" (Translates to "Wow").
Of all Lamborghini's vast lineup throughout the years, the Countach is easily one of the most legendary and recognizable. Its wedge front, scissor doors, and 70's-'80s aesthetics helped to put the Countach on every young boy's poster at the time. Unfortunately, with fame comes a high demand, as a standard Lamborghini Countach will set you back (Up to) a million dollars.
5 Cheap: Jaguar XJS
After Jaguar's jaw-dropping and beautiful E-Type, they needed to create something that would, at least, match up to its predecessor. Sadly for Jaguar, they would fail to do so with the release of the 70s XJS.
This, however, is not to say that the XJS is a bad car. On the contrary, actually, since the XJS is well-built and (Although not as good looking as the E-Type) still pretty. Now, the value has started to increase for older Jag XJS', but few reach over a few tens of thousands with the exception of manual versions.
4 Expensive: BMW M1
With BMW's then control over Lamborghini, they decided to use some of Lamborghini's design queues to make a their own supercar. The end result was the wedge-shaped BMW M1, a legend in the automotive community.
Not only was the M1 quick, but it was also a competitive racer. With the M1, BMW saw a lot of success on and off track. To add to this, the M1 was one of BMW's first steps into making the M-series more accessible to the public.
An, obviously, since the M1 is so famous, sought after, and powerful, auctions for them usually exceed a half-million dollars.
3 Cheap: Ford Gran Torino
For the younger audiences, no, Gran Torino isn't just a movie with Clint Eastwood. In reality, it's a well-known muscle car (Which you should know if you actually saw the movie). However, well-known as it may be, the Gran Torino is nowhere as expensive as original Challengers, Chargers, and Chevelles.
The Gran Torino seems to be forgotten amongst several car enthusiast, nowadays. This is strange because, among other things, the Gran Torino was in NASCAR, sold well, and looked like a bona fide muscle car. Sadly, however, Ford moved away from the Grand Torino before too long. At least you can, likely, afford one, though, as a good Torino costs less than $40,000.
2 Expensive: Porsche 917
Of all the cars to ever race at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Porsche 917 was, arguably, the most iconic. Porsche, like always, went above-and-beyond the call of duty, making one of the most dominant LMP cars of all time.
Even though the 917 wasn't street legal, there were road-legal versions made by Porsche. However, don't get too excited (Unless you're Donald Trump types of rich), because an authentic Porsche 917 is often seen as priceless. If you could put a price tag on it, though, it would easily surpass any new Bugatti or Koenigsegg by miles.
1 Cheap: Ferrari 400
You may be thinking, "Wait. A Ferrari? On the 'Cheap' section? This doesn't make sense!" And you would be correct. For all intents and purposes, the Ferrari 400 should be up there with the likes of the Mondail and 348, but never was.
The 400 was the last of the carbureted Ferraris at the time. Along with this, it didn't exactly look like a Ferrari, even though Pininfarina helped with the design. Ultimately, it was due to bad timing and a lack of public interest as to why the Ferrari 400 failed. There is one benefit to this, though, since just about anyone can afford a 400 for around less than $50,000.