2035 Isn’t Here Yet – Five Petrol Icons for Tesla Money

The UK Government has confirmed it wants to ban the sale of all new internal combustion engine cars by 2035. The original ban was 2040, but that ban made provisions for hybrid vehicles. This new 2035 ban doesn’t, so it’s the end of internal combustion as a means of propulsion. At least here in the UK. Sad times indeed. But there is some silver lining to be extrapolated from the clouds of government plans. 

The ban only affects new cars. Nobody is going to stop you buying a used petrol car, and despite the best efforts of people who take the time to comment on Daily Mail articles, nobody from the government is going to come to your house on January 1st, 2035, and take your petrol car away from you.

If, then, there are no new ICE cars as of 2035, that means there is more fuel for the classics. More fuel for us, the enthusiasts. More fuel, then, for automotive fun. But what kind of fun should we have? How best can we turn liquified dinosaurs into small explosions within our engine? This is a question we’ve been pondering, but it’s a struggle given the vastness of the classic car world. As such, we’ve given ourselves the baseline of £38,500, which is the price of the hugely popular Tesla Model 3 – a pure electric car. That’s a decent chunk of change, so what could we buy? 

1) Aston Martin DB9 

If you’re going to burn fuel you may as well do it in a plentiful and over exuberant way, and there is nothing more over exuberant than a V12. But we’ve got nearly forty grand to play with here, so there is no need to go for an old Jag XJ or some such. No, let’s get our Bond on and go for an Aston Martin DB9. 

Introduced in 2004, the DB9 was a grand tourer built to fill the large shoes left by the DB7. And fill them it did. Henrik Fisker’s original design gave the DB9 a much lighter, delicate aesthetic compared to that of the DB7. Long, flowing lines, fine details such as the delicate grille, the carefully considered wing vents and so forth – it was and still is a truly beautiful car. 

Being a GT car, the DB9 is built to munch the miles, and every single one of those miles will be a joy. The V12 fitted to the DB9 packed 450hp at launch, or 470hp after 2009. Sitting mostly behind the front axle, the big engine serves as a brilliant bit of weight distribution, too. As such, despite its GT goals, you can properly press on through the bends. But do you want to know the best bit? You can get the DB9 with a six-speed manual transmission!

2) Ferrari Mondial

If you’re going to have a list in which the focus is on the engines, you must have a V8 or two, and there are none finer than those from Italy. Highly-strung, vocal, powerful feats of engineering, the Italian V8s represent the finest in precision engineering. If they didn’t, the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini wouldn’t have become some of the world’s most coveted brands. And it’s the former we’re considering here in the form of the Mondial. 

Hold your comments about this not being a proper Ferrari. It was designed by Leonardo Fioravanti of Pininfarina, the same man who penned the 288 GTO, the 308 GTB and the F40 to name a few. It was built in Modena at the Ferrari factory, and it was powered by a Ferrari-built V8. In fact, the engine was a work of art. A lightweight alloy block, a 90 degree bank angle, a five-bearing flat plane crank and quad (overhead) cams. It was and still is a serious bit of kit, offering 214hp in 3.0 guise through to 300hp in 3.4 flavour. 

The Mondial was also one of Ferrari’s most commercially successful models thanks to sales of over 6,000 units. Yet today, many snub the Mondial because it’s not an F40, or a 288 or a Testarossa. It’s like snubbing a juicy sirloin steak because it’s not a fillet. It’s bonkers. The Mondial was and still is a great car, and it can seat four. You could probably use it as a family car. Maybe. 

3) TVR Tuscan Speed Six

It would be remiss of us to compile such a list and not include a TVR. If there was ever a car designed to change petrol from liquid into gas, this was and still is, it. But unlike most TVRs, there was no V8 under the long, curvaceous bonnet of the Speed Six. The clue as to what was under there is in the name – the Tuscan Speed Six is a six-cylinder car. Available as a 3.6 with 350bhp or a 4.0 with 440bhp, the Tuscan was an absolute animal. 

Like all animals though, the Tuscan is a car you need to treat with respect. Firstly because, despite the utterly beguiling looks, the Tuscan is extremely fragile and doesn’t have the best record for reliability. Secondly, that engine – in any guise – kicks out more than enough power to get the rear wheels of this 1,120kg car spinning. And that could very easily see you end up in a ditch. Make no mistake, this car is a handful. 

The good thing is the age of the Tuscan. It’s an old car now, which means if you’re buying one it’s almost certainly A) enthusiast owned and B) been cured of any issues. Add to this the impressive specialist aftermarket, the passionate enthusiast base and the fact the Tuscan is an absolute joy to drive (sensibly) and there’s not a lot stopping you from buying one.

4) Original Ford Thunderbird

We have to include some American iron in this list, and this is it. We may be biased given that there is a ‘55 Thunderbird in the Car & Classic fold, but also, it’s a brilliant and highly significant car from one of the world’s biggest automotive names. Plus, it has a 292 cubic inch V8, and that alone qualifies it for this list. 

Over 1953 and 1954, Chevrolet stunned the world with the Corvette. It was revolutionary thanks to its fibreglass body, a true American sports car. Ford, sensing the impact the Corvette would have on the market, pounced into action and in just 12 months it created the Thunderbird. Sketch to prototype car in a year. That takes some doing. Ford unveiled it to the public in February 1954, and they loved it. 

The first production year of the Thunderbird was 1955. Ford, to the confusion of Chevrolet, didn’t brand it as a sports car, and instead described it as a ‘personal luxury car’. As such, it was available with a hard-top, electric seats and windows, power steering and power brakes. And it turned out that’s what we wanted – the Thunderbird outsold the Corvette 23-1. It was a glorious moment for Ford, and for Tesla money you can get a nice one. What a way to use up some fuel!

5) The Mercedes-Benz 500E

This is the Mercedes-Benz built by Porsche because it was too much of a wide boy to be built in the Mercedes factory. No, that’s not some sort of metaphor about ego or something. The widened arches of the 500E were too wide. The car didn’t fit through the assembly line in three different places, so instead, Mercedes-Benz asked Porsche to build it at its Zuffenhausen facility. Porsche was glad of the work, given the company’s early ‘90s troubles. 

Porsche didn’t just build it though. It also helped design it. The 500E is a 5.0 V8 packing 322bhp via a four-speed auto and rear-wheel drive. Mercedes-Benz wanted a hot W124, but it had a lot going on, so sought outside help. As such, Porsche engineers worked the W124 over and made changes to the chassis, suspension and bodywork in order to make the mammoth engine fit. 

The 500E with its flared arches, deep spoilers, wider (1.5in) track and lowered stance was perhaps the ultimate Q car. It’s a car that’s only recognised by people who know. And those who don’t soon fall victim to the 500E’s impressive pace – 0-60 in 5.5 seconds, quarter mile in 14-seconds and a top speed of 160mph (limited). It was an animal of a car, it still is in fact, and it should be celebrated. This is the perfect car for burning the fuel a Tesla never will.