6 Cars That Were Technologically Ahead Of Their Time
1. Mitsubishi GTO
Nowadays it’s kind of a given that supercars will have active aerodynamics to keep them pinned to the road at ludicrous speeds, but back in the 90s that kind of witchcraft was unheard of. So that made it all the more impressive when the Mitsubishi GTO rocked up with front and rear spoilers that could move depending on your speed. The GTO also had full time four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering.
2. Mercedes-Benz S-class
If you want to know what the first car to feature any given technology was, chances are good that it was the Mercedes-Benz S-class. Every generation has featured technology that would become standard in the decades to come. Over the years it has featured innovations including radar-guided cruise control, seatbelt pre-tensioners, ABS, traction control and infrared night vision.
3. Aston Martin Lagonda
For a manufacturer that’s best known for it’s super sleek designs, the Lagonda is an odd wedge-shaped beast. Its styling might have been divisive, but what’s really interesting is inside - it was the first car to use a digital instrument panel. Unfortunately, the computers that ran it were prone to crashing, the screens were unreadable in direct sunlight, and the touch-sensitive buttons were not very sensitive to being touched.
The development cost for this electro-turd interior was four-times the entire development budget for the rest of the car. Still, when it did work, it was mighty impressive to have a digital dash in the late 70s.
4. Porsche 959
Like so many of the greatest performance cars, the 959 was born from Porsche’s desire to kick ass in racing, specifically Group B rally. It had a twin-turbocharged flat-six engine that made 444hp, which coupled with an advanced all-wheel drive system helped it hit 62mph in 3.7sec. That made it the fastest car in the world. You could also control ride height, it featured zero lift, and it was the first car to feature electronic tyre pressure monitoring.
5. GM EV-1
The world is losing its mind over the Tesla Model 3, so it seems apt to remember the first mass produced EV. GM made the EV-1 back in the late 90s, but they weren’t available to buy, instead you had to lease it from GM.
When the program was discontinued in 2002, GM took back all of the cars without giving lessees the opportunity to buy the cars they’d been driving. Most EV1s were crushed, while a few were sent to museums. It’s still a sore point with many environmentalists and EV fans, who accuse GM of deliberately sabotaging the development of EVs to pander to the oil industry.
6. Audi Quattro
Audi’s legendary rally success with the Quattro has been much publicised. Before it arrived on the scene, competitors scrabbled for grip with two-wheel drive, but then Audi blew everyone out of the water with its all-wheel drive setup. Rallying would never be the same again, as nothing could keep pace with the four-ringed, four-wheel drive monsters.
Comments
Great list!
It got me thinking… I think that in a few decades the Koenigsegg Regera would be in such a list as the first car that has a petrol/ethanol engine but no transmission.
Well, it isnt the first car without transmission.. DAF/Volvo massproduced one in the 70’s/80’s.
It’s called Variomatic if u wanna google it.
It do has transmission, but only has the final gear….
It turned out that the active aeros on GTOs did jack sh*t
918 and new Honda NSX could be the next in line of cars ahead of their time
What about Citroen DS?
Yeah, first car ever to use adaptive headlights.
Lancia Thema and its adaptive spoiler.
I would prefer to see this in the list instead of the 959
What about the E-Type Jag?
That’s still a quick car, and the engineering is so advanced even by today’s standards
Where is the Pontiac Aztek?
True. The car should have been included in the list. No car has been able to make an entire planet puke all at once upon seeing that thing.
Audi Quattro bulsht.
“Rallying would never be the same again, as nothing could keep pace with the four-ringed, four-wheel drive monsters.”
Ehm… let me just remind you Lancia 037. This one could keep up. And even be faster nevertheless being RWD only…
1982 - Audi first time appearance - wins obviously
1983 - Lancia’s response with RWD 037 (uhm… where is Audi? Oh wait - wasn’t it turbocharged AND supercharged Volumex? Or VW TFSI was soooooo innovative 30 years later? )
1984 - Ok, Audi is back with bonkers S1
1985 - oooh frenchies can also do it (even better!) - Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
1986 - Little Peugeot is so bonkers that it wins again.
1987 - Italians finally caught up - Hello real legend - Delta HF Intergrale (sadly also end of group B / beginning of WRC)….1992 - Lancia Delta HF still wins.
1993 - Japs think they also can do it properly - and it seems it is true - Celica Gt-four
Summing up:
Lancia - 10 constructor wins- 7 with Delta, 3 with Stratos
Citroen - 8 wins
Peugeot - 5 wins
Ford/Toyota/Subaru/Fiat/VW -3 wins
“allmighty” Audit - 2 wins in the 80’s - only because Italians and French had delay with reaction.
Btch please audi quattro “legend”(still nice car though but not THAT legendary and “ahead” of time.)(let me just say - Subaru Leone, Jensen FF etc.)
True. People brag about that “legend” because it was the 1st manufacturer wich used a awd vehicle in this sport.
If only I could give your comment a thousand upvotes..
Boy, stop being so salty.
The reason why the quattro has the status it has today is not because it won the most rally championships, but because they came out of nowhere. Lancia (and others) have been rallying since the 60s and had a reputaion in the motorsport scene, while Audi was basically new to the game (with the last appearance in motorsport dating back to pre WW2) and beat the competition without having all the experience and funds. Apart from the AWD they also were the first to introduce Turbocharged engines to the sport. And considering that S1 was still based on a standard production model, it still could keep up very well.
It’s not the number of wins that forged the legend, but the fact that an underdog had such a great impact on the sport.
1982 beaten by the one of the most ordinary cars in this time, a Opel Ascona 400!
I think this is an unfair comparison, u are comparing an mid engined car to a Front engined car with the engine infront of the front axle. That’s like conparing an elephant with an Horse. Audi did a great job inventing an AWD system that was capable of the things it did so please stop hating. Also it kinda destroyed the Trans am and IMSA GTo series with it’s AWD system and 5 cylinder Engines on Tarmac!!!
Alll these AWD cars you named were mid engined and much smaller compared to the quattro and Sportquattro.
This is interesting, but what about the 13th gen Toyota Crown? Its got all sorts of stuff that were never heard of before it was introduced (2008-2012), with achievements like:
Being one of the first vehicles to have 3D Sat Nav, world’s first Collision Avoidance System that is integrated with GPS Navigation brake assist, first active pedestrian night detection system and monitoring system that analyzes the driver’s face, especially the eyes, and will adjust the drive settings accordingly should the eyes be sleepy or not. The scanner can read through sunglasses as well.
tweet tweet
Nice, I have a 2006 Crown and it’s beautiful. Too bad with the 2.5L V6 and the 1800Kg curb weight it’s slower than a IS250.
All those stuff you mentioned, were already on the S class for years, except GPS Navigation brake assist ( ???? )
The 3000gt wasnt the first japanese car with active aero.
Im not sure but the r30 skyline had defenetly active aero too. And that must have been mid 80’s something.
Never forget the Mercedes 600. Way ahead of its time