Period-Correct Vintage Cars You Can Buy Today

Some automakers reach far into the past to make the best cars currently on the road.

Published December 26, 2016

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Updated June 1, 2021

Our collective fondness for the automotive past is fueled by epic cars from each decade — cars now legendary for their racing pedigree, timeless performance and sheer rarity. Thankfully, some automakers have answered our dreams — in which we all own brand-new versions of the best cars ever — by way of continuation models. These are not reproductions of old autos, but actual fresh versions of the cars themselves, all done to vintage spec using modern tooling. Recently, continuation models have been announced left and right, and many have been popular for years.

Jaguar

E-Type Lightweight

Back in 1963, only 12 of the planned 18 aluminum-bodied lightweight racers were ever produced. These six continuations complete the 53-year-old run, and each car has undergone thorough 15-day testing by Jaguar. The aluminum body shell saves over 200 pounds. The 50+ years have only made it all the more tantalizing.

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XK SS

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Back in ’57, nine of the 16 incredible XKSS supercars were lost in a factory fire. This was the definition of tragedy. But like the old saying goes, “in the face of great adversity, storied automakers remake their most dream-worthy-but-deceased sports cars.” The hand-built cars will be ready for delivery in 2017.

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Aston Martin

DB4 GT

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Aston Martin built a total of 75 DB4 GTs between ’59 and ’63, eight of which were lightweight models that benefited from thin-gauge aluminum panels fitted over a tubular frame. 25 more lightweights are going into production, continuing on from the last chassis number 0202R, and direct from AM. The body work will benefit from modern computer-aided design for ultimate accuracy, but Aston says it will use period-correct methods to hand-finish each car. Each new DB4 GT will be powered by a 340 horsepower, 3.7-liter straight-six engine with a four-speed manual, similar to the Le Mans-winning originals. The new models will be ready to race in the third quarter of 2017.

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Superformance

Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe CSX9000

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The Cobra Daytona Coupe became the first and only American car to win the World Sportscar Championship in 1965 battling against likes of Ferrari. That said, Shelby only ever built six Coupes in total before Ford reassigned him to build the GT40 to, again, go after Ferrari. And, because Superformance uses the Genuine Shelby CSX9000 chassis and has a the official blessing from Carol Shelby, a Daytona Coupe from Superformance is eligible for the Shelby American Automobile Club owners registry, just like the first six.

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GT40

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The original GT40 was only produced from ’64 to ’69, but Superformance has gone to painstaking lengths to make sure the GT40 stays as authentic as possible. In fact, over two-thirds of the Superformance GT40 parts can be interchanged with an original GT40, including the chassis, which is stamped with the official GT40/P chassis number. Like the Daytona Coupe, Superformance’s GT40 also has the official blessing from Shelby and is also eligible for the official GT40 registry.

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DeLorean

DMC-12

In 1997, DeLorean Motor Company of Texas acquired the rights to the original DeLorean name and the full stock of the DMC-12 parts. And in accordance with the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act , DeLorean Motor Company of Texas can build you a DMC-12 exactly to the spec from 1981 for $65,500, including a warranty. Flux capacitor not included.

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Ferrari

This One’s a Bit of Wishful Thinking

250 GTO

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As far as continuation cars go, the Ferrari 250 GTO is ripe for a restart. The rules the FIA set for the World Sportscar Championship in the ’60s stated that any car competing had to have a production run of at least 100 examples. The story goes that when the FIA inspectors came to verify that Ferrari had indeed built the required 100 250 GTOs, engineers simply paraded the same 39 cars through the warehouse a few times and purposely used out of sequence chassis numbers, and presto: inspectors unknowingly signed off on the same car multiple times. Though Ferrari could follow suit and build the remaining cars, the company might not want to flood the market with the most sought-after car in the collector car world.

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