Auto Express magazine names the top 100 cars in Britain, with the top ten produced here.

• Top industry bosses and Auto Express team pick top Brit-built motors
• Original Mini tops poll ahead of Jaguar E-Type and Land Rover Defender 

Britain’s most influential car bosses have teamed up with Auto Express - the UK’s biggest selling weekly car magazine - to name the Best of British. 

Following a rigorous voting process, the original Mini was named as the best British-built car of all time, seeing off competition from the Jaguar E-Type and Land Rover Defender. 

With a shortlist of 75 models that rolled off production lines in the UK, judges were asked to pick their top 10 based on sales, groundbreaking design or unbeatable performance. 

Votes were received from industry big-hitters including Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer and BMW’s sales and brand board member Ian Robertson. 

The results highlighted the sheer diversity on offer from Brit-built models with the top 10 including economy runabouts, all-terrain tackling off-roaders, two-seater sports cars, record-breaking exotica and even a humble family saloon. 

Auto Express Editor-in-chief Steve Fowler said: “This survey is a reminder of how many iconic cars Britain has produced over the years. So many of our Top 50 cars redefined segments and pushed the boundaries of what was possible. The spirit of innovation which created models as diverse as the Mini, E-Type and Defender continues today and the British automotive industry should be proud of its achievements and confident of the future.” 

Best of British Top 10

1. Mini
2. Jaguar E-Type
3. Land Rover Defender
4. Aston Martin DB5
5. McLaren F1
6. Range Rover Mk1
7. Ford GT40
8. Caterham/Lotus Seven
9. Ford Escort Mk1
10. Lotus Elise 

The Top Ten movie cars and their values, The Car Oscars are here, well, the best of them !

As the annual Oscar winners are announced in Hollywood on Sunday 26 February, automotive experts, hpi has revealed its list of the most iconic cars to star on the silver screen and what they could be worth today.  

Following a poll amongst its team of motoring editors, hpi has identified the top 10 most iconic movie cars:

10) 1977/2009 Chevrolet Camaro - Bumblebee from Transformers

9) 1970 Dodge Charger - Vin Diesel's car in The Fast & the Furious

8) 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 Fastback - as seen in Bullitt

7) 1980 Lamborghini Countach LP 4005 - as seen in Cannonball Run

6) 1966 Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider Duetto - as seen in The Graduate

5) 1968 Austin Mk I Mini Cooper S - as seen in The Italian Job

4) 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

3) 1963 Aston Martin DB5 - as seen in various James Bond movies

2) 1963  Model 117 VW Type 1 Beetle - as seen in Walt Disney’s Herbie movies

1) 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 - as seen in the Back to the Future trilogy

As a collection, the cars would have been worth a total of £30,362.00 based on RRP in their year of manufacture with the Ferrari from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off valued at £6,326.00 in 1961. James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 was worth £4,175.00 in 1963, and featured in Goldfinger and Thunderball in 1964 and 1965 respectively as well as later Bond’s Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale, Skyfall and Spectre. 

At today’s estimated retail values the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder would fetch approx. £1.75m and the Aston Martin DB5, a cool £1m. The 1980 Lamborghini Countach LP 4005 would be worth £275k. In total, at today’s retail average estimated value the entire collection would pull in £3,002,500.00 – fetching a massive 99 times return on the original investment of £30,362.00.*

Philip Nothard, consumer and retail editor at hpi said: “We thought it would be fun to come up with a definitive list of the most iconic cars to feature in the movies from the past fifty years and look at their values then and what they’d be worth now.  Some of the cars featured are bona fide classics and worth a significant amount now – warranting pride of place amongst any car collection. The DeLorean from Back to the Future was deemed as the most iconic and interestingly it was one of the most expensive at the time retailing at just over £10k. It would fetch around £35k at current market values, considerably more if fitted with a Flux Capacitor!”

hpi recently launched a vehicle valuations service giving consumers the ability to buy and sell cars with utmost confidence, offering them the inside view on the total cost of ownership of a vehicle during its lifespan along with precise depreciation figures.

The hpi valuations tool www.hpivaluations.com is aimed at consumers buying and selling cars in the used car market and minimises the risks that can see consumers paying over the odds or not getting the best-asking price.

* some of the vehicle values were based on currency conversions, due to some vehicles not being available in the UK.  The value today is not for the actual car featured in the films but based on the general model

1961 Jaguar E-Type becomes the Royal Mail's First class stamp

• Jaguar’s iconic E-type celebrated on a new First Class postage stamp as one of the Royal Mail’s British Auto Legends
• Stamp illustrates an evocative 1961 Series One Jaguar E-type roadster in red as one of a set of six classic British motor cars

Arguably the most beautiful car in history, the Jaguar E-type’s stunning looks and 150mph performance are being celebrated appropriately on one of three new First Class postage stamps being launched today (Wednesday 14th August) by the Royal Mail.

The Jaguar E-type created a worldwide sensation when it was first unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1961, and more than 50 years on, the car continues to cause both excitement and desire, whether it’s on the road, or illustrated on a postage stamp.

The legendary Jaguar is joined by five other familiar and popular British classic cars, including a 1962 MG B, 1963 Aston Martin DB5, 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, 1968 Morgan Plus 8 and 1976 Lotus Esprit, with the iconic red Jaguar E-type roadster chosen for one of the three First Class postage deliveries; very fitting for such a swift and stylish performance car.