‘We tested 50 iconic British cars and there was one clear winner’

A group of motoring experts have tested 50 of the UK’s most iconic cars and come up with a winner of the country’s best British-built car.

Vehicles from throughout the UK’s glittering motoring present and past were tested, assessed, and judged before the judges came to a clear and unambiguous winner.

Candidates included the Range Rover, Jaguar E-Type, McLaren F1, Ford Fiesta, Bentley Blower, and even Nissan’s Qashqai and Leaf, but the winner was an icon, not just of one century, but two.

In the end the experts decided that the MINI, both in it’s iconic Austin/Morris form and in that brought back from the dead by BMW in the 2000s, was the Mini/MINI.

The reason for the dual title is because when BMW brought back the iconic city car at the turn of the century, they rebranded it with the name in all-caps, but still very much made it part of the same lineage as the 1960s icon.

As to why the Mini/MINI was considered the Best British-built car, the experts at Auto Express explained that it was because no other vehicle represented the UK’s automotive industry best.

They said: “We reckon no other British-built vehicle better represents the relevant, innovative, and pioneering UK automotive industry quite like the world’s original small car.

“There really can be little doubt – the Mini (not forgetting the modern-day MINI) truly is the best car this green and pleasant land has ever built. Long may it continue.”

Whilst the Mini came out on top, there was stiff competition from other British built machines including the Jaguar E-Type which came in second and the Land Rover Defender that finished the podium.

Whilst British cars made up the majority of the 50-strong list, non-British cars were also eligible by dint of the fact they were produced in the UK. This is why Nissan’s Qashqai and Leaf feature alongside Ford’s GT and Fiesta, showing Britain as a historically attractive place for car companies to base themselves.

On the GT, the experts remarked: “Commissioned by Ford’s US bosses to race under the Stars and Stripes flag and win the gruelling Le Mans 24-hour race, the low slung GT40 racer was actually designed and built in the UK.”

Whilst this list is full thanks to considering the UK’s entire automotive history, there are questions over how much smaller this list would look if just the past 25 years were taken into account.

In the past quarter century the UK’s automotive industry has taken a battering with Brexit, a pandemic, and several economic crises hurting British car builders.

With pressure increasing on the automotive sector, and amid concerns about the damage Donald Trump could do, the UK government is reacting. This week it published a Research Briefing into how it could support employment in the automotive manufacturing sector.

In the research briefing, the Government stated: “In Budget 2024, the government set out funding for certain sectors ahead of the industrial strategy’s publication.

“This included confirmation of £2 billion in funding to “support the automotive sector, including the zero emissions vehicle manufacturing sector and supply chain, providing the long-term certainty that industry need to invest in advanced, greener technologies”.

“More recently, the government has also said that the industrial strategy will support the automotive industry, alongside actions that are already being taken.”