Auto Express readers have voted for the coolest car in the world (stock) (Image: Getty)
Coolness is subjective, one person’s cool is another person’s uncool, but it is nevertheless interesting. So it is with great trepidation and intrigue when people try and work out what the coolest car of all time is.
The car has been around for over 120 years now, and there are thousands of options to choose from, and so Auto Express has asked 6,000 of its readers for a verdict.
Coming in first is a car that has featured in films such as Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman’s Gattaca, and can be purchased, albeit condition dependent, for a small price.
The car in question is the Citroen DS. Writing in the article about the Auto Express readers’ winner, Sam Naylor said: “According to our readers, if there’s one car that is the absolute epitome of cool, it’s the Citroen DS.
“It’s not the fastest or the most exclusive car in our list, but it certainly has style and clever engineering on its side, while the DS name is a play on the French word for Goddess (déesse).
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A Citroen DS (Image: Getty)
“You can easily envisage the DS wafting serenely around Paris, along the Champs Elysee and around the Arc De Triomphe before parking up in front of a cafe in the city.”
One might think that with coolness will come expense, and yes, some of the cars on their list cost thousands, but a quick look on car buying website Car and Classic shows that a Citroen DS can be picked up for as little as £3,850. However, if you have a lot more money to spend, it is possible to pick up a UK based DS for over £100,000.
Auto Express readers’ rankings come at a critical time for the car industry as it grapples with what to do next. Before the war in Iran, interest in electric cars was plateauing, before skyrocketing as oil prices rise, but if the Strait of Hormuz reopens and if interest falls, what do car companies do next?
One option is to invest in alternative fuels, not electricity, but things like synthetic fuels and e-fuels. Whilst synthetic fuels use some natural substances, e-fuels are produced using hydrocarbons that are man-made.
Could there be ways to keep cars like the Citroen DS going? (stock) (Image: Getty)
In layman’s terms, this means some alternative fuels don’t put any extra carbon dioxide into the air, they are carbon neutral. Sometimes, petrol cars don’t need to be modified to accept some fuels but in other cases, small tweaks are required.
With the industry divided on which basket to put their proverbial eggs into, some have suggested that synthetic fuels could be one way to keep classic cars like the Citroen DS on the road.
Writing in Car Magazine, journalist Graham King said the technology was already being embraced, but that cost was an issue.
He concluded: “eFuels are also very expensive…That will come down over time but it’s unlikely to ever dip below the £2.00 per litre mark that would make them a viable replacement for petrol and diesel for all vehicles.
“But eFuels and synthetic fuels will play a vital role in keeping interesting, old cars going for decades, even centuries after petrol and diesel is no longer available.”