{"id":394568,"date":"2026-04-24T00:22:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T00:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/394568\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T00:22:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T00:22:30","slug":"not-a-ferrari-porsche-or-rolls-royce-coolest-car-in-world-named-and-costs-just-3-8k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/394568\/","title":{"rendered":"Not a Ferrari, Porsche, or Rolls Royce &#8211; coolest car in world named and costs just \u00a33.8k"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/driver-view-inside-car-of-country-road-6877233.jpg\" class=\"zoomEnabled\" data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/24\/1200x712\/secondary\/driver-view-inside-car-of-country-road-6877233.jpg?r=1776859403070\" alt=\"Driver view inside car of country road\" title=\"Driver view inside car of country road\" width=\"590\" height=\"443\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Auto Express readers have voted for the coolest car in the world (stock) (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n<p>Coolness is subjective, one person\u2019s cool is another person\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Coming in first is a car that has featured in films such as <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/entertainment\/films\/2139053\/Blue-Moon-review-Ethan-Hawke-Oscar\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ethan Hawke<\/a> and <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/entertainment\/films\/2186558\/unexpectedly-grisly-action-thriller-fun-uma-thurman-now-streaming\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Uma Thurman<\/a>\u2019s Gattaca, and can be purchased, albeit condition dependent, for a small price.<\/p>\n<p>The car in question is the <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/life-style\/cars\/2196160\/do-ignore-alert-issued-peugeot-citroen-vauxhall-drivers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Citroen<\/a> DS. Writing in the article about the <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.autoexpress.co.uk\/best\/cool-cars-all-time\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Auto Express<\/a> readers\u2019 winner, Sam Naylor said: \u201cAccording to our readers, if there&#8217;s one car that is the absolute epitome of cool, it&#8217;s the Citroen DS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;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 (d\u00e9esse).<\/p>\n<p> READ MORE: <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/life-style\/cars\/2196911\/rachel-reeves-car-tax-vehicle-excise-duty\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Rachel Reeves confirms \u00a3760 charge for drivers <\/a><\/p>\n<p> READ MORE: <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/life-style\/cars\/2196483\/best-car-for-road-trip-travel-holiday\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Not a Ford, BMW or Audi \u2013 the best car for a road trip announced <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/baarn-netherlands-citro-C3-ABn-ds-on-display-at-the-2019-concours-delegance-at-palace-soestdijk-on-6.jpeg\" class=\"zoomEnabled\" data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/24\/1200x712\/secondary\/baarn-netherlands-citro-C3-ABn-ds-on-display-at-the-2019-concours-delegance-at-palace-soestdijk-on-6877184.jpg?r=1776859403085\" alt=\"A Citroen DS\" title=\"A Citroen DS\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A Citroen DS (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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 \u00a33,850. However, if you have a lot more money to spend, it is possible to pick up a UK based DS for over \u00a3100,000.<\/p>\n<p>Auto Express readers&#8217; 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 <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/news\/world\/2196942\/iran-issues-horror-threat-destroy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a> reopens and if interest falls, what do car companies do next?<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/male-engineer-repairing-vintage-car-in-industry-6877205.jpg\" class=\"zoomEnabled\" data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/24\/1200x712\/secondary\/male-engineer-repairing-vintage-car-in-industry-6877205.jpg?r=1776859403098\" alt=\"Male engineer repairing vintage car in industry\" title=\"Male engineer repairing vintage car in industry\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Could there be ways to keep cars like the Citroen DS going? (stock) (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n<p>In layman\u2019s terms, this means some alternative fuels don\u2019t put any extra carbon dioxide into the air, they are carbon neutral. Sometimes, petrol cars don\u2019t need to be modified to accept some fuels but in other cases, small tweaks are required.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Writing in <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/car-news\/tech\/what-is-synthetic-fuel-efuel\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Car Magazine<\/a>, journalist Graham King said the technology was already being embraced, but that cost was an issue.<\/p>\n<p>He concluded: \u201ceFuels are also very expensive\u2026That will come down over time but it\u2019s unlikely to ever dip below the \u00a32.00 per litre mark that would make them a viable replacement for petrol and diesel for all vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Auto Express readers have voted for the coolest car in the world (stock) (Image: Getty) Coolness is subjective,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,3944,56182,203864,203866,203865,203860,203863,203862,203861,3517,111,139,69,42823],"class_list":["post-394568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-car","tag-car-reviews","tag-citroen-ds","tag-citroen-ds-coolest-car-world","tag-citroen-ds-gattaca","tag-coolest-car","tag-coolest-car-citroen","tag-coolest-car-uk","tag-coolest-car-world","tag-ferrari","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-porsche"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}