21 unexpectedly successful cars

Sales hits that came out of the blue

It’s obvious some cars are going to prove popular, but others come from nowhere to be a best seller.

However, they don’t necessarily have to sell in huge numbers to be an unexpected success. Exceeding expectations is what all of the cars on our list have achieved.

These classic cars are presented in chronological order. Which are your favourites?

1. 1908 Ford Model T

Not even the bullish Henry Ford could have predicted just how successful his Model T would become.

In the early 1920s, more than half of the vehicles registered in the world were Fords, and most of those were Model Ts.

By the time the Model T ended production in May 1927, after 19 years on sale, more than 15 million had rolled off the line.

Much of what made the T explode in popularity was that Ford passed on savings in production to its customers, rather than just hanging on to greater profits.

It meant the Model T became cheaper and by the end of its life it cost around a third of what it had when launched in 1908.

2. 1945 MG TC

The MG TC was one of the first British cars to go into production after the Second World War and it quickly ran away with sales compared to its closely related pre-war versions.

This was thanks to US buyers discovering the TC and taking it to their hearts, which helped MG sell 10,000 TCs before it was replaced by the TD.

While much of the TC was warmed over from pre-war models, it was 4in (101mm) wider than the TB to give much improved cabin space.

The suspension was also smoother and a revvier 1250cc engine gave an 80mph top speed.

3. 1946 Volkswagen Beetle

Although very much a pre-war design, the Volkswagen Beetle didn’t really get going until 1946.

It almost didn’t happen at all, because UK car makers had no interest in taking on the design and it wasn’t until Major Ivan Hirst convinced the British military to order 20,000 Beetles that it got going.

From that point on, the Beetle gained a momentum that proved the naysayers very wrong.

As well as being built in Germany, the Beetle went on to be produced in Africa and South America, with production finally ceasing in 2003 after more than 21.5 million of this one VW model were sold.

4. 1948 Citroën 2CV

In a similar vein to the Volkswagen Beetle, Citroën’s 2CV recognised the need for an affordable car in the post-war world.

The 2CV had also been developed prior to the Second World War and then launched after it ended, which could have made this car feel decidedly old hat.

A low price and simplicity made the 2CV a hit in its home country, as well as others in Europe and further afield.

There was also a lot of clever design under the 2CV’s skin that made it very capable in all conditions.

And just when the 2CV might have faced the end of the line, it enjoyed a second wind in the 1970s as a fuel-efficient, eco-conscious car that saw it survive all the way to 1990.

There were more than 5 million sales of all 2CVs, plus a further 4 million of derivatives based on this unexpected success.

5. 1948 Holden FX

Australia was a burgeoning market in the late 1940s, yet it took until the Holden FX was launched in 1948 for the country to have its own entirely domestically produced car.

This was big news and the car was unveiled by the country’s Prime Minister Ben Chifley.

While Holden’s parent company, General Motors, might have expected patriotism to play a part, the FX only sold 112 cars by the end of 1948.

However, that soon changed and the 100,000th FX rolled off the line in 1953, shortly before it was superseded by the FJ, and by 1958 Holden had more than 40% of the Australian new-car market.

6. 1963 Porsche 911

Did Porsche ever think its 911 model line would notch up more than 1.2 million sales and still counting?

It seems unlikely, but then the 911 is not the average sports car in any way, shape or form.

It stuck with the rear-engined design inherited from the 356 and retained an air-cooled motor all the way to the introduction of the 996 generation in 1998.

Porsche even tried to replace the 911 with the 928 that arrived in 1978, but the core model of the company’s range soldiered on through thick and thin.

Constant evolution has helped performance increase in step with drivers’ expectations and now it’s hard to think of a world without the Porsche 911 that was launched all those years ago at the Frankfurt show in 1963.

7. 1967 Lotus Elan +2

The two-seat Elan was very much the sort of car drivers expected of Lotus, so the Elan +2 was something quite different when it arrived in 1967.

Not only did it have much more of a wedge profile to its looks, but here was a four-seat Lotus aimed at family drivers. Some dismissed it, but time proved Colin Chapman right.

When the +2 finished production in 1973, it had racked up more than 5000 sales, accounting for a third of all Elan production.

That was way beyond what Lotus could have hoped for and it inspired the company to expand its four-seat range with the Elite and Éclat models that arrived in 1974.

8. 1971 De Tomaso Pantera

Italian supercars often only just scrape into four-figure production runs, yet the De Tomaso Pantera found 7158 buyers in its three decades on sale.

It helps the Pantera was available for so long, plus it was one of the very few supercars of its era that could draw attention away from a Lamborghini Countach that shifted fewer than 2000 units in roughly the same time span.

The De Tomaso’s Ford-sourced V8 engine played a role in this Italo-US supercar finding unexpected success.

The engine made it a less daunting prospect in the key US market, where the Pantera was originally imported by Ford and sold through selected dealers.

9. 1983 Chevrolet Corvette C4

The Corvette C4 was a clean break for the long-running sports-car series.

Gone were the shark-like lines of the earlier cars and in came smoother looks. The C4 was also a much better built car, with Chevrolet even pausing production in 1982 to sort out quality issues.

When it went on sale in 1983, many of the Corvette faithful were slow to order a new C4. However, a convertible joined the range in 1985 and sales of the C4 picked up.

By the time the C4 ended production in 1996, it had found 358,180 buyers and was at that point the second best-selling Corvette generation behind the C3.

10. 1984 Volkswagen Citi Golf

When the Wolfsburg factory moved to making the Golf Mk2 in 1984, Volkswagen in South Africa was faced with losing a small, low-cost hatchback.

However, the original Golf had been in production in South Africa since 1978, so the simple answer was to continue making this car as the Citi Golf and sell it alongside the bigger, plusher Mk2.

If VW bosses in Germany thought buyers would prefer the newer car, they underestimated the affection for the Mk1.

In the end, the Citi Golf remained a fixture of South African new-car lists until 2009 and 377,484 rolled off the line, beating the locally produced Beetle version’s 288,384 sales.

11. 1986 BMW M3 E30

The thinking behind BMW’s E30 M3 was simple: build 5000 to homologate the car for the European Touring Car Championship. And that was it.

However, the M3 struck a chord with buyers and demand soared, which meant BMW continued production with a number of upgrades that helped the racing programme.

Among the rarer M3 models was the Sport Evolution with its 2.5-litre engine, while the Cabriolet versions showed BMW wasn’t averse to cashing in on the car’s surprising popularity.

When the curtain came down on E30 M3 production in 1990, 17,184 had gone down the line. 

12. 1987 Ferrari F40

Created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ferrari being in business, the plan was to build a limited run of 400 F40s.

The Italian firm was overwhelmed by the demand for this uncompromising twin-turbo supercar and dealt with it by the simple expedient of making more cars.

In the end, Ferrari produced more than three times as many F40s as first planned, with 1311 produced between 1987 and 1992.

While some early owners were put out that they could miss out on a quick profit due to limited supply, it didn’t stop the F40 soaring in value in the late 1980s supercar boom.

And it’s remained in huge demand ever since, even if it’s not nearly as rare as other limited-edition Ferrari models.

13. 1989 Nissan S13 200SX

The Silvia had been part of Nissan’s line-up since the 1960s, selling steadily at home in Japan and in export markets like the US and UK.

When Nissan introduced the S13 generation, known as the 200SX in the UK, something clicked into place that the manufacturer didn’t expect as its turbocharged, rear-drive coupé chimed with a new generation of drivers brought up on computer-arcade games.

With a turbocharged 1.8-litre engine driving the rear wheels, it could do 0-60mph in 6.8 secs and 140mph, making the S13 a cracking performance package.

Little wonder it went on to sell 302,761 units in five years.

14. 1991 Dodge Viper

The specification for the Dodge Viper was as simple as it was impressive at its launch in 1992.

An 8-litre V10 engine, which was designed for the purpose by Lamborghini, offered 400bhp to drive the rear wheels through a manual gearbox, with no traction control and no fancy driver aids such as anti-lock brakes.

It was quick – 0-60mph in 4.6 secs and 180mph – but most thought the Viper was a dead end compared to more sophisticated rivals.

Dodge had the last laugh, though, because the first-generation Viper racked up 6709 sales.

The second generation upped that to 10,422, while all generations combined up to 2017 shifted 31,956 Vipers – not bad for a car that was initially viewed as a cartoon supercar.

15. 1991 Nissan Figaro

Never officially sold outside Japan, the Nissan Figaro has exceeded expectations not once but twice.

The first time was when Nissan had to up production from the original plan of 8000 cars and add another 12,000, all of them sold through a lottery to eager buyers.

The Figaro enjoyed a second unexpected success when it was discovered by enthusiasts in other countries who quickly started to import them from Japan.

In the UK alone, there are now reckoned to be around 3000 Figaros on the road, where its retro style and Micra-based mechanics make it cheap to own and easy to look after.

16. 1992 Subaru Impreza Turbo

A measure of the runaway success of the Impreza Turbo and its WRX and Sti variants is that during the mid-1990s in the UK, these performance models accounted for 40% of all Subarus sold.

Even with stellar success in the World Rally Championship and adoration for drivers like Colin McRae and Richard Burns, Subaru was still stunned by demand for its four-wheel-drive performance car.

The Impreza Turbo 2000, as the WRX was originally called when launched in the UK, came with the performance of a Ford Escort Cosworth but for £5500 less.

It proved an irresistible lure for fast-car fans and the Subaru became the defining fast car of the decade, with ever more powerful and capable special editions throughout its production that ended in 2000.

17. 1993 Aston Martin DB7

Sales expectations for any Aston Martin are, in general, very modest.

However, Aston needed something that sold in reasonable volume to make the company sustainable through the ’90s, and the relatively affordable DB7 was what it came up with.

Returning to a six-cylinder engine, albeit with a supercharger, the DB7 harked back to the glory days of DB models.

It looked fabulous, too, but even Aston Martin was caught unawares by demand for its ‘budget’ car.

The straight-six version managed a healthy 2484 sales, but the 6-litre V12 went much further by selling 4156 cars, making the DB7 by far the most numerous Aston to date when production ended in 2004.

18. 1993 Renault Clio Williams

So good, Renault didn’t just offer a second round of Clio Williams but added a third.

The plan had been to build 3800 to homologate the car for rallying, which was 1300 more than strictly required.

However, Renault was blown away by demand, so produced a further 1600 of this first version of the Clio Williams.

Owners of these early cars were pleased they owned something unique and rare, right up until Renault added the Clio Williams 2 in 1994 and then the 3 in 1995.

In total, Renault built 12,100 Clio Williams and, though not nearly as rare as first intended, it remains one of the most special hot hatches of its era.

19. 1997 Mercedes-Benz A-Class

It could all have gone horribly wrong for the original Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

This was the company’s first front-wheel-drive car, using a new ‘sandwich’ floor design, and one that aimed to offer more cabin space than most hatchbacks but within a supermini’s footprint.

The motoring press loved it, but the infamous Elk Test that saw the A-Class roll over in extreme circumstances caused Mercedes to hold its breath.

A recall to retrofit ESP stability control sorted the elk issues, along with a three-month production halt and vast spend to modify the suspension.

When it went back on sale, it turned out the public loved the A-Class and this first-generation model went on to record 1.1 million sales.

20. 1998 Audi TT

Audi had mixed sporty coupé looks with all-wheel-drive poise before in its quattro, but the TT was an altogether more daring car.

Using the contemporary Volkswagen Golf as its base risked shunning Audi’s fans, but it made the TT much easier and more cost-effective to build.

While early road tests stated the Porsche Boxster was still better to drive, customers began forming a lengthy queue to get hold of the TT.

Not even a recall for a handling issue that was solved with a small boot spoiler dented the appetite of buyers.

At a stroke, Audi became a major player in the premium coupé market and shifted 265,346 TTs by the time the second-generation version arrived in 2006.

21. 1998 Ford Puma

When Ford tried to recapture the coupé magic of the Capri for the 1990s, the Probe and Cougar turned out to be flops.

The pert Puma, on the other hand, based on the humble Fiesta, became a huge hit when it was least expected.

Ford’s main rival was the Vauxhall Tigra, which sold 37,000 units in six years. In just four years, the Puma clawed its way to 133,000 sales to give Ford a surprise boost.

Helping the Puma’s case was the bespoke 1.7-litre engine developed with Yamaha, which was the engine to have over the 1.4- and 1.6-litre alternatives, plus superb handling.