These Are Your Favorite German Cars

The first car ever made was German — the 1885 Benz Patent-Motorwagen — and in the subsequent 140 years German companies have made innumerable incredible cars. Earlier this week I asked our readers to tell me about their favorite German cars, and y’all delivered. My pick was the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, one of the coolest and best-looking supercars ever made that was born from homologation requirements in the FIA GT1 class. It was also featured in “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2,” one of my favorite racing games of all time.

A few of you also said you would’ve picked the CLK GTR, because you have taste. But there were all sorts of good answers here, representing a wide variety of years, brands, body styles and price points. As usual I picked my favorite answers of the bunch, so don’t be mad that the Carrera GT isn’t on here. Keep reading to see what German cars the Jalopnik audience picked as their favorites, and if you missed out on the initial question, you can tell me your favorites in the comments too.

This is really hard…. The two I have driven and have a fondness for are the CLK63 AMG Black Series, and the 190e 2.3-16v Cosworth.

The CLK63 is just so cool. Big, wide, purposeful, a big engine, and it wants to kill you if you take the traction control off. It is a monster and just something you could not get away with building today. With all of that, it is so under the radar that unless you know, it just kinda looks like some mid-2000s Mercedes you can’t figure out what’s going on with it. It is on my list to own sooner than later.

Polar opposite if the 190e 2.3-16v. Yeah, it is not the 2.5 the euro market got, or even the Evo that is just a car I like to stare at in the dark when no one is watching, but that we got the 2.3 at all is pretty cool. Light, nimble, a great homologation special with a really cool story as well. The car isn’t a torque monster but loves to live above 3k rpm and will cruise at 100mph all day without any complaints. Owned one, loved it, and want it back.

I’m going to have to go with the 190 E Evo2. Leave it to Mercedes to make a Mitsubishi Evo for the executive business class. It’s a dignified boy racer, and I miss when Mercedes did this kind of stuff. The modern cars are fast and carry some of the quirkiness, but not quite as special as some of these once in a lifetime builds.

So many things I could choose from, buy my heart says it’s the 16v Mercedes-Benz 190 E. Evo II is the dream-car spec, but I’d even take the normal production 2.3 or 2.5. Classy, comfy, useable, attractive go-fast sedan.

Submitted by: Andrew William, Agon Targeryan, Frosteeman

The Evo II is obviously the ultimate 190E, but they’re all fantastic.

Rather than posting a favorite Porsche, will post a off-beat German car…. a Borgward Isabella.

Submitted by: Not Me

Borgwards have some really excellent design flourishes, and great names too.

This is really easy. But that’s mostly because my list of favourite cars of all time would maybe have 2 or 3 Germans. The one I like the most is by far the BMW Z8. To my eyes, it’s the most beautiful car BMW has ever produced. As a homage car, they did an amazing job of capturing what made the 507 cool and improved it in nearly every way. It’s a roadster with the E39 M5 V8 under hood and perfect proportions. What’s not to like?

Submitted by: dolsh

I was just driving behind one of these last night! Truly one of the most beautiful cars of all time.

Probably the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing. I don’t care about its performance or any of that. It’s just pure art, and I say that as someone who really doesn’t care much for Mercedes.

I actually got to sit in one about 10 years ago at a Concours d’Elegance. Probably the most expensive place I’ve ever put my ass.

This gets my vote. It’s a beautiful car all on its own, and it’s arguably the only car that did gullwing doors right.

Don’t apologize for its performance! It was the fastest production car in the world when it debuted: 155mph in 1954. Oh, and there’s the “pure art” thing you mentioned. I couldn’t agree more!

Submitted by: Funky Dynamite, Bossrday, Ted Buras

While I haven’t driven a Gullwing I have driven a 300SL roadster, and I’m happy to report that it was even more incredible than you’d hope. 

Audi 5000 Quattro with a manual transmission. Damn I wish I hadn’t have sold mine.

84 Audi 5000 Wagon. Had one for my first car. It was gorgeous to look at. It was a complete nightmare when it came to getting fixed. However, it was my first car and that just makes the memories of it even better….

Submitted by: Mike Beranek, OldGuy55

Maybe my favorite era of Audi design.

2004 VW .:R32. Attainable, attractive, acoustically astonishing, AWD, alliterative, and a-pragmatic.

The MkV versions never came stateside with the right amount of pedals, and the later versions with the 2.0L turbos, while still awesome cars (i love my MKVII Golf R) don’t seem to have the same presence.

There are more ostentatious examples of German engineering prowess out there but that car will always have my heart.

Submitted by: dburroughs

How can you not love an all-wheel-drive hot hatch? (Though I do prefer the fifth-gen model.)

So many beautiful cars to choose from!

But in the end it has to be the magnificent BMW M1.

Peak “money no object” choice: BMW M1. Used to be obtainable and usable; BMW e30 M3. Actually real-world possible; a4 Jetta VR6 (as long as somebody else is paying to keep the electrical system functional).

M1 by far.

Submitted by: Rapchat, Steve65, Behemoth

I never get tired of seeing these.

The Hoffmann – Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. All the VWs or MB or BMW all that every gets talked about is how they built it for X number of years, it does 0-60 in Y seconds, it was the fastest around some dumb track and leaves no room for wonderment but the Hoffmann sets your imagination free to wonder why on nearly every component and design decision. 

Submitted by: Cluck

Now we’re talking.

Absolute Favorite

Submitted by: Charlie Powell

I’ve always loved these, and Wiesmann has one of the best automotive logos ever.

For me it’s the VW Beetle. It is the first car that I ever owned, but more importantly, it taught me so much about how cars actually worked. I had been driving for a couple of years when I got a 1965 Bug, but I didn’t know much more than where to fill those cars with gas. The Beetle was such a basic kind of car that it invited the owner to get hands on. I changed the oil, rebuilt the carburetor, did a brake job, even bent the hood back into place and added a home made front bumper after I got into a minor crash. I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing any of those things until I got that VW.

Edit: I forgot to mention that it was the car that I learned to drive stick on! It was remarkably forgiving for a novice that had never seen a third pedal.

Submitted by: XPDNC

I don’t trust anyone who hates the Beetle.

The BMW Isetta, because they are just so wonderfully weird. How can you not love a 3-wheeled, rear engine car that you have to open the front of to get into?

Submitted by: Adam Minter

I wonder what BMW would be like if it kept making new generations of the Isetta.

Mercedes Benz 600 (W100) Grosser.

Groundbreaking engineering; quite possibly the greatest luxury car ever; no doubt riding in the back would make one feel like a hoity-toity royal or tin-pot dictator lording it over all the other rather pedestrian vehicles with the temerity to be on the same road

Submitted by: BB

There’s simply nothing like a Grosser.

959 – a marvel

Had to scroll down waaay to far to find a 959 mention. It’s the 959. Full stop.

Submitted by: dire wolf, Maxpowers

I’m really surprised more people didn’t say this. So much cooler than an F40.

E92 M3, basically as close as BMW ever got to making a muscle car. If you ask me, none of the M4 models since have had the same swagger, and being a V8 never hurt.

My fave is and will probably always be the E92 M3 with its high revving exploding V8. yes its dated and underpowered compared to its new model/competition. But I’m a sucker for high revving engines, especially if its a V8. Sucks that the rod bearings are insanely unreliable on these and a lot of bmws of that era, but gosh, that 8500 redline.

LOL, I remember when my family moved to our new house a telemarketer scamming car insurance called and asked if I drove some older model f150. I think the number brought that up or something anywho I was like oh no sir, I drive a CLK GTR (the best car I could think of on the spot to mess with him), and dude lost it. He pretty much said oh no we can’t cover a car like that. He asked what I did for a living and I said Oh I’m a neuro surgeon 😂. Before hanging up dude straight up said Sir, do me a favor, drive it like you stole it.

Submitted by: 23 Aaron, cardawg

Bangle was right about everything.