Europe's most-wanted classic car is... the Ford Mustang?

Sat, 28 Sep 2013

Over the span of its 49 years and five generations, the Ford Mustang has held a special place in the hearts of automotive enthusiasts in the US, but, as it turns out, this car is also very popular amongst European car lovers. Earlier this summer, AutoScout24 – a new and used car shopping site in Europe – polled around 75,000 European "car lovers" (not sure how they vetted the respondents) to see which cars were the most popular, and the Mustang came out on top over iconic European classics like the BMW M1 and Volkswagen Beetle.

In the whole of Europe, 37 percent of those polled dream of owning a Mustang, but that number jumps in individual countries like Austria (42 percent) and Spain (41 percent). Rounding out the top five popular classics in Europe are the Mini and Citroën 2CV. Find out which cars made up the rest of the top 10 in the press release posted below.

Ford Mustang and BMW M1 are Europe's cult cars

AutoScout24 survey of 75,000 Europeans from seven countries gauges car lovers' most-wanted on the used car market

More than one in three Europeans (37 percent) dreams of owning a Ford Mustang, but the "pony car" has its biggest fan base in Austria (42 percent) and Spain (41 percent). At 34 percent, Germany is last but one in the country rankings for Mustang enthusiasts. The Germans are more likely to harbour a passion for cult models by car manufacturer Volkswagen. These were the findings of a survey of 75,046 Europeans, which AutoScout24 carried out as part of the 11th Internet Auto Award.

Germany's cult of the Beetle and Bulli

In Europe, the Mustang is followed by another sports car, the angular BMW M1, cited by 20 percent of the people surveyed. Third place in the survey's popularity stakes goes to the classic VW Beetle (11 percent). The Italians and the Germans are particularly fond of this cult car (14 percent), closely followed by respondents in Austria (11 percent), France, Spain, Belgium (10 percent each) and the Netherlands (9 percent). Although, at five percent, the Bulli ranks just sixth in the comparison of European countries, behind the classic MINI and the Citroën 2CV, its popularity among Germans is particularly striking: one in seven of them would like to own this make. The Austrians are almost equally keen on the Bulli (10 percent). The next few ranks on the list of Europe's most coveted cult models are occupied by the Opel Manta and Ford Capri (4 percent each), the Renault 4 and Fiat X1/9 (2 percent each) and the "Trabbi" (1 percent).

More information about the survey: The survey was conducted as part of the vote on the 11th Internet Auto Award, between 15.01.2013 and 15.03.2013. AutoScout24 carried out an online survey of a total of 75,046 users throughout Europe (5,002 in Belgium, 30,410 in Germany, 15,108 in France, 11,797 in Italy, 3,739 in the Netherlands, 2,745 in Austria and 6,245 in Spain). AutoScout24 will gladly provide detailed data about the cult models on request.

By Jeffrey N. Ross