Four-door sedans don’t usually get the love from classic car fans the way coupes and convertibles do. We think it’s time that changed. Here are five of our favorite four doors ever.
1. 1962 Lincoln Continental
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The ’62 Continental may be the coolest sedan of all time. Oozing with “Mad Men” and Rat Pack swagger as well as “suicide” doors that open opposite to each other, the car still shows up with regularity in movies and on TV shows whenever something over-the-top cool is needed to haul around a large entourage, much as the Continental does on the show of the same name. A ’58 Cadillac Brougham will scratch the same itch if you simply must go with GM.
2. 1948 Tucker
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At lot of people know the basics of the Tucker story from the Francis Ford Coppola film of the same name. Few people, though, have ever actually seen one of these rear-engine beasts in the flesh. Even today, they’re simply stunning and never fail to make you think about what might have been had Tucker succeeded in marketing a rear-engine, air-cooled sedan to the masses. Certainly far more people than just Porsche 911 drivers would have learned about the joys of terminal oversteer.
3. Aston Martin Lagonda
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Where some of the other cars on this list are objectively and undeniably cool, the Lagonda is a bit of an acquired taste, even for the “Tron” generation. Except for the tires, there isn’t a curve to be found anywhere on this origami exercise of a car. It’s a catapult and an arrestor wire short of being an aircraft carrier, and the all-LED screen dash is something to behold (when it’s working). But there is something undeniably cool about this 1970s super sedan that was once a fixture at places like the London Playboy Club and every OPEC meeting.
4. 1994-1996 Chevrolet Impala SS
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Until the late and much-lamented Pontiac G8 came out, this was the last rear-wheel-drive GM sedan to lust after. The stock Caprice was a bit of an awkward exercise with its aero design and faired rear wheels. Fat tires, cool alloy wheels and a properly radiused rear-wheel arch did wonders for the Impala SS, as did the 5.7-liter LT1 V-8 that made 260 hp in the SS. The few good ones that remain are becoming sought-after collectibles.
5. 1951-1954 Hudson Hornet
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Incredible early 1950s pre-fin styling? Check. NASCAR domination? Check. Steve McQueen ownership? Check. Enough said. The Hornet qualifies as the coolest American sedan of the early 1950s.
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