Gordon-Keeble built exactly 100 cars, and the Gordon-Keeble GK1 is far from the only 1960s machine with numbers that small. Meanwhile, the decade turned out letter-series Chryslers, Anglo-American hybrids and German V8 coupes in batches that would barely fill a parking lot.
Every car below comes with a production figure from a maker, a club or a reference source. Some totals run under 100. Others reach a few thousand, but the count still explains why so few turn up at shows today.
1. 1963 Chrysler 300J
Chrysler’s letter cars were its big, fast luxury coupes. For 1963, the J came only as a two-door hardtop. It skipped the letter “I,” likely to avoid confusion with the Roman numeral.
In total, Conceptcarz counts just 400 built. Each used a 413 ram-induction V8 rated at 390 hp at 4,800 rpm. The only interior was Claret Red leather, and the base price was $5,260.
2. 1962 Chrysler 300H
The H rode on a shorter 122-inch wheelbase shared with the Chrysler Newport. As a result, it weighed about 300 lb less than the G before it.
Classic & Sports Car says only 135 convertibles found buyers, which made it the slowest-selling letter-series model. By comparison, Conceptcarz lists 435 hardtops and 123 convertibles. Either way, fewer than 600 left the factory.
3. 1965 Chrysler 300L Convertible
The 300L closed the original letter-car run. In fact, the letter series did not return until the 300M of 1999, according to Classic & Sports Car.
That magazine counts 2,405 hardtops but just 440 convertibles. Power came from a single-carb 6.8-litre V8 rated at 360 bhp. Buyers chose a three-speed TorqueFlite or a four-speed manual at no extra cost, as Classic & Sports Car reports.
4. 1960 Edsel Ranger
The final Edsel was barely in showrooms before Ford pulled the plug. In fact, the 1960 cars were built for just 10 weeks.
According to Conceptcarz, fewer than 3,000 Edsels were built for 1960, including 2,571 Rangers. The standard engine was a 292-cubic-inch V8 with a two-barrel carburetor. A 223-cubic-inch six with 145 hp was also offered.
5. 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Z16
The Z16 put Chevrolet’s new 396 big-block into the midsize Chevelle for 1965. The package cost $1,501 and added a reinforced convertible frame and bigger brakes.
Mac’s Motor City Garage counts 201 built: 200 hardtops and one convertible. The L37 396 made 375 hp and 420 lb-ft. Today, no more than 80 are believed to survive.
6. 1964–1967 Gordon-Keeble GK1
The Gordon-Keeble GK1 paired a Giugiaro body with a Corvette V8. Its fiberglass shell came from moulds taken off an alloy-bodied prototype. Its badge, a tortoise, recalls a pet that wandered onto the prototype, as Silodrome tells it.
The factory built 99 cars by the end of 1967. Then a 100th car came together from parts in 1970, according to Below the Radar. The Gordon-Keeble GK1’s 5,355cc V8 made 300 bhp, and at least 94 of the cars survive.
7. 1966–1971 Jensen FF
FF stands for Ferguson Formula, the all-wheel-drive system Jensen licensed from Ferguson Research. It sent 33% of the power to the front and 67% to the rear.
The car also carried Dunlop Maxaret anti-lock brakes, a system previously used on aircraft, trucks and racing cars. Silodrome says Jensen sold just 320 between 1966 and 1971. Even so, somewhere over 100 survive.
8. 1962–1966 Jensen CV8
Before the Interceptor, Jensen built this fiberglass coupe with aluminum door skins over a steel chassis. Early cars used a 361 Chrysler V8 with 295 hp. From 1964, a 383 with 330 hp and 460 lb-ft took over.
Silodrome quotes 0 to 62 mph in 6.7 seconds. Yet Silodrome puts total sales at about 500. The Interceptor that followed sold 6,408.
9. 1962–1965 BMW 3200 CS
Bertone built the body of BMW’s last big V8 car of the era. Its 3.2-liter V8 made 160 hp.
Conceptcarz cites two counts, 596 and 603, so the honest total is about 600. It was also the last BMW with pushrod valves, a solid rear axle and a perimeter frame, the same page notes.
10. 1958–1964 Facel Vega Excellence
Facel Vega’s only four-door had no center pillar. Instead, its front doors hinged at the front and its rear doors at the rear. The base price was $12,800.
Because of its steep price, total production reached only 156, according to Conceptcarz. Of those, 137 were EX1 cars with a 361-cubic-inch Chrysler Wedge, built from October 1958 to July 1961.
11. 1961–1963 Bristol 407
The 407 is where Bristol swapped its BMW-derived six for a 5,130cc Chrysler V8 built in Canada. It also traded the 406’s transverse leaf front springs for coils.
A bus body builder, Park Royal Vehicles, made its saloon body. Meanwhile, a TorqueFlite automatic handled the shifting. Overall, Conceptcarz counts only 88 built.
12. 1964–1967 TVR Griffith 200
TVR shipped these small coupes without engines to Jack Griffith’s factory in Syosset, New York. There, they received a 4,727cc Ford 289 with 195 bhp, or 271 bhp in HiPo form.
The HiPo cars ran 0 to 60 mph in about 5 seconds. However, a January 1965 dock strike cut off supply. The TVR Car Club counts about 192 Griffith 200s and 59 of the later 400.
13. 1965–1973 AC 428
Pietro Frua styled the 428, and AC built it as a coupe and a convertible. Under the hood sat a 6,965cc Ford V8 rated at 345 bhp at 4,600 rpm.
Supercars.net says one example rode on a chassis derived from the 427 Cobra. AC built only 81 over nine years, the same source reports.
14. 1964–1967 NSU Wankel Spider
Its whole rotary package, gearbox, alternator and starter included, weighed just 125 kilograms. On top of that, NSU told buyers the little engine ran as quietly as a six-cylinder.
The Audi press release describes the Bertone-based roadster as the first series car anywhere to use a single-rotor Wankel. Its count of cars finished by July 1967 is precise: “exactly 2,375 units.”
15. 1965–1968 Nissan Silvia CSP311
Nissan built the Silvia by hand on the Datsun Fairlady SP310 chassis. A 1.6-liter twin-carb four made 90 gross hp, through a fully synchronized four-speed.
Curbside Classic counts 584 between 1965 and 1968. More than 400 of those were finished before 1966.
16. 1963–1968 Glas 2600 V8
Glas aimed this grand tourer squarely at Audi, BMW and Mercedes. Its 2,580cc V8 used a belt-driven overhead cam on each bank.
Frua’s styling looked so much like his Maserati Quattroporte that people joked about a “Glaserati.” Even so, only 277 were made, according to Silodrome.
17. 1967–1968 BMW-Glas 3000 V8
BMW bought Hans Glas GmbH in late 1966. It then kept the V8 coupe going with an engine stretched to 2,982cc and 160 hp at 5,100 rpm.
The BMW-badged car lasted only from September 1967 to May 1968. In that time, the factory built 389, as Silodrome reports.
18. 1966 Studebaker Cruiser
By 1966, Studebaker used Chevrolet engines. The Cruiser offered a 194-cubic-inch six with 120 hp or a 283 V8 with nearly 195 hp, from $2,680.
Conceptcarz counts 1,844 Cruiser sedans that year. Soon after, the last Studebaker of all left the Hamilton, Ontario, plant on March 17, 1966.
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