Wednesday 14 March 2018

Top Five Cars I Remember From My Top Trumps

They might not be videogames but I bet I'm far from the only one who spent a lot of time playing Top Trumps during my formative years. Perhaps their appeal came from their simplicity, with players simply comparing stats on cards featuring all manner of different themes. I had a good few packs, most of which featured motor vehicles of some sort - I had a Formula 1 pack, a rally pack; even trucks and superbikes. One pack was my definite favourite though, although I can't actually remember the name of it now. Sports cars, maybe?

Hmm, anyway, whatever it was called it featured some cracking cars through the deck - mostly sports and supercars from the late 70's up to about the mid 80's, and there were also some crazy customised 'normal' cars included - I particularly recall some insane VW Golfs - but there were a certain few cars that have become iconic for me, simply because of the game and how often I used to play it, usually with my good friend Luke who I suspect will also remember it well. Out of all the wonders included, these are the five that have stuck in my mind most firmly:

5 - Lamborghini Countach

This sleek black speedster looked more like a spaceship from some far-fetched sci-fi film back in the 80's and it moved about as quickly as one too! It was just as notable for us Top Trump players - whomever had this card held a big advantage for the rest of the game thanks to its amazing stats. As I recall, it was the fastest car in the whole deck at a mind-blowing 188mph. I don't think it was quite that fast in reality but it's still a highly memorable car for all kinds of reasons...


4 - BMW M1

Supposedly brought into being as a result of a failed partnership with Lamborghini, the M1 was BMW's first and only mid-engined sports cars all the way up until the unveiling of the i8 hybrid a few years back. It certainly wasn't the fastest car in my Top Trumps deck - it didn't have any game-winning stats really - so I'm not entirely sure why I remember it so well. Perhaps it's because of how un-BMW-like it was, or maybe because it looks rather cool, but it was clearly doing something...


3 - Sbarro Stash

Definitely the odd one out here - I had never heard of either the Stash or even Sbarro, the Swiss company responsible for it, back when I used to play Top Trumps, and I've not heard anything of them since then either. It's so obscure I couldn't even find a decent quality photo of it! That's more than likely the reason I still remember it too. Like the M1, it wasn't especially powerful - the meanest version came with a V8 producing 286bhp - but it's definitely a head-turner...


2 - De Tomaso Pantera

Despite the company's Italian origins, this scary-sounding car was most famous in the US. Not too surprising really - they were powered by 330bhp V8 Ford engines and Ford actually imported them and, after addressing some build-quality issues, then sold them to Americans eager to sample their Ferrari-challenging power. As well as looking absolutely superb, it was this power as well as its large engine size (5.8L) that made it a great card to find amongst your Top Trump assets...


1 - Ferrari BB512

Yes, it's a Ferrari in the number one spot, but perhaps not the one you might expect. There was of course several Ferraris in the Top Trumps pack in question but the one I was always most intrigued by is this one. Perhaps because of its red/black 60/40 paint job, or maybe due to its curious name (the 'BB' stands for Berlinetta Boxer - the body and engine types respectively), but it had corking stats too, which helped me win many a game against Luke! Unless he got it...

 

5 comments:

  1. The 70's and early 80's super (and Le Mans 24) cars are the best
    Classic simple yet elegant lines with BRUTE POWER and fierce driving not "watered down" by vast sea of electronic systems

    That's why they are CLASSIC

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was curious if the BB was affordable these days. Just found on AutoTrader: 280K. :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I had a look as well. I kind of naively hoped it might be almost affordable since it's not really a high profile collectable model, but alas...

      Do you remember playing these Top Trumps round my house? I had about 5 packs but this was the one we spent most time with :)

      Delete
  3. I always remember the De Tamosa Pantera as the car that Elvis shot (more than once)

    https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis-presleys-1971-de-tomaso-pantera.shtml

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, I never knew that, thanks for sharing :)

      Delete