The moment credited to one person and owed to many.
The B20 GT is the coupé of the Lancia Aurelia, which Lancia built from 1950 to 1958 over six series. It arrived in 1951 on a shorter wheelbase, with a Ghia-designed body built by Pinin Farina and a 1,991 cc V6 making 75 hp. Over six series it gained a larger engine, a de Dion rear axle and a sturdier transaxle, and the sixth-series coupés were the most touring-oriented of the B20 line.
The Matra Djet is the world's first rear mid-engined production road car. It began as the René Bonnet Djet in June 1962. It used a 1,108 cc Renault 8 engine mounted mid-ship. Its fiberglass body was bonded to a steel chassis. Production ran from 1962 to 1967 across both makers. Total units: 1,689.
The Mini is a two-door, four-seat saloon designed by Sir Alec Issigonis for BMC in response to the 1956 Suez Crisis fuel shortage. Its front-wheel-drive, transverse-engine layout with sump gearbox and 10-inch wheels maximised interior space, delivering 80% of the floorpan to passengers and luggage. It used Alex Moulton’s rubber cone suspension — a time-driven compromise that sharpened road feedback. It influenced Honda N360, Nissan Cherry, and Fiat 127. It was voted second-most influential car of the 20th century in 1999. It remained in production from 1959 to 2000, selling 5.3 million units — the best-selling British car in history.
The Volkswagen Type 2 is a forward-control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950. It was Volkswagen's second mass-production light motor vehicle series, inspired by Dutch importer Ben Pon. Pon conceived the design after seeing a Type 1-based Plattenwagen in Wolfsburg in 1946 and sketched it on 23 April 1947, specifying a 690 kg payload and front-placed driver. Production began in 1950, delayed only because the factory was at capacity building the Type 1. For its first 40 years, all variants used a forward-control layout with a rear-mounted flat-four engine and shared the Beetle’s wheelbase.