It’s better to have loved and lost, they say, than never to have loved at all. Motoring enthusiasts talk a lot about the cars they shouldn’t have sold back in the day: those that they flogged for £50 in 1980 but now command upwards of £50,000. But more frustrating than missing out on a tidy profit is when sky-high appreciation prevents you from even sampling one of your all-time heroes. 

“I should’ve snapped one up when I had the chance,” you say, moping into a pint as you watch the bidding on a Mk1 Ford Escort Mexico nudge north of the £35,000 mark. “A mate at work was trading one for milk bottle tops in 1982.” 

We know the feeling well, having missed out on some true motoring greats by waiting too late to pull the trigger, seeing our dreams slip through our fingers. So here are the motoring icons we could’ve, should’ve and would’ve bought when we had the chance – but, for one reason or another, didn’t.