QOTD: Best of the Best?

There’s little question this is a pretty good time to be a gearhead. Dodge is doling out cars featuring 840 horsepower with full factory warranties. McLaren seemingly manufactures a new rocket ship every other day, with the Speedtail following the Senna following the 720S following the … well, you get the picture.

Which brings us to a very good question: Which manufacturer – past or present – is responsible for cranking out the largest number of great cars?

Not the largest number of great cars in terms of production, of course, but in terms of models. Great cars can be defined by any number of measures. Mine? Well, that would be performance, of course. Your criteria may be different.

Is Ferrari the winner by that definition? Let’s have a look through the catalog and see. F40? Without question. 288 GTO. Absolutely. 456? No doubt. Consider, however, that Fiorano also produced some appalling machines including the Mondial, 348, and – I’ll probably catch heat for this given the recent concept car floating around – the 400 series. I’d even put the modern-day California with its fake tail lights in there, too.

Shockingly, especially given its recent desire to bin anything that’s not a crossover, Ford has a pretty good back catalog. The GT40, the first-gen reincarnated GT, the homologation special RS200. Even the original Taurus SHO was something to behold in 1989.

How about McLaren, mentioned at the top of this post? Its initial effort, the MP4-12C, had the title of a fax machine and the sex appeal of leftover french fries but it absolutely set the company on its way to making awesome cars like the ones mentioned above, not to mention the P1.

How about it B&B? Which car manufacturer earns your vote for having the largest number of great cars in its roster?

[Image: Ford Motor Company]