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...