32 gorgeous European cars of the 1960s

European automakers of the 1960s conjured a special kind of magic: They made cars that didn't get old, just better looking. Here's a collection of these timeless beauties.  

First up, a cherry 1964 Jaguar E-Type.  

Why did a Ferrari 250 GTO sell for nearly $40 million at an auction in 2014? Two reasons: One, the car is exceedingly rare -- fewer than 40 were built in the early 1960s -- and, two, as Roadshow's Kyle Hyatt wrote, "It's incredibly difficult to think of a thing more beautiful..."  

This 1968 Porsche 911 T/R is a rare gem, too. Only around 35 were produced. 

This 1967 Lamborghini Miura reportedly traveled the Hollywood circuit, from entertainer Dean Martin's family to Jay Leno's garage.  

Upon its 50th birthday in 2017, the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale was hailed by Drive magazine as "still the most beautiful car ever made." 

A 1968 model is pictured. Only 18 were produced from 1967-1969, as per UK's CAR magazine.  

A Swedish-produced 1962 Volvo P1800 S appeared in the British spy show "The Saint," starring future James Bond Roger Moore. 

Former Roadshow editor Alex Goy called the P1800 S "one of television's most iconic motors and, I think, one of the better spy cars."

Jane Fonda and her Barbarella director (and then-husband) Roger Vadim each held the pink slip on this decidedly not-pink 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/2.

This 1964 Rolls-Royce Phantom V was customized by none other than John Lennon -- first, in late '64 when he purchased it, and then again in 1967, when Lennon painted it to match the psychedelic times. 

Its Ford V8 engine might've been all-American, but the chassis on this 1964 AC Cobra (as the Shelby Cobra was known in Europe) evoked classic Brit style.  

This is one sensuous 1962 Lotus Elite.

Designed by Peter Kirwan-Taylor, it was also an innovative car, using glass-reinforced plastic as the basis for the chassis. 

The Elite was also exceedingly aerodynamic for its day.

This 1961 British-Italian Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato is captured in 2017 looking not a day older than awesome. 

Starting life as a standard DB4 GT, as its name suggests, the car was then sent to Italy for rework by famed design house Zagato, who provided new bodywork.

If you can't tell from the 007-referencing license plate, this 1964 Aston Martin DB5 costarred as Sean Connery's transportation in the James Bond films, "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball." 

Yup, that's a George Barris-tuned Batmobile in the background.

This luscious Ferrari Dino 206 Berlinetta Speciale prototype debuted at the 1965 Paris Motor Show. 

It was sold at auction in 2017 for roughly $4.7 million.

This 1969 De Tomaso Mangusta owes its good looks to Italian car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, whose greatest hits include the DeLorean DMC-12 and the Maserati Bora. 

Introduced in 1966, the Fiat 124 Sport Spider's good looks came courtesy of Italian design house Pininfarina.

In 1962, Motor Sport magazine called the British Ginetta G4 a "quick and pretty little sports car." 

It wasn't wrong. 

The auction house RM Sotheby's says the 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato is "unquestionably a very desirable car." 

We agree.

Road & Track called the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale, produced from the late 1950s to mid-1960s, "the most beautiful Alfa Romeo of all."   

This 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster hardtop sold for the equivalent of $1.5 million at a 2014 auction in France.

This gleaming 1968 Mercedes Benz 280 SL, pictured in 2017, is also a show-stopper. 

This Italian 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C was owned by the singer known as the "French Elvis," Johnny Hallyday.

There's some really gorgeous sculpting on the 1968 Ferrari 330 GTC Coupe.

The Austin-Healey 3000 is a British sports-car icon; this 1961 Mk1 model is simply a vision -- in green, no less.  

The muscular 1969 Maserati Ghibli looks good as gold. 

This is the Barchetta, a smooth, sporty 1960s number from Italy's Cisitalia. 

In 1964, Maserati restyled its 3500 GT, and renamed it the Sebring. The result was this pictured thing of beauty. 

Pininfarina came up with another winner with its sleek lines for the Ferrari 365 GTB4. Also known as the Daytona, the 365 GTB4 was introduced in 1968, and ready to roll with a 4.4-liter, V12 engine. 

The original Alpine A110, from French automaker Jean Rédélé, and relying on Renault parts, first hit the streets in 1961. In 1973, the two-door won the constructors' title at the inaugural World Rally Championship. 

Italian engineer Giotto Bizzarrini's namesake Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada was the street version of a car he'd raced at Le Mans in 1964 and 1965. The 1966 model is pictured.   

The tortoise-emblazoned Gordon-Keeble GT was a stylish British car, by way of Italy's Bertone, powered by an all-American Chevy engine. Just 99 were built in the mid-1960s. (A 100th was assembled from spare parts in 1971, according to the classic-car insurer Hagerty.) 

The Facel Vega Facel II was, as Classic Driver put it, an "outrageously stylish" Chrysler-powered grand tourer from French designer's Jean Daninos' company. This sweet 1964 model belonged to Monaco's Prince Rainier. 

This distinctive stunner is a 21.5-foot-long 1968 Citroën DS 21 designed by Henri Chapron for French President Charles de Gaulle.