10 Anniversary Cars That Were Actually Cool

1990 Red Ferrari F40 Classic 80s Halo Car Newport Beach Customer Appreciation Dinner

Anniversary cars are far too often just slightly altered examples of the vehicle being celebrated. Some sport nothing more than special colors or unique wheels. Other anniversary models go a little further and add unique interior touches or even entire options lists, but most of the time the vehicle is a triumph of marketing over substance. Nevertheless, occasionally an anniversary car appears on the scene that deserves extra attention from buyers, not just because it happens to celebrate a particular milestone but because it's been given praise-worthy upgrades in performance and styling. In rare cases, one-off special models are produced exclusively to mark a very important date in an automaker's history. Let's take a look at 10 anniversary cars that were actually cool.

1) 1987-1992 Ferrari F40

The Ferrari F40 received its name in recognition of Ferrari's 40th anniversary, a fact often lost in discussion of this exotic because its amazing performance credentials obscure almost everything else about it. The barebones Ferrari F40 (it had no interior door handles, let alone a stereo system) was built between 1987 and 1992, and its twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 produced 424 horsepower. This mid-engine Ferrari was capable of hitting 201 mph, and many consider the F40 to be the model that ushered in the era of the modern supercar.

2) 2013 Aston Martin CC100

Not many car companies can claim 100 years of continuous operation, but Aston Martin made sure to celebrate its centennial in style with the CC100. Also known as the Speedster, the Aston Martin CC100 debuted in 2013 flaunting a throwback look — long hood, short deck, and individual canopies for driver and passenger — that touched on the British brand's Le Mans racing heritage. The 5.9-liter V-12 housed under the Aston Martin's suggestively large hood was never officially handicapped, but it's safe to say it generates roughly the same amount as the engine in the 2013 Vanquish, which means more than 560 ponies. Only two of these 180-mph Speedsters were ever built.

3) 2013 Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Coupe

Porsche got serious about commemorating the 50th anniversary of its iconic 911 coupe with the Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Coupe. It received a bunch of goodies over and above standard 911 fare, including a boost from 400 to 430 horsepower, a widebody look, 20-inch Fuchs rims, available tartan interior upholstery, and old-school gauges that hearken all the way back to the Porsche 901 (the original 911 name before a trademark claim from Peugeot forced the company to swap in a one for the middle zero). Spec-wise, this 911 isn't much different from that year's S model, but its scarcity and its legitimate performance improvements over stock make it eligible for our list of cool anniversary cars.

4) 2011 BMW 328 Homage

BMW's racing past was the inspiration for its BMW 328 Hommage, built to mark the 75 years that had passed since the first foray of the original BMW 328 Touring Coupe onto Europe's racing circuits. The modern 328 Hommage showed off 2011's cutting-edge technologies but wrapped in a decidedly unusual roadster body, with open door sills, leather straps on the fenders and hood, X'ed out round headlights, and a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic body shell. A roughly 300-horsepower turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine motivated the wild-looking car, which debuted at the 2011 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

5) 1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE30

The Lamborghini Diablo SE30 took the already extravagant Diablo supercar and pushed it to a new level of performance and look-at-me styling. The Diablo SE30 put an exclamation mark on the Italian company's 30th anniversary with its 523-horsepower V12 engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, and driver-adjustable suspension system, which was matched by a stripped interior, carbon-fiber seats, fixed Plexiglas windows, and attention-grabbing aero kit. If the SE30 wasn't intense enough for you, it was also possible to order a "Jota" edition of the special Diablo, which crammed in 595 horsepower along with a long list of race-only modifications (including a completely open exhaust system) that rendered the coupe ineligible for street use.

6) 2006 Audi S4 25quattro

Audi made its bones on the rally circuit with a stable of quattro-equipped all-wheel-drive cars, and helping to celebrate 25 years of quattro was the Audi S4 25quattro. It boasted DTM-sourced body panels (with brake cooling capability), a racing tow hook, a dual-outlet exhaust system, a carbon-fiber spoiler on the trunk and splitter under the car's chin, and Recaro sport seats. This version of the Audi S4 featured the most advanced (at the time) version of the brand's Torsen-equipped all-wheel-drive system to go with its 340-horsepower 4.2-liter V8 and standard six-speed manual transmission.

7) 1980 Datsun 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition — AKA "Black Gold"

The Datsun 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition has gained notoriety since its release in 1980 not so much for its performance — it had the same 2.8-liter six-cylinder engine found in non-anniversary cars — but for its over-the-top styling. Advertised by Datsun/Nissan as "Black Gold," the 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition could be ordered with a black-and-gold paint scheme that was matched with gold alloy wheels, gold emblems, a dash plaque, and as many features as could be lifted from the Datsun options sheet (t-tops, leather seats, a "surround sound" audio cassette stereo system, automatic climate control, headlight washers). It's very much the Japanese answer to Pontiac's "screaming chicken" black-and-gold Trans Am.

8) Jaguar XKR175 75th Anniversary Edition

The Jaguar XK was already a lot of fun to drive in either coupe or convertible form, but the Jaguar XKR175 75th Anniversary Edition dialed up the car's performance potential by raising the speed limiter to 174 mph and adding a complete aerodynamic body kit to help keep things stable at those speeds. By 2010 the XK's platform was already starting to age out of the luxury marketplace, but Jaguar (now 75 years old) was quite good at creating special editions of the model to keep up consumer interest, including the XKR175 with its 20-inch Kasuga wheels, unique color choices, and red brake calipers.

9) Lotus Elise 20th Anniversary Special Edition

You can no longer buy it in the United States due to increasingly strict safety regulations, but even though the Elise got knocked out of Lotus showrooms over here, the Lotus Elise 20th Anniversary Special Edition is still available in Europe. Showing off the model's evolution since it was first introduced in 1995, the Elise 20th Anniversary Special Edition will appeal especially to track fiends. Besides a drop of 22 lb from its curb weight, the roadster features a revised body kit, a supercharged 217-horsepower four-cylinder engine (shared with the Elise S), and a top speed of 145 mph.

10) 1997 Subaru Impreza 22B STI

Subaru gave the world a birthday present in 1997 while celebrating its own 40th anniversary by way of the Subaru Impreza 22B STI. Only 424 of these coupes were produced, and they featured a widebody design reminiscent of the brand's rally warriors (which had just won a third manufacturer's title for Subaru). The Subaru Impreza 22B STI also came with an EJ22 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine that was turbocharged to produce more than 276 horsepower. Other standard goodies included all-wheel drive, a five-speed manual transmission, an adjustable wing, upgraded brakes, and a Bilstein suspension setup.