So which of the 25 nominees were considered to be the five greatest cars ever built? Let’s work our way up the list starting with number five, the quintessential sports car, the Porsche 911.

All Porsches share a common legacy of automotive innovation, a legacy that began with the company's namesake, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche.

In the 1930’s, Dr Porsche was involved in the design of two revolutionary automobiles; the Auto Union Silver Arrow, the first mid-engine race car, and an affordable family car, the Volkswagen.

Always interested in speed, Porsche thought about a sports car based on the Volkswagen. He built two prototypes, but WWII brought his plans to a halt.

After the war, Dr. Porsche’s son, Ferry, decided to resurrect his father's plans for a Volkswagen based sports car. In June of 1947, he began work on what would turn out to be the first Porsche, the Type 356.

Porsche’s US distributor wanted the car redesigned to look like an MG.  He was ignored.

Throughout the 1950s, the 356 was a success both in sales and at the track, but by the early sixties it was clear that it was time for an update. Ferry’s son, Butzi, took on the project.

The new Porsche 901 debuted in 1963 at the Frankfurt auto show.  Peugeot claimed it owned the rights to car names with three digits and a zero in the middle so Porsche changed the name to the 911.

The car's configuration was similar to the 356.  Its engine was still in the rear and was air-cooled like the Volkwagen.  However, it was more powerful since it had six cylinders instead of four. This gave the 911 a top speed of about 130 miles per hour.

Fast and good looking, the Porsche 911 was everything a sports car should be, and enthusiasts the world over embraced it.

“Not only did it have high performance but it was always also very, very durable,” said McKeel Hagerty, president of Hagerty Classic Insurance.  His company is one of the leading insurers of classic cars such as the early Porsches.   “You could drive them to work and then drive them to the race track if you wanted to afterwards and have a great time,” said Hagerty.  “I just happen to be a big Porsche 911 fan. It was my first car.”

Personal nostalgia infected bias aside, by 1975 the Turbo Carreras, with their turbo charged racing engines, were the fastest production cars on the road.  The company continues to make improvements while remaining true to the concepts that made the original design so popular.