Sure, the Los Angeles Auto Show had its share of sweet cars. We love the Fiat 500. We'd gladly drive a Porsche Cayman R home. And we're sure there's got to be some purpose for the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, even if we're not sure exactly what it might be. But nothing in L.A. can compare with these 15 legendary cars. We've driven a lot of cars over the years, from the Vega to the Veyron, but these 15 have eluded us. Whether it was our F1 sponsorship falling through, that deposed Nigerian prince who promised us millions turning out to be a fraud or Dietrich refusing to over the keys, we've never had the pleasure of driving these examples of vehicular greatness. These 15 cars will inspire envy and covetousness so great you'll have to go to confession after merely looking at the photos. Call it a wish list, call it a bucket list, call it a list of reasons why automotive writers need to get Goldman Sachs–size bonuses — and call us if you own one of these beauties and don't mind letting us borrow it for the weekend. Above: McLaren MP4/4 If you watched a Formula 1 race in 1988, chances are you saw either Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna cross the finish line first in a McLaren MP4/4. Not only was it the most dominant car of the season, it is among the most dominant cars ever. Designed by Gordon Murray and Steve Nichols, the MP4/4 ensured the era of turbocharged F1 cars would remain in the history books even after they were banned for the 1989 season. The MP4/4 dominated with a Honda RA168E turbocharged V-6 that put out 685 horsepower at 12,500 rpm. It failed to win just once — at Monza, when Senna wrecked and Prost had engine trouble. Photo: mattdwen/Flickr

Ferrari 430 Scuderia A lighter Ferrari F430 with a more powerful engine? Yes, please! That plus 60-millisecond shifts from a semiautomatic transmission, traction control that combines F1-Trac with the E-Diff electronic differential,and an exhaust note that's somewhere between Verdi's "Triumphal March" from Aida and a Jimmy Page solo. Few cars manage to achieve such heights of technological sophistication without abandoning raw, organic passion. Photo: Ferrari

Any Chapparal Can-Am Cars With a little help from Chevrolet and Isaac Newton, Jim Hall built some of the wildest creations on four wheels during the 1960s and '70s. We're partial to the beautiful Chapparal 2E and its outrageous wing, or the famed snowmobile-engine–powered suction fan on the wild "vacuum cleaner" Chapparal 2J. Those wings and ground effects were for go, not show, and Hall justified all of them with enough applied physics to fill a graduate seminar. The greatest measure of the cars' dominance? The fact that other participants protested so loudly that most models were banned after their first win. Photo of Jim Hall in one of his creations: El Caganer/Flickr

BMW M1 BMW joined with Lamborghini in 1978 to build a sports car for homologation. BMW ended up taking over the project, and the result was a supercar that was more than capable on the track but well-mannered enough to drive home. Even with it's Giugiaro-designed wedge shape, the low-profile twin-kidney grille made it instantly recognizable as a BMW. And those wheels made it instantly recognizable as a product of the late 1970s. Under the hood of road models, a 273-horsepower straight-6 with mechanical fuel injection propelled the M1 to a top speed of 160 mph. Racing versions got a turbocharged engine that churned out 850 horsepower. BMW marked the car's 30th anniversary with the M1 Homage Concept car, which nicely updates the original. Photo: BMW

Porsche 908/3 Porsche's famed 917 was too big for twisty tracks like the Nürburgring and Targa Florio, so it designed a car the size of a coffee table and bolted an eight-cylinder boxer engine on the back. The whole thing weighed around 1,200 pounds and was only about 11 feet long — roughly the size of Smart fortwo. Can you say insane power-to-weight ratio and phenomenal handling? Oh, yes. Photo: Paul Lannuier/Flickr

Chrysler Turbine Car The ultimate example of the unbridled enthusiasm of space-age America, the Chrysler Turbine Car will forever be yesterday's car of tomorrow. The limited run marked the only time gas-turbine–powered automobiles were available to the general public. Turbines aside, the cars remain the height of mid-60s style, designed by Elwood Engel and built by Ghia in Italy. Like the General Motors EV1, a limited production run was distributed to select individuals for testing that ended with favorable results. Also like the EV1, most of the cars were crushed at the end of the test. Photo: Chrysler

Jaguar C-Type Grace and pace without extra space. The sight of the C-Type still gets our hearts racing. With aluminum sensually sculpted over a lightweight tube frame and a straight-6 tuned to 220 horsepower, Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt piloted a C-Type to a LeMans win in 1953 with an average speed of 105.85 mph. It was the first time a LeMans winner broke 100 mph. Alas, a car that sold for $6,000 new ($49,000 when adjusted for inflation) is currently out of our league. An example driven by Phil Hill sold at auction for $2,350,000 in 2009. We haven't driven a C-Type, but we took a long ride in one. It changed our lives. The car is that good. Photo of Phil Hill in a C-Type: Jaguar

Lotus Elan One stat says all you need to know about the Lotus Elan: 1,500 pounds. With its fiberglass body, steel chassis and the famous Lotus-Ford twin-cam four-cylinder engine, Lotus perfectly nailed founder Colin Chapman's dictum, "Simplify, then add lightness." Production lasted 13 years, and more than 12,000 were built. One famous customer was Mazda, who used the Elan as inspiration for the MX-5 Miata. Photo: Lotus

Buckeye Bullet What's more exciting than breaking 300 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats? Breaking 300 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats in an electric car. The Buckeye Bullet is a land-speed racer built by students at Ohio State. It's been powered at various times by batteries and a hydrogen fuel cell. Back in August, we spoke with Roger Schroer, the man who piloted the most recent iteration of the Bullet to a record-breaking 307.7 mph. As you can imagine, driving an EV at that speed is somewhat surreal. "In our car, I can hear the tires on the salt, the spinning of the electric motor and the noises from the rotating brake rotors and the drivetrain," he said. "I’ve got to think that’s somewhat unique amongst cars that go over 300." Photo: Venturi

Any WRC Car Whether it's a Mitsubishi Evo, a Skoda or a Ford Fiesta, there's something appealing about thrashing the living snot out of a subcompact. Despite the fact that most WRC cars share DNA with the sort of ride you wouldn't be caught dead in, even if it were the last rental car at an airport, it's amazing to see what weight reduction, a rollcage and incredible suspension can do. Though there's a complex formula behind which cars can actually qualify, we prefer this equation: hot hatch + gravel = highly skilled hooning. Photo of Mikko Hirvonen getting air at Rally Portugal: Ford

Mercedes-Benz 300SL What Daimler-Benz achieved in 1954 is still impressive today, which is why we'd love a chance to drive the original 300SL. It was the first car to feature direct fuel injection, the first Benz to gain wide acceptance outside of Germany, and the fastest production car of its day. It is every bit as good as its reputation, a true supercar that remains a thrill to drive, more than 50 years later. Plus it's drop-dead gorgeous. We'd settle for a ride in the roadster, but we'd prefer to be behind the wheel of the original gullwing. Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Auto Union Type C The first mid-engined grand prix car to meet with any success, the Auto Union Type C was the result of a bizarre combination of Ferdinand Porsche's talent, the collapse and rebirth of independent German automakers into Auto Union and Adolf Hitler's desire to see German cars dominate auto racing. Regardless of its pedigree, the Type C was a force to be reckoned with. It was so powerful drivers could induce wheel spin at 150 mph. Bernd Rosemeyer drove one around the Nürburgring in a single gear just to prove what the car could do. Only one exists, so our chances of driving it are slim to none. If we could get behind the wheel, we'd encounter a car that's as powerful as a bottle rocket — and about as easy to control. Photo of Rosemeyer getting sideways in the 1937 Grand Prix at Donington Park: Audi

Penske Sunoco Camaro This was the car that led Mark Donohue to dominate Trans-Am in 1967 and 1968. Under Roger Penske's ownership, the Camaro won race after race amidst some scandal. Penske and Donohue discovered that they could shave weight by giving the frame and body an acid bath that ate away bits of metal. Though nearly disqualified in '67 after coming in under weight during a post-race inspection, the team was back with the modified car in '68 — but only after they passed a pre-race inspection with an identical, full-weight vehicle that was surreptitiously switched with the lightweight car before the race. Penske Camaros get bonus points for the paint job. Sunoco livery is up there with the blue and orange Gulf colors as one of the best ever. Photo: Nathan Bittinger/Flickr

Bugatti EB110SS Everyone wants to drive the Veyron. We already have. And so the Bugatti EB110SS makes the list instead. The only product from Bugatti v.2, the EB110SS was the most advanced car of its day and, as such, gained a special place in our hearts and on the walls of college dorm rooms. Only 31 were produced before the company went belly-up. These amazing creations could do zero-to-60 in a still-astonishing 3.2 seconds and featured a 60-valve, quad turbo V-12 capable of 603 horsepower. Fittingly, it was placed under glass. Photo: Damors / Flickr