The Coolest 1999 European Cars to Import for 2024

It is 2024, which means car enthusiasts, collectors, dealerships and scalpers can now begin to import cars built in 1999, which includes some of the most unique European cars from the turn of the century. From Germany, France, the UK, Spain, Czechia and Italy come some of the coolest and most interesting cars that are now legally eligible to import into the United States for 2024.

In this list, I try to shed some light on the not so well known, not-so sought after cars that can be brought over. Sports cars, luxury cars, superminis; I'm Austin and this is Veloce Midwest, bringing you a list of the coolest cars (imo) that you can now import from Europe in 2024. Or maybe just Euro models you can import from Goo-Net, or something.

Like what you see? Subscribe! Leave a comment below telling me what foreign cars you would like to see come stateside! Share your experiences with importing a car! It's certainly easier said than done, I'm aware of that.

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:20 Audi A2
02:09 Audi S3 8L
03:00 SEAT León Mk1
04:24 Škoda Fabia Type 6Y
05:20 Euro-Spec Volkswagens
06:18 Renault Sport Spider (Final Production Year)
07:20 Citroën Xsara Picasso
08:38 Peugeot 607
09:38 Peugeot 306 Phase III and Phase II Cabrio
11:03 Alfa Romeo 145/146 Facelift Models
13:15 Alfa Romeo 166
14:30 Alfa Romeo 156 Q-System
15:50 Maserati 3200 GT Automatica
17:34 TVR Tuscan Speed Six
18:54 Conclusion/Outro

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Hi, I'm Austin @ Veloce Midwest! I make automotive videos including reviews, essays and video compilations of car meets and shows that showcase the automotive scene of Wisconsin. You can also check out my Instagram for photos from these events, and follow along with whatever car projects I may be working on.

So, to you and your cars: STAY TUNED!

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Video Credits: Austin Dahlke (Myself)

Film and TV Clips property of their respective owners. Video clips owned by their respective owners. YT Channel sources are listed at bottoms of videos when they show. Check out their channels! A lot of the press release photos come from AutoRevolution, an incredible archive of promotional photos from tons of brands from over the years.

Music:
- StevenAndolf - "Universal Commercial Tunes: Vol. 1"

Great stuff there, go support him!

[noDdC]

Nice video. I randomly came across it and thought I should mention other interesting cars from 1999:

The Opel Zafira would be the German equivalent of the Citroen Xsara Picasso. From the outside, it looks like every other compact (by European standards) MPV, but what makes it special is it's enormous variability: The second row of seats can be pushed against the front seats and the third row folded completely into the floor, creating a large and entirely flat cargo compartment. As a family car, it's unbeatable for the size. Like the Picasso, it mostly had modest engine options, but in 2001, it got an OPC version with 192hp. Doesn't sound like much, but in a car the size and weight of a VW Golf, that's good enough for 0-62 in 8.2 seconds. It also looks great in my opinion.

An even better looking Opel from 1999 (okay, this is cheating a little, it was first presented in 1999 and produced from March of 2000) is the Astra Coupé, styled by none other than Bertone. Just by slightly elongating and refining the base Astra G, the Italian coach builder created a remarkably elegant looking GT. Engines top out at 197hp, which is plenty for an FWD car that wasn't intended to be sporty anyway. Definitely an unexpected and, I would presume, entirely unknown head turner in the US. There was also a cabriolet variant built from March of 2001. With the top down, it looks good, but I think it loses some of its appeal with the unremarkable soft top up.


I have no idea why I'm mentioning so many Opels, but there was another and decidedly less sporty one, the Agila. Again cheating a little, since it was first shown in 1999 and produced from August of 2000. Fans of Japanese Kei-cars know what's up with one look at it, but for those who don't know, this is a massively reworked and upgraded version of the Suzuki Wagon R, with virtually no parts left unchanged. Safety in particular was upgraded considerably (although it obviously won't hold up against modern SUVs). This would normally be a rather uninteresting car for Americans, not just because its most powerful engine produces all of 80 hp, but there was one variant that makes it, depending on your taste, either immensely likeable or the very opposite of that, the Njoy, which was offered with very funky two-tone paint jobs options from the factory, including purple-silver and orange-silver. In my eyes, this is peak turn of the millennium aesthetics, not because it's pretty - even I don't think it is - but because it perfectly encapsulates the taste of that point in time:


Moving on to another German firm that isn't German-owned, but does German things, Ford of Cologne introduced the facelifted Ford Fiesta in 1999. It's a ten year old design at that point and seriously outdated, so not really all that remarkable, but there is one variant that might be interesting for those who are looking for a quirky European car that is small, cheap and economical, but can haul a ridiculous amount of cargo for its footprint: The Fiesta Courier:


This model has been around for much longer and really isn't substantially different from the pre-facelift version, except that it doesn't look sad and downtrodden anymore. Available as a cargo and passenger version (with rear seats that are elevated up - very interesting for kids), it's Ford's take on a very typical European small hatchback to cargo van conversion concept. Pretty much every mass market manufacturer made something like this at some point. Americans can probably best imagine it as a tiny permanently enclosed pickup truck.

In Italy, the Fiat Punto, a small hatchback, received a major facelift in 1999, resulting in an in my eyes remarkable and absolutely timeless look:


There isn't much to say about this little car: It's reliable, economical, safe for the time (even curtain airbags were available) and by all accounts fun to drive, especially with the sporty 131 hp Abarth version, which is serious power in a car that weighs considerably less than an NA Miata.

The Punto was one whole vehicle class above the tiny VW Lupo, if you can believe it. Situated under the Polo (VW's Punto competitor) and introduced in 1996, I only included it in this list, because 1999 was the first year of production of the 3L variant, which promised the fabulous fuel economy of 3L per 100 km - or 78.4 mpg:


In order to achieve this, it got a new aerodynamic front and lots of expensive lightweight magnesium and aluminum parts, including steering wheel and rear assembly. Even the glass was made thinner and sound insulation was largely removed, which made the tiny turbocharged 3-cylinder Diesel engine with 61 hp and VW's noisy injection system even more quirky to listen to. Think tiny tractor. Note that the weight saving measures resulted in slightly dangerous handling characteristics, which were fixed with weights in the rear over the course of production, negating some of the savings. This was an expensive, temperamental car, made to achieve one particular goal, which it did, at the cost of everything else. Still very interesting and worth collecting if you can find one, but I would recommend seeking out the same engine in the Audi A2, mentioned in the video, which is almost as economical, but far more usable as a daily driver and doesn't rust, since it's entirely and not just partially made out of aluminum.

That's not the only weird thing VW was up to in '99: 40 New Beetle were converted into the "Cup" variant, with 204 hp and a full cage:


This is a race car and not street legal. If the concept appeals to you, wait until you can import the slightly less rare (but still hard to find) RSi, which was built from 2002:


250 of this 224 hp street legal race car were made. Consider it the Golf R32's quirky sibling. I fondly remember it thanks to two games, Beetle Adventure Racing on the N64 and Midtown Madness 2 on PC.

That's all I can think of for now. If I remember any more cars from that year, I'll add them to this.

[fabium]

the A2 is an underrated little car, that thing is all about efficiency, bloody hell its drag coefficient of 0.25 is madness considering its a production car from the 90s and not only that but its all aluminum, which for one means no rust and other is that Audi used the same space frame technology just like on the A8 to save as much weight as possible, engine wise the 90hp 3cyl tdi lump is the one to have.

[TheersOwn]

The pinned comment already has some good additional mentions. I've got a few good ones as well. First one is the 1999-2002 Reliant Robin final generation. Yes, that's right, the Robin made it into the 21st century. Second one is the Rover 25. This is a facelifted version of the older Rover 200 and also had a commercial van variant, to add to the list of European hatchbacks. Third one is the Donkervoort D8 Audi to throw a Dutch car in there. This was a lightweight sports car that switched from Ford engines to Audi engines starting in 1999.

[linsanity]

as a Canadian I feel quite smug right now (15 year rule), I've had my 2003 S3 for four years and totally love it - very good suggestion!

[mr.bonesow]

I got a 1999 BMW 320I, it's real nice, doesn't feel like a car from the 1999.

[soapxddd]

thank you youtube for reccomending your channel to me

[hugobloemers]

A bit of a niche choice (within what is already a niche) would be the VW Caddy. It is basically a small van, I believe back in '99 based on the Polo platform. They are very useful for hauling stuff. And sometimes people tune them up which is hilarious. If you like this kind of stuff, the Citroën Berlingo is even more quirky and also available as passenger version. (Both models are actually getting ever more popular in Europe, and the Caddy has outgrown the Polo in price and size).

[brokestudent]

As an european, i kinda find it weird that there are some americans that would actually want some of these (especially the unreliable french cars). Most europeans, even the carguys wouldn't want something as boring as an A2, a Skoda (other than the sporty RS and VRS models), or any type of slow Volkswagen, unless it's a classic like an old beetle or a golf 1 and 2.

[SzymkowiAK]

half of these cars aren't even good 😭😭 (I'm Polish)