To Be 25, Gorgeous and European Forbes, John Turrettini, 06.10.02 If you want to import a foreign car on your own, go for a vintage model. Think the Lord moves in mysterious ways? You don't know the U.S. Department of Transportation. Under its strictures anybody seeking to import a sleek, sexy European car made in, say, 1978, confronts a bill of several thousand bucks to bring it up to current U.S. safety standards. Yet a model just one year older faces no such problem. The feds treat any car 25 years old or older as antique and therefore exempt from virtually all regulations, including current safety and emission standards. (Less onerous state emissions requirements may still apply.) Thus with every passing year a new crop of models becomes eligible for easy import. Right now any foreign car built before June 1977 needs little more than a boat ticket to make its journey stateside. And, happily for U.S. collectors, the 1970s saw some beauties roll off European assembly lines. Unlike Detroit's bloated, chintzy models of the period--remember the Lincoln Mark IV?--Europe produced a string of iconoclastic classics, some avant-garde, some glitzy, all appealingly bold. At the same time marques such as Citroën and Jaguar kept in production models from the 1950s and 1960s that rank among their greatest designs ever. Many European cars from the 1970s never saw U.S. roads. Americans effectively were barred from buying them new, because European makers couldn't--or wouldn't--comply with U.S. emissions requirements. Now, though, thanks to the 25-year rule (and the anemic euro), you can import your own, and on the cheap. As for meeting state requirements, George Gemayel, an imports specialist with G&K Automotive in Los Angeles, says a few hundred dollars' worth of add-ons usually does the trick. One caveat: Insist that the condition of a 1970s import be immaculate, since in European cars of that period, beautiful design often went hand in hand with mechanical frailty and a propensity to rust. Keith Duly, a Connecticut-based retired aircraft engineer, who imports classic Europeans for himself and for clients, recommends paying above market rates for perfect cars. Trying to save on the purchase price up front--and then getting socked with huge repair costs later, he warns, is "a trap most neophytes fall into." Classic-car clubs (e.g., Citroën Club of America, Alfa Romeo Owners Club) can be great fonts of advice, not just for finding after-purchase parts and service but for buying your car, too. Clubs can, for example, refer you to U.S. brokers such as Duly, who has brought more than a hundred classics to the U.S. (Ironically, such brokers can also sometimes find American-made classics--a vintage T-Bird, say--that might sell for less in Lyons than in Laguna Beach.) Using a broker also prevents you haggling one-on-one with unscrupulous no-name European dealers. Europe's top stars of the Disco Decade include: Citroën DS This supernally elegant sedan ended its long production run in 1975. A million and a half were built, including one that saved Charles de Gaulle from assassination. The car features a unique pneumatic suspension system that gives it an unparalleled ride but can also be a source of maintenance and repair headaches. An excellent late-model DS should run you from $10,000 to $15,000. Alfa Romeo Montreal This curvy Italian was designed for Montreal's 1967 Expo but did not debut officially until 1970. It was never exported to the U.S., heavy American influences in its front-engined V-8 layout and its extroverted styling notwithstanding. While neither a knockout beauty nor a mechanical masterpiece, the Montreal manages to define the 1970s esthetic, right down to its paint colors--which include orange and apple green. At around $20,000, Montreals are a steal. Jaguar E-Type V-12 Though this car was imported into the U.S. (and in substantial numbers), lots are languishing in Europe, where their thirsty V-12 engines must be fed with $4-a-gallon gas. Result: You can get good deals on this archetypal British sportster. Expect to pay $22,000 for a flawless hardtop. Porsche Carrera RS This stripped-down, street-legal racer epitomizes performance-at-any-cost rigor. Steel door handles were replaced with leather straps, soundproofing was tossed out, glass windows were replaced with plastic--all in the quest for lightness and speed. Color schemes feature bright red-and-blue graphics on top of white underpaint. This classic antiposeur will cost you $40,000.