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These German classics will have most gearheads gasping in admiration, but are they really all that?

Over the years, German cars have built a reputation for being technological pioneers, delivering incredible performance and sumptuous luxury.

In many ways, this is merited. The classic models of cars like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class serve as a window into the future, consistently showing us technology that could be said to be 10 years ahead of its time. Cars like the original Porsche 911 showed the world that a practical sports car does exist, but for every hit, there have been several misses.

Reliability does not always play nice with performance or innovation, performance sometimes comes without any real safety and as these technological marvels age, things start to unravel.

Related: Discover Why This 1979 Porsche 930 Turbo Has Been In Storage For A Decade

The 635CSi is arguably one of the most beautiful cars ever designed by a German manufacturer. It is rather unfortunately a beautiful disaster if you live in a hot climate.

In cooler climate, the cars won’t really have too many issues, and that smooth inline 6 will keep singing its song. However, that cooling system was not sufficient to keep these cars cool in hotter climates, and they consistently overheated. It is a relatively easy problem to solve now with an aftermarket radiator, new hoses and better coolant, but it is pretty hard to tell how many times a car of this age has overheated in its lifetime.

Not many manufacturers were making turbocharged cars in the '70s, and to their credit, Porsche were pioneers in this rather potent first effort.

It is for good reason that these were called widowmakers, with the engine in the rear and big dollops of turbo lag, things went wrong in a hurry and at great speed.

After realizing their E30 M3 could have sold in larger numbers, BMW gave everyone what they clearly wanted with the next generation.

It was a huge sales success and brought back the blue collar performance car. Most of them got driven hard for extended periods though, and there just isn’t much life left in the vast majority of these otherwise exceptional cars.

What is so confusing about the Karmann bodied Ghia coupe based on the Beetle is that it was actually a pretty car, only with Beetle performance.

It looks like a genuine sports car, but underneath, it's really just a fancy Beetle, and even the most beautiful Beetle is still a Beetle.

Related: A Look Back At The 1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

As a brand who made motorcycles and cars, you might think this was just some experiment for them, but they didn’t even make the thing.

They actually sold these under license from the Italian carmaker ISO. Back then, it served its purpose to save the company which at the time was on the brink of bankruptcy.

This V8 monstrosity actually has a pretty big following, but it really shouldn’t. To start, there is the design which might just look dated to most, but this was just what happens when Porsche goes outside their comfort zone.

Design is subjective, performance and reliability is not. It had neither and was infamous for being one of the least reliable cars from the brand, yet still eked out an incredibly long production run.

Related: 8 Reasons Why We Love The Porsche 928 (2 Reasons Why We'd Never Buy One)

At one point in its history the 5000 was unreasonably vilified with several complainants suggesting the car would accelerate on its own. These claims were false, but for Audi, the damage was done.

At the time the Audi was a pretty good all-round luxury car, and after the incident got quite a following, but at the end of the day this is still just a fancy VW with front-wheel drive and woeful handling (unless you splurged on the Quattro version).

By the late '80s the DTM wars had really heated up as the E30 M3 pushed Mercedes-Benz to create the Cosworth tuned 190 E Evo and then the Evo 2 (above).

This subsequently gave the public a more accessible 2.3-liter 16V Cosworth version, which is good, albeit not quite as good as any comparatively priced 3-series. The reality of the matter is that most 190 E’s didn’t even come with that engine, rather an underpowered 2.0-liter or 2.3-liter SOHC engines that would struggle to get the Merc from 0-60 mph in under 10 seconds.

Related: Petrolicious Takes Us Through The 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II

Surprisingly, this came from Germany, and it was a bit of a sales success in the early '60s, all things considered as several aquatic enthusiasts dreamed of taking their car for a spin on a lake.

Obviously, any amphibious vehicle is a compromise and the Amphicar was compromised as both a boat and a car. As a car, it was sluggish. As a boat, it leaked profusely.

People love the Beetle. It is easy to see why too, as they were the very essence of what a “people’s car” should be, both economical to purchase and own. They also have an incredible aftermarket that can turn your Beetle into just about anything.

It has two major issues though. Firstly, it was literally developed by the Nazis. Secondly, it is actually an awful car, made on the cheap with absolutely no safety feature in sight and a fuel tank situated right in the middle of the front crumple-zone.

Luke Zietsman is an all out automotive enthusiast based in The Philippines. If it has two or four wheels he has either owned it, researched about it or dreamed about it.