The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

You are here: Home / Forum / The most beautiful car in the world

The most beautiful car in the world

by 48 Comments

So I thought I had a pretty good handle on what I thought was the most beautiful car in the world, and it’s close rival. Then I saw both of them in a local store yesterday, the Industrie Garage in inner western Sydney. Images below.

Can anyone come up with anything (automotive) more beautiful ?

0

Comments

  2. The Aston has perhaps been bighted by over-familiarity, but up close it is a definite thing of beauty.
    Continuing the Jaguar theme, I nominate the XJS – a car whos only real crime was NOT being an E Type
    (The fact that it was built on the cheap, and badly put together doesn’t help it’s case either)

    • I even have a family connection to the XJS and I’d struggle to put it in the top 10. The new f-type is a thing of rare beauty though. Astonishing in the flesh.

      As for the Aston’s over familiarity i know what you mean, this one above didn’t look quite how i expected. It was even better from some angles.

      • I went to a Jag showroom when the F-Type was launched and could have spent more hours just staring at it.

        Seeing cars close-up often surprises – you think you know the car until you are within 12″ of it, and your shocked by it’s beauty.

        I was at Coventry Motor Museum (recommended if you’re ever in the concrete city of Coventry), and was surprised by the beauty of the Rover P5B.
        No picture I can find does it justice – but stand next to one and …

    • I drove a V12 XJS once. The crappily designed, and very shiny leather seats nearly had me under the dashboard first time i applied the brakes in earnest.

      They certainly have a visual appeal, but I reckon it’s more nostalgia than because it’s a thing of beauty.

    • One of my earliest Dinky toy obsessions was the 300 gull wing. I think i even saw a race track parade of about 20 of them somewhere, magnificennt. Still got the Daytona ahead though.

  6. Mmm, Cisitalia 202 – even better without mudguards. Stunning for 1948.

    http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t449/GCU_Grey_Area/Cisitalia-202-SC-Pinin-Farina-Cabriolet-37264_zps11h20zit.jpg

    DB4 GT Zagato – a DB4 nipped and tucked and on steroids.

    http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t449/GCU_Grey_Area/Aston-Martin-DB4-GT-Zagato-59695_zpshr9gr4xl.jpg

    Ferrari 250 GTO.

    http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t449/GCU_Grey_Area/Ferrari-250-GTO-48658_zps87xvxue1.jpg

    And the most attractive Formula One car of them all – the Eagle Westlake. 3-litres, V-12, and sadly not as fast or reliable as it looked.

    http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t449/GCU_Grey_Area/Eagle-Mark-1-Weslake-1735_zpsuzloa4uo.jpg

  11. This far and no mention of the 911?! For shame!

    I love the shape personally, albeit less so the flared wheelarch/tea-tray versions from the mid 70s to the late 80s.

    So many beautiful cars. Late 50s to early 70s a golden era – DB5, Ferrari 250 California, 365 GTB/4 (Daytona), the Maserati 3500 Vignale Spyder, E-type, Gordon Keeble, Lamborghini 400GT, ISO Grifo, Chervrolet Corvette and many more.

    Most beautiful? Probably the E-type if you strip away all knowledge of exclusivity, price, value, brand etc. That or Mr Dagenham’s red sports car in Camberwick Green (very MGB-like).

      • 911s – and indeed Porsches in general – do nothing for me, until someone goes and paints Martini stripes on them, and then I start dribbling. RSR 2.1s, 935s, 936s, oh yes please.

        • Not that this is ever likely to happen, while the 911 does nothing for me either, if I was in the market for a high end sports car I would probably get one of these rather than a Ferrari or a Lambo. Mainly because their reputation for reliability and ability to be an every day drive, rather than a sunny-Sundays-only job. Plus I’d have to let the FPO use it. She loved the WRX we had and still misses it terribly, but… let’s just say that her forte is human sympathy rather than mechanical. Not in any sexist way, just not something she thinks about or cares about. I would certainly never even think of having a Daytona or a DB5 unless I was single again.

  14. 1928 Plymouth Model Q Coupe 1934 Chrysler Airflow, Model CU

    Not sure how to post a pic so please google. I saw one at the Chrysler museum in Detroit. The museum is sadly closed, Detroit sadly is not.

  15. The other Alfa that made me catch my breath was the Brera concept car. The road going version was close, but no cigar, and apparently it wasn’t that great to drive, but what a concept.

    • My brother-in-law has had one for 30+ years, most of which time he has spent underneath it. He actually bought a garage with an inspection pit to make it easier to fix. The hydraulic system is a nightmare.

Leave a Reply