Rugd1022 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so the saying goes! This is bound to be very a subjective thread but I'll kick off with the Ford GT40 which for me, has beautifully balanced looks and a very cleverly restrained brutality... As for road going cars, aside from perhaps some more obvious candidates from the wonderful late '60s and early '70s heyday, the 'pre-impact bumper' Porsche 911 Targa really is a visual treat... Over to you chums - a proverbial pint is awarded if you can add a few words as to why you like a particular car and what you think makes it 'beautiful'... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2016 The Citroen DS, an achingly beautiful car, years ahead of its time with some trick engineering which oozes style. Citroen are not Ferrari or Lambo or anything, but in its own way I really believe the DS was a finer looking car than almost anything produced by the supercar exotica suppliers. AC Cobra, not beautiful but it radiates aggression, menace and speed and it is still the sports car I lust over more than any others. I find that it is a timeless car. Lamborghini Miura, yes I know this one is a cliche but there is a reason that it is a bit of a cliche. To me no other Italian supercar ever looked as good, its shape was stunning and free of the more cartoon over the topness of some later Italian supercars. Lancia Montecarlo, a bit of an odd one, when I look at it now it seems less good looking than it did in my youth yet I remember when I was younger this car left an impression on me and a desire to to own one that very few other cars ever have. I can't explain why but it just made me desperately want one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium njee20 Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2016 I was going to post a photo of an Audi R8, but then I just got distracted looking at photos of them and couldn't choose. Lovely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2016 Fiesta Mk1 XR2 - maybe an odd choice but to me it screamed performance from every angle. You knew it was a Ford you knew it was a Fiesta, but it was unmistakable. Oh, and the E-type. And the Volvo 850 T5 estate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2016 Got to be the red Mk2 Cavalier SRi, still miss mine - C159KDT... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/1985_Vauxhall_Cavalier_1.8_SRi_(18718417235).jpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2016 And for an older car there's this, https://www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/9019141322 the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, the one in the link (MDN6) is the one my Grandad looked after from new until about 1991. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 The Citroen DS perfectly fits John Peel's quote about 'Teenage Kicks': 'There's nothing you could add to it or subtract from it that would improve it.' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2016 Alfa Romeo V8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2016 Using the iPad means links are not achievable, but Deb and I agreed from very early on that the Ferrari 250LM was the most beautiful car we'd seen. In 1965 it was overall winner at LM, when the Ford and Ferrari prototypes burnt each other out. Not bad for a car you could buy. Later in life Deb took a particular fancy to the Saleen S7R - even telling Steve Saleen so one year at Le Mans scrutineering - and like the Ferrari it won its class at the race. And lets hear it for the Daytona Cobra, a wonderfully elegant design that also did the biz at LM. Other, more ordinary, cars must include the Fiat 130 Coupe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2016 DeLorean, anyone? (Not the BTTF version though). Any of the Aston Martin DB5, DB9, DB10 or Taraf (the new 'Lagonda'). The BMW i8, maybe? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 These were winning rallies when I was a teenager and, having caught my imagination then, they have held a very special place in my heart ever since. Nothing else has ever had the combination of prettiness and aggression in my book. Also, having had a few of both in my younger days, I'd choose a fast, small car over a fast, big car anytime. Edit: It's a Lancia Stratos for those too young to remember. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozexpatriate Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 I am partial to 60s roadsters. The top of the list would be: Austin-Healy 3000 MG A Jaguar E type. (the Jaguar D type might be my favourite as a 'beautiful car'.) There are others of course: a host of Ferraris (GTO 250, Dino 246 GT, etc), early Aston Martin and Lamborghini coupes (like the DB5 and Miura) but it hardly seems fair to include those. My high-school chemistry teacher had a deep crimson MG A. It was a stunning car for teenage boys to admire. If we extended the list to race cars, there's a whole world of open cockpit Bugattis, Mercedes, Alphas and of course the Cooper Climax. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2016 Lambo Countach LP500S. Schoolboy poster sort of car, but....phooar. Then to find out my cousin in Germany's hubby HAD ONE...........yay! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2016 A pair of lovely looking cars that were not beyond reach for mere mortals was the Alfa Romeo 156 and its coupe sister car, the Alfa Romeo GT. Considering the 156 was basically a Mondeo/Vectra rival and the GT was basically a 2 door rakish derivative of the 156 they were both far more stylish, lovely looking cars than they had any right to be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Beautiful cars, great subject. My dad once had a Jag. (Think it was a Mk 7 or 8) - Split window job, colour was Sable over Sand. I still have the ignition key in a Jaguar fob !!. I remember him flooring the pedal to overtake a Bentley going up Birdlip hill near Gloucester - long, long time ago, I was about 8 or 9 years old. !!. That was a beautiful car indeed. Of the cars I have owned, perhaps the best "lookers" were my 75 Princess 1800HL, Audi 100 GL5E (a flying machine but wouldn't catch Bentleys !!) and a Capri cabaret 1600 special edition, and my old Rover 1973 P5B Saloon which I bought in 1982 and still have. I'll not mention my Marina and Montego !!. An old saying is that an Englishman must always have owned a Jaguar at least once in his life. My dad did, I haven't up to now. Sooo, perhaps one day. E types and early Jags, beautiful as they indeed are are out of the question for me, as are new cars (cost / depreciation). Perhaps one day I will blow a couple of grand and buy an XK8. For me apart from exotic supercars most modern cars are much of a muchness. I'm not impressed with the new Range Rover range or Jag F type. Astons are nice though. Guy up the street has one, a few years old but I always turn my head towards it when passing. Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Beautiful cars, great subject. My dad once had a Jag. (Think it was a Mk 7 or 8) - Split window job, colour was Sable over Sand. I still have the ignition key in a Jaguar fob !!. I remember him flooring the pedal to overtake a Bentley going up Birdlip hill near Gloucester - long, long time ago, I was about 8 or 9 years old. !!. That was a beautiful car indeed. Of the cars I have owned, perhaps the best "lookers" were my 75 Princess 1800HL, Audi 100 GL5E (a flying machine but wouldn't catch Bentleys !!) and a Capri cabaret 1600 special edition, and my old Rover 1973 P5B Saloon which I bought in 1982 and still have. I'll not mention my Marina and Montego !!. An old saying is that an Englishman must always have owned a Jaguar at least once in his life. My dad did, I haven't up to now. Sooo, perhaps one day. E types and early Jags, beautiful as they indeed are are out of the question for me, as are new cars (cost / depreciation). Perhaps one day I will blow a couple of grand and buy an XK8. For me apart from exotic supercars most modern cars are much of a muchness. I'm not impressed with the new Range Rover range or Jag F type. Astons are nice though. Guy up the street has one, a few years old but I always turn my head towards it when passing. Brit15 That's the first time I have ever heard the Princess described as a "looker". I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it in the "other" thread. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kylestrome Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2016 Ferrari 330 P4 (no words needed). https://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/ferrari/330/autowp.ru_ferrari_330_p4_7.jpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2016 Ferrari 330 P4 (no words needed). https://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/ferrari/330/autowp.ru_ferrari_330_p4_7.jpg Those tyres are too wide to be P4... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 The Princess WAS a looker back then. It was the first car I bought brand new, back in November 1975. Cost was just over £2000. I needed a 4 door saloon so looked at Ford Cortinas and basic Granada's, and Vauxhall Victors etc.. But the Princess wedge shape to me, aged 23 back then was just sooo "modern image" compared with other cars. I chose Reynard copper metallic paint, with a black vinyl roof - all the rage back then. It turned heads back then - as my dad used to say "Fords are like arse holes, everybody's got one !!!!!.. The Princess did 70 odd thousand miles over 5 years. I had my money's worth out of it, and wish I could find another today !! This is a 2200cc 6 cylinder. Mine had a 1800 B series engine, same colour. Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Two that I was lucky enough to own and run: NSU Ro80 - at least 25 years ahead of its time, and not afraid to be bold in the engine department. Reliable thanks to Mazda technology. BMW 635CSi - 3430cc went like it meant business. Looked like a shark, and therefore perfect for lawyers. Outlasted a good many others. Plus one that I haven't.... yet: Citroën CX DTR T2: carrying on where the DS left off. Oddball instrumentation in Series 1 cars. World's quickest production diesel at the time. Oleopneumatic suspension should have been made available on prescription to those suffering from bad backs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkeNd Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 In my view this still takes some beating - and it was pretty cheap when first introduced. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenman Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Nothing original here, just another vote for the Citroen DS which for my money is the most perfectly beautiful car that has ever been produced; though I also have a soft spot for the NSU Ro80, which has also been mentioned. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2016 These were winning rallies when I was a teenager and, having caught my imagination then, they have held a very special place in my heart ever since. Nothing else has ever had the combination of prettiness and aggression in my book. Also, having had a few of both in my younger days, I'd choose a fast, small car over a fast, big car anytime. Edit: It's a Lancia Stratos for those too young to remember. i followed one through crewe the other month, i think it was an original one, certainly sounded and more importantly smelt like an original one! stunning looking car, when i sent the pic to a couple of work collegues in thier late 20s they had to ask what it was also i followed an alfa romeo 4c yesterday, that looked amazing, never seen one before i quite like the quirky looks of my current car, i think its stunning looking, a nissan murano, quite a rare beast, only 3000 sold in the uk, thinking of getting it LPGd as it only does 20-25mpg with it being a 3.5 V6 petrol i still think this looks amazing, jaguar xj220 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold stovepipe Posted July 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 7, 2016 I'm rather partial to these Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato. Lancia Flaminia Sport by Loraymo834, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Any 1960s Alfa is my favourite Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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