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The car whose design you like the most?

Ferrari Modulo.

Came across this link as a parenthetical to a completely unrelated article. I really like it-- it's only a concept car, but I love that they took an idea and went all the way in on it. I can hear the design manager looking at concept drawings from the team shouting "Moar wedge!".

Is it weird that I kind of see some Frank Lloyd Wright in this design?

iu
 
During the late 60’s I’d just started work and training with an aircraft constructor in the UK. In the hangar one afternoon I heard some noises from behind some screening in a partitioned-off area. There was a small gap in the screen curtain, so being an eager-to-learn, inquisitive youngster I had to have a quick peek. My jaw then just dropped; one of the most delightful modern-looking cars I’d ever seen - and this was the 60's!
Unfortunataely not my car.

Bris411.jpg

Bristol Cars was a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars, established in the mid 40’s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Their history is a fascinating one, and many outstanding designed cars left the factory up until 2011. They were one of the most exclusive and elusive of prestige brands, and the 411 has sometimes been described as 'A Bentley on steroids.' The company has had several changes of ownership and more than it’s fair share of financial woes. But like the phoenix, one cannot rule out that one day they may be reborn from the ashes and ‘fly’ again in the guise of an EV.
 
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CooperBox said:
During the late 60’s I’d just started work and training with an aircraft constructor in the UK. In the hangar one afternoon I heard some noises from behind some screening in a partitioned-off area. There was a small gap in the screen curtain, so being an eager-to-learn, inquisitive youngster I had to have a quick peek. My jaw then just dropped; one of the most delightful modern-looking cars I’d ever seen - and this was the 60's!
Unfortunataely not my car.

View attachment 2534054

Bristol Cars was a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars, established in the mid 40’s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Their history is a fascinating one, and many outstanding designed cars left the factory up until 2011. They were one of the most exclusive and elusive of prestige brands, and the 411 has sometimes been described as 'A Bentley on steroids.' The company has had several changes of ownership and more than it’s fair share of financial woes. But like the phoenix, one cannot rule out that one day they may be reborn from the ashes and ‘fly’ again in the guise of an EV.
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Beautiful, just beautiful.

To answer the question posed by the OP, there are no current designs that I like, none whatsoever. Actually, I find much of modern car design to be both wholly lacking in character, style, elegance, and to be downright ugly.

However, historically, there have been some wonderful cars (I would argue that some of these include the Rover P6, Citroen DS and CX, some of the smaller, and more elegant BMWs and Mercedes of the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 1990s, among others), such as the image of the Bristol that you have shared with us.
 
Analog Kid said:
Ferrari Modulo.

Came across this link as a parenthetical to a completely unrelated article. I really like it-- it's only a concept car, but I love that they took an idea and went all the way in on it. I can hear the design manager looking at concept drawings from the team shouting "Moar wedge!".

Is it weird that I kind of see some Frank Lloyd Wright in this design?

iu
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Very unusual machine that. And it’s a 512S underneath (chassis 27) so if you dared to push it, that thing will really move.

512S was the competitor to the Porsche 917.

It’s not the machine I’d have expected from Pininfarina however. Although they have done some unexpected designs over the years - especially the RR Camargue - a model that is becoming fairly valuable (for the good ones).

I did see a VW ID.Buzz cargo version on the weekend, it was from an elevator company. Yes it is a box on wheels but it is a great piece of design. Enough to remind you of the old VW bus while meeting modern requirements.
 
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I have also looked at Lexus LFA close up, a white one. Beautifully built.

The other machine that surprised me was the Type F150 LaFerrari - for something with batteries and a hulking big V12 in the back of it, that car was shrink-wrapped to the extreme. Much smaller than I expected.

Nearby it was a Lamborghini LP750-4 SV, and the Lamborghini looked enormous by comparison, higher, longer, wider - and yet it only has its V12 engine.

Ferrari really packaged the LaFerrari well.

I understand the Aston Martin Valkyrie is even more compact - but the interior of that car is so small that bigger drivers won’t fit in it. Probably fine for me being 1.75m high with a lean cyclist build… now I just need multiple millions to buy one. ;)
 
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960design said:
Best friend owned a (then new) 80s Celica Supra: awesome car.
I owned a 1991 T-Bird Super Coupe (red): loved that car
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I have never owned an American car. My dad started buying Nissans and Honda's in the 1980s and as I ended up with the old car when he got the new car, that's just the way it's been.

I'm not complaining though. Every car I've ever owned since I started driving in 1986 has either been paid off before I got it, or within a small amount of time afterwards (and I was not the one paying it off).
 
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960design said:
Some of my favorites above!

I had the pleasure of driving a KW T-2000 for several years:
View attachment 2534215
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Nice!

Learning to drive a truck has been a desire since I was around 12. I just never got in to the industry, instead going into graphic design.

But I used to have pics on my walls and I have always kept up on what newer models look like. There was one time I was walking in to Walmart and a corp truck had been parked near by. It was a stunningly beautiful truck and the driver was loading a lot of soda in to it. He noticed me staring and thought I was silently judging him about the soda. So, he made some comment about needing to get supplies because he was on the road a lot.

I just looked at him and told him that his truck was beautiful. I don't think he'd ever noticed before, but he did a double-take and stepped back and really looked at it. His only reply was 'Yes, yes it is'. But I think he was truly seeing it for the very first time and the realization seemed to make him very happy.

Again, it was a gorgeous truck.
 
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eyoungren said:
1986 Camaro IROC-Z. A student at a high school I went to in 1986 had one - brand new.

View attachment 2345422

Toyota Celica Supra, late 80s.

View attachment 2345423

1988 Pontiac Fierro

View attachment 2345424

1989 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe. I once had the pleasure of riding in one in 1993.

View attachment 2345425

1996 Chevy Impala SS.

View attachment 2345426

These are by no means the extent of the cars I like, but they are the ones that come to mind when the question is asked.
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That model Supra was 81-86(A60)
IMG_0143.jpeg


87-92 A(70)
IMG_0142.jpeg

I owned an 84 Supra for 6 years until I replaced it with a 90 5.0 LX Mustang. Still have the 5.0 (60,000 miles on clock). Supra was an outstanding car, never gave me a problem.
 
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BugeyeSTI said:
That model Supra was 81-86(A60)
View attachment 2534320

87-92 A(70)
View attachment 2534321
I owned an 84 Supra for 6 years until I replaced it with a 90 5.0 LX Mustang. Still have the 5.0 (60,000 miles on clock). Supra was an outstanding car, never gave me a problem.
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The styling of the Supra up to 1986 was my preference. My understanding is that the Supra originally started as some sort of option for the Celica (hence Toyota Celica-Supra), but then eventually became it's own model. The pinnacle was the 1986 year. When they changed styling, I didn't care for it.

But it was cool because from the early 80s to 1986 you could see the evolution and every year they made the car look more awesome.

Another interest…Pontiac Fierro.

1988-pontiac-fiero-gt.jpeg24P010-5.jpg

This car is misunderstood. Pontiac initially sold it with a less than stellar issue with the oil sump. People didn't stay on top of that and it soon got the reputation for blown engines. By the time things got fixed, it was the last few model years (this is a 1988) and people lost interest.

But like almost any car, there are fans out there. And if you stay on top of the maintenance and care the Fierro is a good car.
 
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eyoungren said:
The styling of the Supra up to 1986 was my preference. My understanding is that the Supra originally started as some sort of option for the Celica (hence Toyota Celica-Supra), but then eventually became it's own model. The pinnacle was the 1986 year. When they changed styling, I didn't care for it.

But it was cool because from the early 80s to 1986 you could see the evolution and every year they made the car look more awesome.

Another interest…Pontiac Fierro.

View attachment 2534342View attachment 2534343

This car is misunderstood. Pontiac initially sold it with a less than stellar issue with the oil sump. People didn't stay on top of that and it soon got the reputation for blown engines. By the time things got fixed, it was the last few model years (this is a 1988) and people lost interest.

But like almost any car, there are fans out there. And if you stay on top of the maintenance and care the Fierro is a good car.
Click to expand...
Yes, until the newer A70 Supra was released the older car was called a Celica Supra and had Celica badges on the B pillar. My 84 Supra was one of the reasons I became a Toyota technician.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Almost anything by Pininfarina.
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I would say Gandini.

Most designers would be grateful for having just a single iconic design. Like Butzi Porsche with the 911.

Gandini has at least two, in a portfolio that includes the Miura, Countach, Montreal, Stratos, X-1/9, and BMW E12.

To a lesser degree, Giugiaro, whose work leaned more toward less flashy, mainstream models like the Golf. But he's one of the few who could be considered a peer with his body of work.

In terms of Pininfarina, I've never warmed to the Enzo, designed by the Japanese fellow whose name I don't recall.

It's not a fancy, or ostentatious design, but after seeing the Cistalia 202 coupe in person, it just resonated as a fantastic piece of design.
 
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eyoungren said:
Another interest…Pontiac Fierro.

View attachment 2534342View attachment 2534343

This car is misunderstood. Pontiac initially sold it with a less than stellar issue with the oil sump. People didn't stay on top of that and it soon got the reputation for blown engines. By the time things got fixed, it was the last few model years (this is a 1988) and people lost interest.

But like almost any car, there are fans out there. And if you stay on top of the maintenance and care the Fierro is a good car.
Click to expand...

I always like the Pontiac Fiero, but preferred the MR2, specifically the SW20 MR2.

Searched since the late 90’s for a SW20, coming close to buying a one a several times, but couldn’t get the deal I wanted, or the deal fell through.

I finally bought one 15 years ago, and I absolutely love it. 91’ Crimson red SW20 turbo.

It’s is 35 years old but an awesome beautiful car.

Here it is with a 93’s wheels it came with:
IMG_1066.jpg


I was thinking of refurbishing the 93 wheels, but it is really hard to find decent summer tires on a 15” staggered set up like the SW20 has.

I got these 17” Enkei Kojins in 2015:
IMG_2040 (1).jpg
 

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