The car whose design you like the most?

[BotchQue]

I posted my praises of my ugly but beautifully-designed Saab a few pages (and years) back, so here I'm gonna post about a design I'm just wild about, so far unmentioned, just for the looks. The Jaguar F-type:

No photograph can capture just how beautiful this thing is in person. My Saab dealership in SLC also did Volvos and Jags (others too that I can't remember now) so while I was getting some Saab mx done I wandered into the Jag showroom, saw this beauty, and just stared for a long time. A salesman finally walked over and we chatted, and he mentioned that Saabs weren't being made anymore (thanks, einstein) and would I be interested in stepping "up" to a Jag? And he opened the door.
I'm 6'5", with a shoe size of 13.5. I instinctively slid the seat back all the way, and then could not even fit my foot into the pedal well easily; the top was down so my head didn't hit anything but we both knew this wasn't the car for me.
My Saab was eventually replaced with a new '18 Audi convertible, in which I fit just fine. But, damn, that little F-type is still one of the sexiest things on 4 wheels...

 

[eyoungren]

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.

It occurred to me this evening, that I had forgotten entirely about the Mitsubishi Starion.

 

[avro707]

I always liked the Alfa Romeo GTV from the late 1990s:

I never did fit in them though, certainly not made for my size - and I'm not heavily built. Gorgeous engine note on that V6, so smooth and utter lack of the modern machine-gun exhaust explosions. Back when internal combustion music was actual music, not faked.

Beautiful as they were I wouldn't have one. I did also like the 156 GTA.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

I’d like this one 🙂

 

[avro707]

But, damn, that little F-type is still one of the sexiest things on 4 wheels...

I've seen those, but to my eyes still not quite as beautiful as the original X100 Jaguar XK. Very pretty in the same way the XJ220 was (and still is).

I also prefer the more traditional engine notes of the older cars which are not ruined by fake exhaust explosions.

 

[avro707]

Citroën SM is pretty amazing. I didn't realise a company in France is completely overhauling them and updating them with modern standards:

The cost of the overhauled car is pretty huge at EUR360,000.

Such a stand-out design even today - it's like a space ship! Rather than the tuned V6, I would prefer the one of one SMV8 with the original Maserati V8 powering it.

 

[avro707]

Another one I've always loved is the Porsche 928, either as an S4 or the last of the line GTS with the big 5.4L V8. It still looks good today.

Interestingly there was planned to be a 6.0L V8 with 400hp. Financial dramas in Porsche at the time put an end to that and the 5.4L was it. Also in those times was a very unusual 3.2L inline-4 engine which was a potential powerplant for the 968 model. It was mostly a conventional 4 cylinder, aside from being 3.2 litres which is quite a large size for a 4 cylinder motor powering a passenger car.

There was also a plan for a twin-turbo 928 engine to go into a modified 962C. The engine was supposed to be very smooth at 750hp and was an idea to try and keep the 962C competitive against the Jaguar XJR9 and the Sauber C9 (with M119HL Mercedes V8). The so-called "boat 928" engine ended up never powering the 962C, the customer (Kremer) wasn't really able to fund the development and there were also doubts about the engine being too heavy.

I believe the chassis ended up being changed back to a standard 962C and then eventually became a Dauer 962 Le Mans "road car".