When it comes to style, car designers know more than you and me. So when Ian Callum (famous for his Jaguar and Aston Martins), Leonardo Fioravanti (of Pininfarina/Ferrari fame), ItalDesign founder Giorgetto Giugiaro, former McLaren designer Gordon Murray, former Pininfarina chief Ken Okuyama, and Ford's European design director Martin Smith are asked to choose the most beautiful car in automotive history, it's hard to argue. Of course, that will set off hordes of arguments among enthusiasts (who know everything, doncha know?), each supporting their favorite: How about the Bugatti Type 57 Atlante? Or the Ferrari 250GT SWB? Or Gordon Buehrig's fabulous Cord Winchester sedan?
Personally I have no problem with the Citroen DS. It is near-perfect from any angle, while the interior equals the exterior in beauty and visual excitement. I was privileged to test drive one when new and believe me, there was nothing on four wheels that compared. It was the car of the future. Sadly, the future never caught up.
The design panel was assembled by Britain's Classic & Sports Car magazine and therein exists the elements of dispute, for the participants clearly were influenced by European automobiles and may have overlooked the American contribution to automotive design. True, it was the nation that gave us wraparound windshields, massive tail fins, and three-tone paint jobs, but many beautiful automobiles were created in the good old USA. Would it not be interesting if an American car magazine or Web site were to put the same question to corporate and independent designers in North America? Which car would they select? My choice, based on production automobiles rather than rare one-off customs, would be the 1954 Studebaker Starlight, created by the Raymond Loewy group. Feel free to add your selection, using the Comments box below.
[Thanks to Autoblog for altering me to this story.]
That is one sweet looking car. It sorta’ reminds me of something you’d see swinging by the beach with surfboards on top of it in the late 70s!
February 20, 2009 @ 2:47 pm