15 most beautiful cars of all time?

wheelbender6 · May 26, 2014

A nice gallery on MSN but I disagree with about half of their choices.
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/15-most-beautiful-american-cars-of-all-time

zean · May 26, 2014

Hi wheelbender6. I like those cars from the 1960's. I expected to see a two-door fast-back 1962 or 1963 Jaguar XKE in there. Thankyou.

bluegoatwoods · May 26, 2014

I'm really glad they included that 57 Lincoln Mark II. I've only ever seen a couple of those in person and that was 30 years ago or so. I doubt if they ever made many of them. But they left an impression on me.

I also agree with their pick of the 66 GTO.

Then there were a few others that were beautiful, I'll agree. But did they rank in the very top? I don't know.

wheelbender6 · May 26, 2014

When I first went thru the slide show, I thought it was the Top 15 most beautiful American cars of all time until I saw the Lambo. I agree with zean that there should be at least one Jag in there (I'd almost sell my soul for an XK8).
What about Bugatti? Maserati? Hudson? Lotus? Ferrari? Alfa Romeo? Aston Martin?
I think it would be easier and more fair to expand the list to the Top 40 most beautiful cars of all time.

maniac57 · May 26, 2014

I hate Fords, but the GT40 should be at the top of ANY beautiful car list.
Right up there with the early Ferrari's

Greg58 · May 26, 2014

I'm kinda partial to the "goat" myself, I had a '67. That car kept me broke but was a lot of fun. A 400 six pack four speed.

wheelbender6 · May 26, 2014

When I was a very young lad waiting for the school bus, the high school guys would drive past in their GTOs, Chevelles, Road Runners, Mustangs, etc. That was a big thrill for me.

2door · May 26, 2014

Hey, they didn't show my sedan in there. What gives?

Seriously, There is some beautiful iron in that collection but I don't agree 100% with them all. Where was the '69 Boss', or the Scarib, the Austin Healy or even a 60s vintage Indy Roadster?

If a million people look at that selection of cars you'll probably get at least a million different opinions of what is 'the most beautiful. Personally that 'goat' GTO convertable should not have been there. (was never a 'goat' fan) That 'Rip Cords' song, "Little GTO" used to pi$$ me off. "Beat the gassers and the rail jobs". Yeah, right.

Thanks for the link, Wheelbender. Those are some classic machines.

Tom

wheelbender6 · May 26, 2014

My favorite GTOs were the 68-70, though the earlier goats are more valuable and collectible. I wanted one with a hood tach.
I think the Ford GT40 deserves a seat at this table too.
I loved the hood latch release on the early Lincolns. You turned the hood ornament.

xseler · May 27, 2014

1938 Alfa Romeo 8c 2900
Ferrari 330 GTO
Jaguar XKE
1967 Ford GT40
Lotus 49 F1 racer
Lamborghini Muira
Shelby Cobra Daytona

Greg58 · May 27, 2014

Was that GTO gold with a black vynal top? Did you live in Newnan in the mid 1970s?

bluegoatwoods · May 27, 2014

Actually, I thought the list was American cars too.

But if it includes imports, then they should have included the Karmann Ghia.

wheelbender6 · May 27, 2014

Greg58 - I lived a half hour east of Newnan in Senoia. I think Jerry Sherman was our local GTO owner. Seems like it was gold, but it was while back.
Bluegoat - My dad had a Karmann Ghia for a while. No fuel gauge. It had a reserve tank lever like a motorcycle.

bluegoatwoods · May 27, 2014

No fuel gauge? Doesn't surprise me, really. VWs were practically the definition of 'stark'.

I had a '67 Beetle once. (Much more fun than I ever would have guessed, by the way. A really nice car.) It had a fuel gauge. Something it lacked, which surprised me, was any kind of pump for the washer fluid. Instead it had a Schrader valve on the tank. You filled it with compressed air for spraying the fluid on the windshield. An impressive idea. Too simple to break down, yet it did the job fine.

By the way, the most beautiful cars list should have included the 1967, 68 & 69 Plymouth Barracuda Sport. The 'coupe' style Barracuda. Those were beautiful, too. And I'd give an honorable mention, for that matter, to the two-door Plymouth Valiants from the late 60s until the end. If not the most beautiful cars ever built, they certainly had a nice profile.

bluegoatwoods · May 27, 2014

Now here's something interesting.....

After my last post I got onto google and started looking for a pic of the particular Barracuda that I had mentioned. I found several, but not quite as good photos as I'd liked. As I kept looking, I came across this:

This was identified as a Barracuda Sport 273C.

Now Chrysler did have a 272 cubic inch V-8 that went into many of the Barracudas I'm talking about. I'm guessing that this one has the same engine.

But I've never seen such a body. I'm gonna guess that it's a prototype from the pre-Valiant days.

And it certainly is a good looking car.

wheelbender6 · May 27, 2014

That green Barracuda Sport 273 must be a prototype. It looks a lot like one of the Hudsons from the 50s. A lot of hot looking cars never made it to production.
Seems the 66 Barracuda with that huge rear glass window had a 273 in it.
It had a cool dash and a push button auto transmission. The push button shifter
drives restorers crazy. I'm not recommending the 66 for the 15 most beautiful.

The_Aleman · May 28, 2014

The only one from that list I agreed with was the '63 Stingray. Pictures never do that car justice.
When I was a kid a neighbor has a '63 in her garage and I swear that thing gave me my first chubby.

My personal #1 of all time is the '48 Tucker Torpedo. That's another car that pictures just don't do justice. It's huge, elegant and an engineering marvel.

bluegoatwoods · May 28, 2014

You're right about the 63 Stingray, Aleman. It was a great looking car. And I'm fond of the Corvette coupes from the same era, for that matter.

And, yes, the fastback Barracudas (while pretty cool) probably don't go on anyone's list of the best looking cars.

While we're on cars of that sort, does anyone remember the Rambler Marlin? Sorta Charger/cuda-ish. Kinda cool, too. But kinda weird as well.

2door · May 28, 2014

I agree on the 63 Vett, splitwindow. It had an 'aviation' look about it that spun my crank. There was something about that rear window that just looked so cool.

Later I found out there are kits out there to convert the splitwindow to a single. WHY, would anyone even think about doing that? It was the one, distinctive feature that made the car. So what if you couldn't see out of it..........

Tom

Allen_Wrench · May 28, 2014

I loved how my Datsun 260Z looked. I also love the antique French cars from the thirties which wore coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi. And Lamborghini Miuras, and DeThomaso Mangustes, and most late twenties to early thirties Bugattis. In my humble opinion, these belong on a list of beautiful cars.

15 most beautiful cars of all time?

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