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1948 Jaguar XK 120
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1955 Citroen DS
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1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT
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The JAGUAR XK120 embodied the perfection of proportion and fine design restraint that gave Jaguars a certain timelessness. The rakish lines, the long hood, short deck proportions, the fine detailing in the oval grille, framed by headlamps that flowed into the fenders and thin whisker-like bumpers flanking it, along with the tapered tail, made the XK120 a very desirable Super Car. |
At its launch in 1955, the D5 was one of the most advanced cars of its time, not just in its mechanical specifications, suspension and chassis design, but more so in terms of styling. Clearly inspired by aircraft aerodynamics, it was design by Flaminio Bertoni, the Citroen DS was voted the greatest car design of the 20th Century by the world's most influential car designers. |
The DB4 Zagato was a limited run car commissioned for racing. In 1959, Aston Martin asked Italian coach builder Zagato to develop a light weight chassis and body for the DB4. The result was this gorgeous rolling sculpture from a very young Ercole Spada, who had just joined Zagato as Chief Designer. The car had a 3.7 liter in-line six taking max power to 302 HP. |
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1961 Jaguar E-Type
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1967 Lamborghini Miura
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1967 Maserati Ghibili
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To just about everybody the E-Type is the most beautiful Jaguar of all times. It was jointly designed by Sir William Lyons and Malcolm Sayer, the aerodynamic expert who had designed the Le Mans winning Jaguar-C and D-Type models. The E-Type came out of the XK SS in 1957, and this evolved into a beautifully undulating street legal E-Type Super Car, of which just 16 were made, despite its brutal power this car was civilized yet very quick. |
To many, including this writer, this is the most beautiful car ever, penned by the great Marcello Gandini, much of the detailing - the slats at the rear, the 'eyelashes' around the headlamps, the pop-up headlights, the door handle as a part of the air intake slats aft of the trailing edge of the door, the use of black chrome for the bumpers and other ornamentation - was innovatively new in 1966. Miura was not just an important car for Lamborghini but for the entire automotive industry. |
When at the Turin Motor Show of 1966 Maserati unveiled the Ghibli coupe, the car symbolized a significant change in design trends. A striking break from the undulating, curvaceous look prevalent in Super Cars of that time, specifically the styles of Ferrari and Jaguar cars of that epoch, the Giugiaro penned Ghibli was flat, sharp-edged with straighter lines, wedgier in profile which made the car so much more modern that its contemporaries. |
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1968 Ferrari Daytona Spider
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1968 Lamborghini Espada
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1969 Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato
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Decidedly more dramatic than anything that Ferrari had ever made before the 365 GTB/4 (Nicknamed by fans as the Daytona), was quite a break in styling terms despite the conventional front engine, rear wheel drive layout. Penned by Leonardo Fioravanti, the car was more Lamborghini in its sharp-edged wedge looks (obvious reaction to the revolutionary Miura) that with its hidden pop-up lamps and sloping nose, accentuated the long hood, short deck looks to great advantage. |
A Superb example of how it is possible to fit four full size adults and their luggage in a V12-engined Super Car that's under 1.2 meters high, yet just 4.74 meters long, the Espada was a Super Car that was capable of crossing continents at 250 Kph, with all possible creature comforts. All credit to Marcello Gandini for designing a car that managed to package dramatic lines that didn't at any point of time leave any doubt about its superb performance. |
Since the 1950's coach builder Zagato have built several Alfa Romeo coupes, cars that were significantly lighter than those by other Italian coach builders, most of which were striking looking cars. Of them the handsomest may have been the coupe version based on the 101 Series Giulia Sprint 1300 that Zagato designer Ercole Spada penned in the late 1960's, the Junior Coupe. The most distinctive feature of the car was the perspex cover of the entire face of the car. |
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1970 Alfa Romeo Montreal
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1970 Lamborghini Urraco
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1971 De Tomaso Pantera
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The Alfa Romeo Montreal was introduced as a concept car in 1967 Expo held in Montreal, Canada. Originally, the concept was displayed without a name, but the public took to calling it Montreal, Marcello Gandini designed Montreal remains one of the best booking Alfas of all time. Mating the Alfa 33's 1,600cc V8 racing engine to the Giulias coupe's chassis, the Montreal had Miura like flowing lines with a distinctive hip-line, complemented by retractable slats covering the top half of the headlamps. |
The first attempt by Lamborghini at making a baby Super Car - essentially to take on Porsche, but had limited success. Yet there is no denying the fact that the Lamborghini Urraco was one of the nicest looking of the 1970's Super Cars, with styling that was a perfect balance between modernity, flamboyance, aggressiveness and litheness. With a stance that is modern even now, and lines that are striking even today, this Marcello Gandini design was very good looking in an understated way. |
The De Tomaso Pantera was a sports car produced from 1971 to 1991, the last one being delivered to a customer in 1992. The word "Pantera" is Italian for "Panther". The Tom Tjaarda designed Pantera became an instant hit, an affordable Super Car with trouble free Ford 5.8L V8 iron in a shape that was as wedgy and as aggresive as the best that Italy could offer at that time. With clean, sharp lines that defined the wedge shape neatly, the purity of the Pantera's design was good enough to survive till 1992. |
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1971 Lamborghini Countach
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1971 Maserati Bora/Merak
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1973 Lancia Stratos
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Lamborghini introduced the stunning Countach by Marcello Gandini in the 1971 Geneva Auto Show, as the Lamborghini LP 500. The design of the ultra low two seater sports car took the world by surprise. The Countach's styling and visual impression caused it to become an icon of great design to everyone. Its design both pioneered and popularized the wedge-shaped, sharply angled look popular in many high-performance sports cars. The "cabin-forward" design concept was also popularized by the Countach.
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Maserati's response to the Lamborghini Miura was a sophisticated 2-seater with very desirable styling from Giorgetto Giugiaro. The lines were both dramatic and very handsome. Despite the fact that the Bora had huge performance that was very easily tameable, the car had limited success with just 571 selling over an 8 year production run. The smaller Merak which shared most of the body work except for the rear three-quarter, had greater success than the Bora selling as many as 1,699 units. |
It all began in 1970, at the Turin Motor Show, an extremely stylistic masterpiece designed by Marcello Gandini took the show by storm. However, the production version was different from the absolutely extraordinary concept. This legendary car was without doubt the most spectacular and successful rally car ever and not even Lacia's later Delta model could dethrone this car's exalted legacy. With its thrilling lines and uncompromising design for rally use, the Stratos emphatically rewrote the history of rallying. |
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1974 Maserati Khamsin
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1995 Cizeta Moroder V16T
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2007 Alfa Romeo 8C
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Launched in 1974, the Khamsin was planned as the replacement for the very successful Ghibli, and so the Khamsin retained the chassis and the same wheelbase of its predecessor, though the rear suspension was modernized from leaf springs to independent double wishbone system. Another accomplished design from the great master Marcello Gandini, the Khamsin was even more dramatic looking than the remarkable Ghibli - distinguished by the rear glass panel that had the rear lamps suspended within - and is today recognized as the last real Maser. |
When I was growing up as a teenager the regular posters on my nook walls were that of the Countach, Daytona, F40 and Stratos cars, but somewhere in a far out corner stood out an extraordinary poster which is still imprinted in my brain of an underdog which I adored the most, the Cizeta Moroder V16T. It was a poster from an Indian edition of Sun tabloid magazine in the late 80's and it exuded brutal power with seeming grace. My love affair with this automobile has endured the test of time because I am still in awe of this strikingly beautiful machine. |
Though the Alfa Romeo 8C designed by Wolfgang Egger may have been inspired by one of the most beautiful Alfas ever, the 33 Stradale, with some elements from the gorgeous Alfa Montreal, the 8C has a beauty all its own too. Elements have been modernized in a great package that's voluptuous and muscular. The car uses a modified Maserati platform and power train and features a Ferrari/Maserati derived 90-degree cross-plane wet sump lubricated 4.7-liter V8. The body shell is made of carbon fiber, and is fitted to a steel chassis. |