Automobile magazine has their list of the 25 most beautiful cars of all time, and I thought that I’d list them to see what everybody thought of the cars they selected. There’s a couple on the list that not only do I think don’t belong in the top 25, I don’t even see how anyone would think that they are beautiful. I’ll list the cars, and put my comments to the side. Feel free to object to either my comments or the inclusion of a car on the list and offer your own ideas as to what you think should be on there, if you have any.
25.) 1952-55 Bentley R-type Continental Not a bad looking car, but I don’t think that it belongs in the top 25.
24.) 1967-73 Maserati Ghibli Nice car, but I don’t know if it belongs on the list.
23.) 1963-65 Buick Riviera Definately does not belong on the list. The 1972 “boattail” Riviera is a much better looking car, IMHO.
22.) 1937-38 Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic Belongs on the list, perhaps a little higher in the rankings, however.
21.) 1968-74 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona One of the best looking Ferraris, IMHO, and certainly in the right spot.
20.) 1949-54 Jaguar XK120 Good looking car, but I’d probably put it a little lower on the list.
19.) 1966-67 Oldsmobile Toronado Doesn’t belong on the list at all.
18.) 1990-96 Nissan 300ZX Another one that doesn’t belong. Too bland and plasticky looking, IMHO.
17.) 1940-41 Lincoln Continental The early 1950s Lincoln Mark II was a much better looking car, so was the Lincoln Zephyr of the same era.
16.) 1954-57 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing Gorgeous car, I’d list it a little higher, I think.
15.) 1957-63 Lotus Elite I can take it or leave it.
14.) 1961-66 Jaguar XK-E Yup, a lovely car (and the hearse variant in Harold & Maude was cool).
13.) 1947-52 Cisitalia 202 coupe Looks too much like the Lotus above. (Yes, I know, the styling influences go the other way.)
12.) 1936-37 Cord 810/812 Without a doubt, one of the best looking cars ever built. It should be much higher on the list, IMHO.
11.) 1935-39 Alfa Romero 8C 2900 Good looking car, but should be lower on the list.
10.) 1961 Lincoln Continental I think that Jackie O would agree with me when I say it doesn’t belong on the list.
9.) 1953-54 Studebaker Starliner Another one of the best looking cars ever built.
8.) 1938-41 Cadillac 60 Special Uh, no. There’s better looking Caddy’s out there.
7.) 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Good looking car, but it belongs lower on the list, I think.
6.) 1937-39 Talbot-Lago Figoni-Falashi coupe Greatly resembles the Atlantic and should be lower on the list.
5.) 1964-68 Ferrari 275GTB, GTB/4 I don’t think so.
4.) 1966-72 Lamborghini Miura I don’t know if I’d put it quite so high on the list.
3.) 1971-75 BMW 3.0CS/CSi/CSL Nope. If you’re limiting yourself to post-war BMWs, they built much better looking cars like the M1, 2002, and the Z3. Pre-war, they had several better looking cars, but unfortunately, I don’t know the name of them.
2.) 1968-79 Jaguar XJ6 Oh, hell no! One of the ugliest Jags ever! The early 80s XJ-12s are way better looking.
1.) 1936-38 Mercedes-Benz 500K/540K Special Roadster A lovely car, no doubt about it, but I don’t think that it’s the best looking car ever made.
I don’t know why there isn’t a single Packard on the list. They had a number of just beautiful cars, like the 1932 Deluxe Eight Convertable Coupe, and the 1953 Carribbean Convertable to name but two. I also don’t understand why none of the Hispano-Suiza cars made the list, nor Pierce-Arrow, both makes had a reputation for good looking cars. There’s a limited run of Pinin Farina cars that were built in the early 1950s, IIRC, that were absolutely stunning which are absent from the list (there’s like 10 of them left in the world out of a ridiculously small number built). No Duesenbergs, no Auburns, no Chevys, no Fords (come on, the original T-Bird’s gotta be like number 25 on the list), no MGs and no Porsches. All of those makes have built cars that are serious contenders for the top 25, and I’m sure that there’s other makes out there which have suitable candidates as well.
