Find Reviews by Make:
A TTAC reader writes: “I’d like to suggest a question for the QOTD: ‘What is the most elegant modern car on the market?’ If a person has a lot of money, and could afford any car they’d like, what could they buy that could show intelligence, money, class and taste? What is the modern timeless Talbot Lago? (On the off chance you do use this question, I’d rather not have my name mentioned.) Thanks!”
74 Comments on “Question of the Day: What’s the World’s Most Elegant Automobile?...”
Read all comments
Any modern Aston Martin or Maserati. Bentleys, Rollers, Beamers and Benzes are for poseurs…
The Astons are gorgeous, for sure, but in terms of overall elegance, it’s hard to top a Series III Jaguar XJ. Grace, Pace and Space.
The Talbot Lago is hard to beat!
Alra Romeo 8C
Cayman The base body, without extra groundeffects BS, is gorgeous, as compared to the body-bloated GT3.
Delage D8-120
The Quattroporte is a good choice. I also rather like the Mercedes CLS. Astons are gorgeous as well.
Forgot about Jaguar. An XJ is the perfect classy choice for those who thinks the 7-series and S-Classes are too common…
And for those who seeks an SUV, nothing beats a Range Rover.
for me it’s the 1985 Buick Riviera Convertible.
1956 Lincoln Mark II
Ingvar: You’re lacking in logic. BMWs and Benzs are for poseurs, but a Range Rover is okay? Please. Also, grouping Bentleys, RRs, BMWs, and Benzes together doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either.
Car: Quattroporte, Phantom
Sports Car: DB9
SUV: G55 AMG
Elegance is the attribute of being unusually effective and simple. It is frequently used as a standard of tastefulness, particularly in the areas of visual design and decoration. Elegant things exhibit refined grace and dignified propriety.
Some westerners associate elegance with simplicity and consistency of design, focusing on the main or basic features of an object, its dignified gracefulness, or restrained beauty of style.
IMO a Honda Accord V6 EX-L or if you wish to spend 2.5 times as much Lexus LS460.
Intelligence – Why spend more money than needed to get from here to there in comfort and safety?
Money – Why spend more money than needed to get from here to there in comfort and safety?
Class – Doesn’t engage in visible displays of wealth.
Taste – Doesn’t engage in visible displays of wealth.
Sajeev, you can pick up a D8-120 at the RM auction in Phoenix on 16 January. they’re estimating a million to a million and a half.
Lamborghiniz:
A Range Rover Sport is not ok, it’s a poseur vehicle. I was referring to the “real” Range Rover. And that has more class than any BMW or Mercedes. And any post-VW takeover Bentley is for poseurs only. And, as Mike Solowiow so elegantly put it in his review of the Continental: “If you don’t get it, it’s for you.” Perhaps a Roller is okey, but all that hip hop/sport crowd makes it less classy. So, yes, any modern day Bentley, Roller, Bimmer or Merc is not as classy as say, any modern Aston Martin, Maserati or Jaguar. There’s no logic in taste, but ask about what consists of class and elegance, these are my answers.
Among the classics, any pre-Silver Shadow Rolls-Royce or Bentley is okey. And the pearl: Bentley R-Type Continental. That is class… Among the american cars, I have only one answer: The four-door convertible Lincoln Continental, preferrably one of the earlier ones.
8C
8C
8C
done.
volvo, I like the way you describe elegance.
How elegant a vehicle is will depend, in part, on its mission.
Basic personal transportation – I’m going with the Civic Coupe. It has a beautiful, clean shape and you get a lot of effectiveness out of this small car. A close runner-up would be the Prius.
Family vehicle – Volvo V70. A close runner-up would still be the Prius. If the 240 was still available and modernized, I’d probably vote for that instead.
I almost put the Prius first in both categories but the complexity of the drivetrain somewhat offsets the beauty of energy recapture and reuse.
Off-road vehicle – Jeep Wrangler. No, the Prius would not be a close runner-up.
Stephan: Any chance I can get 0% financing on a French Masterpiece? I’ll put 1% down to sweeten the pot.
Seriously, if I ever get that wealthy, the D8-120 is the first rolling investment I purchase.
Volvo and Kixstart, while your definition of elegance might have merit, it doesn’t meet the nature of the question. The (anonymous)questioner is looking for the modern equivalent of the Talbot Largo. No Honda, Volvo, Jeep, or Prius comes close to meeting that standard.
I believe this calls for a more traditional definition of elegance: Refinement, grace, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners.
“On the market” removes classic cars from the list(which would defeat the point anyway, otherwise your equivalent of a Talbot Largo would be… a Talbot Largo).
My choice? Quattroporte for a sedan, 8C in a coupe. If I can go world market, I might consider a Weismann GT.
My vote is for the W124 Mercedes. Understated class, timeless style, and engineering excellence.
Most elegant…hard to tell…there are a couple of contenders.
The Talbot Lago in your picture is already pretty good, as is the similar Bugatti Atlantic…I also like these:
http://www.fookingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/1935_duesenberg.jpg
http://www.classicdriver.info/upload/images/_uk/11919/img02.jpg
http://www.maybach.de/images/194.jpg
Sports car: any current Aston-Martin
Sedan: Volkswagen Phaeton (2nd place: A8)
GT: Bentley Continental GT
The correct answer is “none.”
In its day, the Talbot Lago and other cars of similar lines, such as the Bugatti Atlantic, were revolutionary – utterly different from anything on the road.
Today’s cars are all evolutionary. The current Bugatti, for example, is just another wedge, not really all that different from a Lambo of three decades ago.
The most elegant modern car doesn’t exist.
Compare, for example, an S Class or a 7 Series to that Mark II Continental, or even the 1961 Lincoln.
Elegance, today, is not found in automobiles.
If the question is the modern equivalent of the Talbot Lago then I would agree that the answer is none.
All current cars are essentially disposable and I do not believe any will be desirable in 70 years. Also they will probably not be drivable due to high level of computerization which will not be replaceable if they fail in 1040.
While an automoble built between 1920-1980 can be “restored” at some expense the same will not be true of rebuilding the CPU on a 2008 Quattroporte in 2080.
Oldsmobile Aurora. Well, not the worlds most elegant, but it would be my first choice for an elegant car.
Foreign – Aston Martin
Domestic – Dodge Challenger
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/2006_SAG_-_Morgan_aero_8_-03.JPG.JPG
volvo –
While an automoble built between 1920-1980 can be “restored” at some expense the same will not be true of rebuilding the CPU on a 2008 Quattroporte in 2080.
Sure you could. The software will be stored somewhere, and you can substitute a modern CPU for the old and busted one. I’ve done something similar with some old lab equipment (1970’s era) I wanted to reuse, but the controller had long since disappeared. If the car’s valuable enough, someone will figure it out.
Back to the question at hand, Mercedes CLS.
It’s beautiful, useful, graceful in motion, not at all gaudy. It’s elegant.
Ford F150 Platinum Edition :)
Honestly, I’m not sure anything with an engine can be considered elegant. Big cats, thoroughbred horses and sailing boats are elegant.
The most elegant thing on a car today might be the Honda Fit’s rear seat.
What is meant by “modern”? How far back can you go until you’re pre-modern?
None, although Infiniti has recently shown sporadic flashes of stylistic brilliance. By and large auto designers have embraced an over-the-top look that trades spectacle for timeless elegance. Bangle may have started the trend but it has been picked up pretty much across the board (e.g., I find the CLS to have an exaggerated, melted-clay look). Aston and Audi have eschewed banglization more than most, but are their designs that exceptional from a historical perspective? Eh. The Alfa C8 is one of my favorite recent designs, but it strikes me as being too derivative to attain true classic status.
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
Model T for the elegant deployment of keep it simple engineering.
Corvette for punch well above it’s weight (price).
Any Ferrari for working better than Viagra.
Well we all know what Chuck Goolsbee would say if he weren’t tooling around in his old Jag today, and I have to agree.
Why, the Pontiac Parisienne of course!!!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/%2782-%2786_Pontiac_Parisienne.jpg/800px-%2782-%2786_Pontiac_Parisienne.jpg
Good Grief, people…what the hell’s wrong with you? It’s what PARISIENNE’s drive…ALL of them!!!
Grow UP!!
Alfa Romeo 156, pre-2003 facelift and certainly not the SW version.
I don’t think there is anything on the road these days that’d match the Talbot-Lago as far as looks and “elegence” goes. It would have to be a concept car, and I’m not that familiar with most of recent concept cars. Off the top of my head I’d have to say the Cadillac Sixteen is the closest in elegence. 16-cylinder engine, long hood and short deck, and not too over the top as far as looks go.
The Alfa 8C might be a good looking car, but it’s too much of a sportscar, and not a gentleman’s grand tourer like the cars of the 1930’s. I could picture Clark Gable driving the Cadillac Sixteen, the Alfa not so much.
I’m shocked that no one has mentioned the Porsche Cayman. It may be the most graceful shape sold today.
The Talbot Lago is hard to beat.
To me, elegance is simplicity. Some that come to mind are the 1948-49 Cadillac Sedanet, early 50s Bentley Continental (some coachbuilders are more elegant than others here), 1961-63 Lincoln Continental (both styles) and the 1966-67 Buick Riviera (with no vinyl top).
There are current models that are flashy, impressive or attractive, but I can’t think of one that is elegant.
I second the Dodge Challenger.
I would add the ’40 and ’41 Lincoln Continental.
Frank Lloyd Wright said it was the most beautiful car ever designed. He owned two. A great collaboration between Edsel Ford and E.T. Gregorie.
bjcpdx: Good list. I’d offer the friendly addition of the 1953 Studebaker Starliner coupe. Extraordinarily clean and aerodynamic for an American car of that era.
The Riviera was one of the best American designs of the 1960s, but I’m partial to European cars such as the Iso Rivolta and De Tomaso Mangusta. I’d argue that the styling of both had long-standing influence on car design that can still be seen today.
Assuming ‘modern’ means “in production today”, Toyota Century.
I always liked the Porsche 550 Spyder.
Infinity g35/g37 coupe,
last gen Supra
Alfa Brera
Among coupes, I will go with Aston Martin DBS from the late 60s, not the tacky looking current one.
And, I think I should mention that Jag. E-type is also one of the most elegant looking drop-top of all time. Also, I am taking Alfa Romeo Spider from the 70s as my second in commend.
For sedans, Iso Fidia is hands down the most elegant of them all.
Broadly speaking I agree with Packard. There is no Talbot equivalent today, simply because the art of sheer elegance has been lost in automobile design. In fact a designer friend of mine tends towards the view that there’s been hardly anything of worth in automotive design since about 1960…
The Talbot-Lago is a stunner, no doubt about it. For my money the height of automotive elegance was the art-deco 1930s – things like the Cord 810 and Auburn Speedster from the US strike this sort of, ahem, chord. Moving on a bit in time, I’d also chuck in a vote for the Alfa 8C 2900 by Touring, and Lancia’s Aurelia Spider and Flaminia Touring. And then there’s this, an Abarth 205 Vignale Berlinetta:
http://www.supercars.net/cars/3183.html
Of the ‘moderns’ though, I’d give a vote to the Ferrari 456, a brace of Citroens (DS, especially the Decapotable; SM; and CX), plus, of all things, the Lancia Thesis – simply because it’s the only modern car I can think of which consciously harks back to the height of art-deco elegance.
Beaten down to just one, though, the DS Decapotable would probably just edge it…
Sebring Sedan. ROFLMAO
Ingvar: I mean, I agree with you about the Range Rover being classy…my point is just that, I don’t think that Bimmers and Benzs can be looked at as poseur cars while Range Rovers are looked at as legitimate, because I personally think all THREE are legitimate, real deal automobiles.
I don’t like VW takeover Bentley’s either, I think they’ve lost some of their soul, I’m a fan of the Arnage and its various iterations (Azure, Brooklands especially).
I think BMW has preserved RR’s greatness, and it still exists as the pinnacle of that type of auto.
Maseratis I agree with you on, they’re fantastic.
Astons I also agree, they hold a degree of class and style not found in other makes..they aren’t my favorite, but they’re certainly the classiest.
Jaguars I will have to disagree on. Maybe older Jags, but since the Ford takeover, not much impresses me really, though I do like the XJ.
Probably the Bentley Arnage. Pulled up beside one on Friday actually, in silver.
Not much else on the market worthy of the sobriquet ‘elegant’. Then again, we don’t exactly live in an elegant era.
LamborghiniZ: of course I’m not entirely serious. This is a question for fun. And, when it comes to a matter of taste, everybody has an opinion…
But speaking from the classy angle, the problem with BMW and especially Mercedes is that they are too common. An S-class is the entry ticket to the gravy train all over the world, it is the first on peoples lists of expensive cars, if they only had the money. From bookmakers in London to the local pizza dealer in Lebanon to stockbrokers in Shanghai to hip hop artists in Baltimore, the S-Class is their reward for outstanding achievement in making money. Mercedes is of course more than that, but most of all it is the car for the bourgeoisie, doctors, lawyers, psychiatrists, etc. The S-Class is the most sold luxury vehicle out there. And the problem is thus, that is too common to be truly classy.
The thing with Jaguar XJ, the Maserati Quattroporte, and to an extent, the Audi A8, is the snob appeal. They appeal to those who wants to stand out with their refined taste. The Jaguar XJ doesn’t have to be better than the Merc, just different, and in the same or above price range. Who wants to drive the same as the Joneses next door? If all of the Joneses drive Mercs or Bimmers?
Then, of course, we have the reversed snob appeal. If it is tacky showing off your money driving a Rolls-Royce, perhaps something more ordinary would be more appropriate? I know, for an example, that the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, drives around in a 1985 Volvo 240 Station Wagon. And the landed gentry in England have been seen happily driving around their estates in their Land Rovers. The anti-choice is a choice nonetheless, but for those people, Lexus, or even better, the Toyota Prius is the obvious choice. Lexus doesn’t have class, but they have stealth luxury. And the Lexus LS600h is a sleeper of a car when it comes to state official limousines.
SherbornSean:
Well we all know what Chuck Goolsbee would say if he weren’t tooling around in his old Jag today, and I have to agree.
yeah, I’d say the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’d kill all of you to have an 8C.
Besides, I wasn’t tooling around in the E-type today, I was tooling around in the barn building a methanol recovery unit for my BioDiesel brewery. I did drive the Jag twice this week though as we had a bit of Indian Summer. Likely the last drive this year.
The E-type does not answer the original question though, as it is a relic of the past. When style and performance were paramount, and safety and comfort were irrelevant. It is closer to the Talbot-Lago than the 8C. The 8C however captures the elegance of the E-type in a far more modern machine.
–chuck
Aston Martin DB9.
Now, while I’m perfectly happy to answer “Dodge Challenger” to virtually every QOTD, and I’m happy that some others have, the Challenger is going to have to take a backseat to:
Spyker C8 Laviolette SWB
I also really like the Spyker D8 Peking-to-Paris.
Challenger would be next, though :)
Hmm. Domestic, probably the Caddy CTS. It may not be elegant, but I think it looks nice and its distinctive. Try to say that about any Lexus.
But for foreign, and overall, got to be the Quattroport. I’ll take a Coupe too, but the new Gran Turismo doesn’t move me.
Someone mentioned Iso Fidia. I’d take the Grifo, but he point is nothing from today can match cars from previous eras. I’d take a Cord 812 cabriolet or Ferrari 250 GT Lusso over ANY car made today, price notwithstanding.
Original BMW 5-series sedan, which came out in the late 1970’s.
Look at how perfectly proportioned it is, with the sloped rear deck, and the finely integrated swage lines. I know the “neu-klasse” sedans before it set the precedent for the BMW’s to come, but the original 5-series design cemented what was to become the look for the next three decades.
Its timeless, beautiful, aggressive, yet refined and restrained. Perfectly balanced, perfectly done.
Mike Soloview: Though I’m not especially fond of the 5-series, I’m a fan of Paul Bracq. He designed most of Mercedes 60’s portfolio, and most of BMW’s 70’s. Timeless classics…
The MB 600 is my personal favourite, for its sheer brutal force. It looks like it’s ready to kill, and that’s even before breakfast.
1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK ‘Count Trossi’
http://paulrussell.com/portfolio-retrospective/A-mercedes-benz/30_SSK/
I tend to share the points of view expressed by both Packard and bumpy. Elegance is not on the agenda for modern cars for some reason. In North America I’d say that the last example of a truly elegant domestic was the 1961 and later Lincoln. Before that the 1956-57 Continental Mark II marked a high-point. The French long ago abandoned elegance in their cars and the Italians have just the one today: the Lancia Thesis. In Germany it would have to be the Maybach, in spite of some of its nouveau-riche owners. The Mercedes S class should be elegant but it’s really not so much elegant as overpowering. Neither one has the presence of the 1950s 300 sedans and convertibles or even the 60s 600 sedans. That leaves just Japan. The Toyota Century is really the only current production vehicle that’s designed to be elegant, IMHO.
I guess I have to go with the Bentley Continental Flying Spur (sedan). NOT the Continental GT coupe, which seems to be the dominion of hiphop stars, pro sports brats and celebutantes.
I strongly disagree with the RR Phantom. The Phantom = bold and crass, which is, of course, the point.
I do agree that elegance is very hard to find in modern cars, which are all variations on the same theme.
Did someone actually mention the Dodge Challenger in a discussion of elegance??? Wow. Just wow.
I live next to a condo for the wealthy so I get to see a lot of these cars in person and, sadly, their presence usually doesn’t translate well from photos. The new Bentleys, porsches, and Maseratis – nice but disappointing.
The Audi R8: more impressive in person but grace and elegance is not really the German’s forte. It’s just not in their genes.
But one hot summer day in Brooklyn I looked in the rearview mirror of my beloved previa and saw something that looked like it was from another planet.
If an object 2 feet tall could loom, this was looming. It was silver and seemed to grow out of the street – like that metal guy in the Terminator movie (Joe Metal Guy ?) It was a Lamborghini Murcielago – and it was mind bending.
I can only imagine that a Talbot had the same effect in its day – something beyond beauty – more of just not quite able to grasp what you’re looking at.
http://image.motortrend.com/f/car-news/2007-maserati-quattroporte-automatic/1053722+w600+cr1+re0+ar1/2007-maserati-quattroporte.jpg
I looked up the Lancia Thesis, that car is seriously hideous. It looks like a Kia with a grille from a MG-A.
well today most elegant cars have turned into wheelie bins thanks to mass production.
but a modern classic would be a peugeot 406 coupe by pininfarina.
my pick however would be, a 60’s lincoln Continental, or Mercedes SL of the same era.
Theodore:
Third comment from the top, I mentioned both the 8C & Cayman…
I subscribe to elegance as being “understated beauty.” Only a few cars can be consider elegant. Most are either too dull/boring or too harsh/in-your-face. Just my two cents.
The Cadillac CTS is too much of the latter to be elegant. Ditto Caddy’s whole new styling direction. Ditto Acura. The last Cadillac with any elegance was the last generation Fleetwood. And the Allante – the Allante’s styling is classic.
Rolls-Royce and Bentley are far too “look at me” to be elegant. Sort of the Mr. T of the motoring world, wearing all that bling. A fine gold chain is OK, but too much doesn’t scream, “I’m graceful.” (With all apologies to Mr. T. Probably a great guy. Please don’t throw me helluva far!)
My neighbor parked her last-generation E-Class outside, and I drove by real slow. I’d say it and the old S-Class had some real elegance. But not today’s Mercedes. The old SL too, I suppose, though I do not care for the new SL. The only thing I’d really consider elegant is the CLS.
BMW has given up. Bangle favors controversial designs over elegance. The 7-series was sublime until he got his hands on it.
Lexus’ offerings are too bland, though I’d say the LS is fairly close. I might give it a pass; its proportions are good and lines are nice, even if it’s a bit understated (which, of course, fits my original bill). The IS and ES are too pedestrian. I don’t like the GS.
Former Lincolns may have oozed elegance, now not so much. The MKZ looks too bold, the MKS looks weird. Nothing understated about that grille. The Town Car’s look is now bulbous, with odd proportions. The last Lincoln with a hint of elegance was the Mark VIII.
Jaguar XK8 had it, especially the coupe. You never really see them (people preferred the convertible), but they are striking. The XJ still looks fantastic after all these years, though something about the XF doesn’t make me think it’s elegance. The C-XF concept though – THAT was elegant.
Ferraris and Lambos are too brash. They scream “look at me!” Elegance doesn’t scream. I’d include Porsches in this group too, even if they seem a bit less egocentric.
I know they’ve been said, but I’ll say it again. Aston Martin DB9 – Yes! Maserati Quadroportte – YES!
Sorry, I’ve wasted way too much time posting this! I’m sure I missed some. As for the modern day Talbot Lago? The DB9 is probably the closest, even it looks pedestrian when next to the Lago.
The above statements are, of course, my own opinion. Yours may vary.
without a doubt a Tatra T87
@BlueBrat
D’oh!
The 8C doesn’t do it for me, though. You have all these swoopy curves…and then, right in the middle, right where there should be something to tie it all together, you’ve got this big honkin’ chrome triangle of a snout. It completely ruins the car. Get rid of the triangular opening and bring it down smoothly and you’d have something tasteful, maybe even elegant. But holy crap, it looks like a pig getting ready to root through the vegetable garden.
The A8 has it from any angle. That can’t be said for its competitors.
http://www.motorsportscenter.com/uploads/left_rear_water.jpg
and
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/tw/images/04a8_1.jpg
The new S-Class is starting to grow on me, mangled trunk lid, bulging wheel wells and all.
And any Aston would be my two-door choice.
Maserati Gran Turismo or Aston DB9.
I’ve caught both down the grocery store and they are both like meeting a Movie Star in Real life; quite striking.
The DB9 actually seems like quite a long+narrowish car in real life. It was surprising.
+Those Late 60’s early 70’s Bentleys and Jags were pretty sweet, too. -Like the one in the “Keen Eddie” Bentley Club episode.
Elegance need not be expensive or exclusive – although if a car is expensive, one would expect a degree of effortless elegance from it. IMO, cars like the Lago are from a different era, not just because _it_ was elegant, but also because it lived in a world that valued elegance in such things.
There is no real modern equivalent to the Lago or the Bugatti 57SC – and the expensive cars are rarely elegant these days, because they seem to have crossed over into a brashness that fits the McMansion and botox zeitgeist.
A few cars do carry themselves with grace and do not offend with over-the-top details… at the high end, the Maserati GT and QPorte, and “the Aston” (since they all look the same!)
On the hoi-polloi end of the market, the Mazda Miata, Honda Civic Coupe (in dark colors), and the Mercedes E class. The E-class in general, has always been the most understated design in the Benz lineup in any generation, and is spared the ravages of fashion that are wrought at the lower end and the top-end of their range.
I would have added the Merc CL coupe but I own a 2007 CL model of this fine car, so my opinion may be a tad subjective.
I have to put in my 2¢: ’36 Mercedes 540K:
http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/25_most_beautiful_cars/0609_mercedes_benz_500k_special_roadster/index.html
I love how people can’t read. :D
‘What is the most elegant modern car on the market?’ If a person has a lot of money, and could afford any car they’d like, what could they buy that could show intelligence, money, class and taste? What is the modern timeless Talbot Lago?
Ah, but it’s a trick question. In my opinion, when you look for a car that shows you have money and class, you have too much of the former and too little of the latter. That may just be the result of a poorly-worded question, but I only see references to style and dollar signs, not substance. Maybe I’m being judgemental because of all the attention desired and given to people like Paris, Speidi, etc… All surface, to depth.
If you’re looking for rolling art (which isn’t a bad thing), I’ll agree with many here that the 8C is a good choice.
hmm. I really think there is not a modern and “on market available” car at the same class as the legendary talbot’s… but, after some serious thought and still trying to be snobbish (because you can’t be enough elegant if you are not a bit snobbish :P) enough to not choose a modern maserati… I might have a solution.
what do you guys think of this?
Wiesmann GT MF4
http://www.wiesmann-auto-sport.de/gt/STRAND_06.jpg
http://www.wiesmann-auto-sport.de/gt/STANDARD_12.jpg
citroen c6