Car designers are not the best people to choose the most beautiful car in the world (MBCITW). Carmaking is a collaborative art and car designers work within a . . . Wait. Did I say art? Business. Making cars is a business. Anyone who ascends to the pinnacle of a car company’s design department did so as much by their political savvy as their aesthetic sensibilities. As a result, you’d be hard pressed to find a more pretentious group of people. Their every word is weighed, calculated and delivered to strengthen their reputation for intelligence and good taste. So, anyway, I decided to call photographer Michael Furman to get his take on this hot topic. Michael has snapped thousands of cars from every era. “There are plenty of gorgeous women in the world,” Michael opines. “With most of them, the feeling you get when you first see them eventually wanes. Only the most beautiful get more beautiful over time.” The 1938 Bentley Embiricos [above] is Michael’s second choice for MBCITW. His first? The 1938 Alfa Romeo 2900D MM. Which he’s photographing next week, and will share with us soon thereafter. [Question: should we ask other industry types to name their MBCITW and make this into a series?]
okay guys – i’ll see your ‘1938 bentley embiricos’ and raise you a ‘1937_talbot_lago_figoni_falaschi’
http://www.arabaruyasi.com/r2923.search.htm
yours has voluptuous, teardrop fenders – mine has voluptuous, integrated, teardrop fenders.
yours has a driver’s door with windows – mine, a driver’s door with a portal.
yours looks just a little too bulky – but mine, oh-so-fashionably sleek and slender.
yours is a simple sedan – but mine, a stylish coupé.
i can’t recall who originally said it, but i’ll happily repeat it: “beauty is its own excuse for being” …..google’s great. turns out it was ralph waldo emerson in “the rhodora”
Beautiful!
To answer your question, RF, Yes!
I’d love to see more of this series. There’s no such thing as too many gorgeous cars; if the debate continues as philipwitak begun, we’re going to have some eye candy for some time :)
They both do it for me. One for schlepping the family/friends, one for going out on the town.
I agree, continue the series. I’m not very familiar with most of these classic cars, so getting exposed to them here is great.
While I love both the Talbot-Lago and the Bentley, I think the Talbot-Lago wins hands-down. One of them sold for $3.5M at the Gooding & Co. auction in Scottsdale last month. Makes me wish I had gone to that auction and seen the car in person, rather than going to Barrett-Jackson (which was still fun). They really knew how to design beautiful cars in the 30s.
eh. Pretty car for pretty boys. The Bentley I want is this one It was these Bentleys that Bugatti was sour-grapes talking about when he said, ‘Msieu Bentley builds the fastest trucks in Europe’. A 5 liter 4 cylinder engine Thud, Thud. Thud….ThudThudThud. Oh and that’s a supercharger on front end. The Blower Bentley.
3/4 of the pictured car is beautiful, but to me the rear end looks like an old beetle with elephantitis of the butt.Kinda like a really hot girl with a gigantic a**.
I think you need categories: pre-WWII, post, Custom bodied, mass produced, sports car, sedan, etc.
The Embiricos Bently has a big butt, the Alfa is perfect. But along with the French cars they were really beautiful. To bad the Euros let that stinkweed Hitler germinate. No telling where they’ed have been by 1945.
It looks like the rear of the car is hovering. You can’t see the rear wheel.
Oh, and yes to making this a series.
I opined the ridiculous choice of the Citroen yesterday. But this one I agree with. Whenever I think of most beautiful the 1938 Alfa Romeo comes to mind. Some days I might think another is the choice, but it always makes my top five and often gets the top nod.
And yes, a regular series like this with pictures would be most welcome.
This would be the FIRST most beautiful car in the world, if not for the unfortunate scrotum on the rear wheels.
another vote for pics. I love art deco cars.
Gimme’ a “boat tail” Buick Riviera before any of those artsy fartsy wimpy boy ferrin’ Euro-cars, me buckos.
obbop:
In 1938, this is what the US was producing:
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2162096730077698672FdhuAI
Artsy fartsy wimpy boy ferrin’ Euro-cars don’t seem so shabby.
Pooch the Bantam was the English Austin 7 produced under license. Wabbout the sleek lines of a 37 Buick, or Packard?
Iconic sports cars of the 1950’s – people tend to think of the Corvette and the original T- Bird, but for me,the Kaiser Darrin was one of the most beautiful mass-produced sports cars built in America.
http://oldcarandtruckpictures.com/Kaiser/1954_Kaiser_Darrin_104-d1.jpg
And staying with the 1950’s, The Citroen DS, which debuted in 1955. Compared to just about any mass-produced car, this was light years ahead of it’s time, and when production was ceased 20 years later it still was one of the most attractive styles on the road.
http://www.citroengallery.com/gallery.php?page=dsdetail
And I’ll throw in the 1963 Studebaker Avanti, and the 1950 Studebaker Champion.
http://www.automotivehistoryonline.com/studebaker1963.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Studebaker-champion-convertible-1950.jpg
I am a huge fan of marques no longer in production, names such as Hudson, Kaiser, Studebaker, Packard, Nash, Cord, Essex, etc., especially those that survived into the 1950’s. These companies made some of the most interesting cars during the post-war boom, but sadly none survived past 1966, with the exception of the Nash/Hudson/Willys/Kaiser bastard child AMC, which still lives on as the Jeep division of Chrysler.
Monty,
Nothing personal, but the Kaiser Darrin is hideous.
To be fair, not as hideous as the Daimler SP250:
http://www.dloc.org.uk/images/cars/daimler_sp250.m.jpeg
@Dynamic88
We’ll agree to disagree!
I guess this would be summed up with the axiom: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Seriously, to me the Darrin is a uniquely styled roadster, the likes of which America doesn’t produce much of. I love it.
I agree with you Monty, the Darrin is really a striking car, especially in person. I work at a restoration shop and we are starting a frame-off on one this week. I gotta laugh at myself, I’m replying to a year and a half old thread..
1972 Chevy Pickup