FinalGear's Most Beautiful Cars Results! pt1

[Labcoatguy]

Well, glad someone agreed with my #2, the Dino

[airmenair]

The R8??? WTF?

[Programme]

Originally Posted by airmenair

The R8??? WTF?

Aye, the R8 has nothing on the DS and 246...

Will people still look back in awe at the R8 in 53 years time like the DS? I doubt it.

[prizrak]

Originally Posted by Programme

Aye, the R8 has nothing on the DS and 246...

Will people still look back in awe at the R8 in 53 years time like the DS? I doubt it.

Well I hate the look of the DS so I dunno Though I would have to agree as nice as the R8 is I don't think it will stand the test of time.

[starfox07]

The R8 is definitely a looker, but in a striking way, not a beautiful one.

[teeb]

Today's Trivia : There are plenty of supercars, coupes, convertibles, saloons, superminis, some SUVs/4x4s and an El Camino. No people carriers or vans, though. Hmm...


22 point cars




Ford GT

We've already seen the GT40, now see what it inspired. The Ford GT is a rear-engined supercar built by Ford from 2003 to 2006. It began in 2002 as a concept car to celebrate Ford's 100th anniversary. The chief designer was Camilo Pardo, the head of Ford's "Living Legends" studio, and he worked under the guidance of J Mays. One of you was so enamoured by the design he said that "no car has ever looked better in stripes."

The GT is similar to the original in looks, but bigger, wider, and three inches taller, so it is probably a GT43. 4,500 were planned, of which only 100 were earmarked for Europe. At launch, GTs were selling for $100,000 over the asking price, such was the demand. However, this tapered off and in the end 4,038 GTs were made, short of the 4,500 target.

The car is powered by a 5.4 litre V8 all-aluminium engine which has an Eaton supercharger bolted to it. This means 550bhp, fast enough to hit 60mph from a standstill in 3.3 seconds and hit a 203mph top speed. Octane magazine put the GT round the Nurburgring in 7 minutes 42, proving that America can build a car that deals with corners jokedontkillme. Famous owners include Jay Leno and Jeremy Clarkson, who sold his back to Ford and then bought it back again. Then sold it. The fool.

[vanMould]

That's my #2. Just #5 left now...

[starfox07]

Top speed of the GT is 213 btw.

[luvcars]

The GT is gorgeous The DS and Dino are nice too

The only one that i voted for was the R8, which was my #6. Its striking

[teeb]

23 point cars




Chevrolet Corvette (2nd gen - Stingray)

The 2nd generation Chevrolet Corvette - the C2 - was designed by Larry Shinoda, with Bill Mitchell supervising, and produced between 1963 and 1967. The second generation had a new coupé format with a split rear window (which only lasted a year due to safety concerns).

The engine choice consisted entirely of V8s, be they small block or big block. Power ranged from 250 bhp to 435 bhp. The design was inspired by three things - the Jaguar E-type, the Mitchell Stingray concept, and a mako shark that Mitchell caught whilst deep-sea fishing.

In total almost 118,000 C2s were built over the course of 5 years. A secret racing C2, the Grand Sport, was started by Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, in order to rival Shelby Cobras. The plan was to have them ready for international grand touring. However, when GM execs learnt of the project it was shut down with only 5 cars built. The Grand Sports were never fully developed; poor aerodynamics caused high speed handling problems that were never completely solved. Delmo Johnson claimed that it was "the only car I ever drove that would lift the front wheels off the ground in all four gears."

[tedb43o2o3]

Scion tC??? =.=lll

[Ilpav]

How many cars do you guys have left that weren't mentioned yet? I have 6.

[luvcars]

the corvette is awesome looking

[Richmondgal]

I prefer the GT over the Corvette. Was never a fan of that car.

[prizrak]

I absolutely love the rear of that Stingray, never liked the front though. It kinda looks like the front and the rear are from different cars.

[teeb]

Just to give you forewarning, the next update will be Sunday at some point (due to work committments).

[mautzel]

Looking forward for the next ones, four of mine (perhaps five if teeb took my list very seriously) are still in the race.

[CrazyRussian540]

Originally Posted by luvcars

the corvette is awesome looking

Originally Posted by prizrak

I absolutely love the rear of that Stingray, never liked the front though. It kinda looks like the front and the rear are from different cars.

[prizrak]

Originally Posted by CrazyRussian540

Oh god I LOVE this one. Absolute batmobil front end

[teeb]

Update!

Today's Trivia - 5 updates to go until we hit the Top 10!


24 point cars



Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic - Bugatti is recently back from the dead, with the Veyron, an astonishing piece of engineering that (debatably) broke several records for production cars. Bugattis have always been almost-mythical, though. Back in 1940, Jean Bugatti (son of company founder Ettore) designed a new Bugatti, called the Type 57. This led on to the Type 57SC Atlantic pictured and voted for.

The Atlantic featured flowing coupe lines, and was based on the "Aérolithe" concept car of 1935. Depending on which source you read, only three or four were made, and even then early records are a bit misty. Two have been displayed at Pebble Beach (and both won Best in Show, albeit 13 years apart). One was involved with an accident with the SNCF's finest in 1955, almost writing it off, after the owner was teaching his mistress how to drive without his wife's knowledge (you have to love the French). This one was found in 1965 and then restored over ten years. It was last shown in public at the 2000 Villa d'Este Concours.

Wikipedia claims the mysterious fourth has been lost to time, and this source says Ralph Lauren has two. Believe who you want - the Atlantic, either way, remains highly elusive, slightly mysterious and absolutely stunning.


Shelby (AC) Cobra 427 S/C - The lightweight body of a European car; the powerplant of an American. It's a recipe for success, and the Shelby Cobra 427 is the best example of this. The body comes from AC of England, and the engine is the Ford big block 427 engine (similar to Ford's NASCAR engine). The result is one of the most well-known Cobras, along with one of the fiercest.

In 1967, 31 of Shelby's 427 racing cars had been built. They were designed for racing and had between 400 and 500 horsepower. Unfortunately, 31 wasn't enough to satisfy homologation regulations, so Shelby had to put windscreens onto some of them and sell them on - thus creating one of the maddest machines on the roads of the USA, the 427 S/C. It was the fastest accelerating production car in the US. Only 30 Cobras were made in S/C form (compared to almost 500 in standard with "just" 390 or 355 bhp).

Cobras are one of the most replicated cars today; and due to the very limited number of originals, Cobras have sold for between $200,000 and $1 million for a 427. A quick mention to a special edition though; two Super Snake editions were made with twin turbochargers, one for Bill Cosby and one for Shelby himself. Cosby's was sold after he decided it had too much power (the next owner died by stuffing it into a lake). Shelby's still exists, and sold last year for $5.5 million at Barrett-Jackson.