FinalGear's Most Beautiful Cars Results! pt1

[airmenair]

Originally Posted by teeb

Today's Trivia : Crash testing for today's car was, oddly enough, done with Volvo at its Safety Centre in Sweden. Hooray for global empires that own lots of marques, I guess.

Top Ten - 2nd place (65 points)






Aston Martin DB9
Designer : Ian Callum, then Henrik Fisker (other works : Callum : DB7, Ford RS200, new Jag XK, Jag XF. Fisker : new V8 Vantage, BMW Z8).

It's easy to say the DB9 is a good-looking car. It is, no doubt. In my mind, though, there are two questions that should be answered before we proclaim it the next messiah (or merely a very naughty boy). One, the DB9 is undeniably gorgeous. Will it retain its looks in the years to come? Some designs are timeless, and last - look at the Miura, or the Alfa Romeo Tip 33 Stradale a page or two back. Some remain a product of the time and fade away. Which will the DB9 be? I'm sure it will be remembered as a good looking car, but...In 40 years time, if you log on to the CyberTubes, go to FinalGear, hear the latest news about the 2048 Merc H-class (the H is for Hydrogen) and series 92 of Top Gear (now presented by Clarkson's-head-in-a-jar - useless at powerslides but still capable of upsetting Germans), and discover a poll like this, will the DB9 still reach number 2? That remains to be seen.

The other question that the DB9 makes me think of is basically the phrase 'too many cooks'. The DB9 is great looking, but Aston don't seem to be able to do anything else. The V8 Vantage is a shorter DB9, the upcoming Rapide is a DB9 with 4 doors, and the DBS is a Vantage that someone took an axe to. Is overuse making the design 'less special'? Can Aston designers pen anything different? I know, I know, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. But still. Please, before you kill me, these are just my thoughts, and frankly a rant waiting to happen at some point in the future.

Anyway, onto the car! It replaced the DB7, which raises the question "Why isn't it the DB8?". Two trains of thought. One, it has a V12 and Aston didn't want people to think it had a mere V8. Two, AM thought that V8 implied evolution, not revolution, and they reckoned the DB9 was the latter.

It's a two seater Grand Tourer in the Aston Martin tradition, which means ample power with ample luxury. It fixed many of the major criticisms of the DB7 - for example, the DB7 was mocked for having Ford-spares-bin parts in its interior ("Mondeo door handles!"), whereas the DB9's interior is not such a Fordgasm (although it has a Volvo satnav). About 5,000 a year are made, which should ensure AM are stable (for probably the first time in their lifespan).

The V12 that powers the DB9 is taken from the V12 Vanquish, which is good for 470 bhp. This means a 0-60 of 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 190mph. The DB9 is available in coupé and convertible - dubbed Volante - flavours.

The DB9 has also given birth to a racing car - the DBR9. The same V12 engine as in the coupe is matched to a car that has been on an extreme weight-loss diet. The car has won out at the American Le Mans series, the FIA GT championship and Le Mans itself.

I hope you'll excuse me mixing my opinion - or, I guess, my questions - with the facts. I'd love to hear your opinion here.

This car and thread brought to you Jeremy Clarkson.

[mautzel]

Originally Posted by LeVeL

E-Type is the winner thanks to fan boys who agree with everything magazines tell them. Do you honestly thing that the jag is the most beautiful car of all time?

Yes. And if we'd listened to those magazines properly, the Miura would've been No.1.

[starfox07]

We are all going on and on about the E type. It would be absurdly hilarious if it wasn't even number 1. I know it will be, but it hasn't been confirmed!

[Small Guy]

not again?

[Spectre]

Still turning heads after 48 years:

[BlaRo]

Originally Posted by airmenair

This car and thread brought to you Jeremy Clarkson.

Because, God forbid, people can't find it incredibly sexy independently of having JC's opinion shoved down their throats. I suppose you're going to bitch about how it looks like a Jaguar, and vice versa?

Spectre - sure, it's still a looker, but in relation to what it's surrounded by...a jacked up Avalanche? Not the best picture to prove your point with.

[Spectre]

I didn't upload the video I shot the next day, which has people driving by and nailing the brakes when they see the E-Type.

[Crazyjeeper]

BlaRo: This is Texas, I would have been surprised had there been anything other than a jacked up avalanche in the background

[Richmondgal]

I don't know what i would do if it wasn't the E-type. Maybe just die from laughing or crying or yelling.

[airmenair]

Originally Posted by BlaRo

Because, God forbid, people can't find it incredibly sexy independently of having JC's opinion shoved down their throats. I suppose you're going to bitch about how it looks like a Jaguar, and vice versa?

Sure the DB9 might have deserved some votes, but a number 2 spot? Yea, I don't think so. Where do you think it would have landed on the list if it wasn't fawned over by Jeremy?

[LeVeL]

I think the Avalanche should be #1 over the Jag

jk, obviously

[dragonboy3000]

Will someone just announce No. 1 even though we all know its going to be the e-type

[Richmondgal]

^^ What if it isn't the E-Type?

[sonza68]

There would be a combination of ecstatic and really pissed off people.

[teeb]

Originally Posted by dragonboy3000

Will someone just announce No. 1 even though we all know its going to be the e-type

I'm on holiday at the moment ¬_¬

The number 1, whatever it is, will be coming on Saturday.

[Small Guy]

Originally Posted by Richmondgal

^^ What if it isn't the E-Type?

then we sould all do suicide!

[LeVeL]

well lets see... if at least ONE of you voted for the etype then its the winner, seeing as we havent seen it posted yet

[teeb]

Today's Trivia : Forgive me. I accidently completely erased everything on my hard drive last week, so I can't give you the exact number of points #1 got, nor the hard data. I'll get round to it eventually, though, as I've still got all your PMs. It's also why you're getting Imageshacked links and not your normal 400 pixels wide column of photos.

Top Ten - 1st place (80ish points)






Pontiak Aztek
Designer : No, only joking.

Scroll down for the real number one.





Designer : Malcolm Sayer (Other works : the C and D types, and the XJS)









Note : The E-type does not actually have 9,600 bhp


The Jaguar E-type( or XK-E) is an car manufactured by Jaguar between 1961 and 1974. It was priced well below competing models, helping it to high sales for a high performance car. In excess of 70,000 E-types were sold over 14 years. Heck, before it became a much-desired car today, it was very affordable - one of my IRC friends owned one as a 22-year old student. She regrets selling it to this day (not least as it'd be worth a lot more now!).

The car, often referred to as the E-Type Jag, ranked first in Daily Telegraph list of the "100 most beautiful cars" of all time in March of 2008 - the poll that spawned this one. In 2004, Sports Car International named this car number one on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. When released Enzo Ferrari called it "The most beautiful car ever made", and he's a man with some taste.

The E-type was initially designed and shown to the public as a grand tourer in two seater coupé form (FHC or Fixed Head Coupe) and as convertible (OTS or Open Two Seater). The 2+2 version with a lengthened wheelbase was released several years later.

Like the E-Type? Well, you've nothing to complain about. Loathe it for its overpopularity? Well, its winning all these polls does get a bit predictable. You have to admit it's a good looking car though. Perhaps one of the reasons it won - along with its good looks - is that some of the competitors aren't very well known - a lot of people don't know about the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale, for example. You could continue to moan about its looks, about how it is one of the biggest penis-extention cars known of, and about how it's not all that brilliant, but admit it. On a sunny day, if you see a pristine E-type driving past, glimmering, you'll stare and admire.




Well, that's that. Thanks for tuning in. If I'd known what I was getting into a few months back...Hope you enjoyed it, even if you disagree with the results.

[bartboy9891]

+ YouTube Video

[Spectre]

That is all.