Cars (Part 1)

Cars move us.

 

It’s both as simple and as complicated as that.

 

Lets put aside thoughts of accidents, time and money wasting and pollution for the moment and think of cars as more than a transportation device. We can talk about practicality later. Think of the timeless beauty of the new Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, the engineering genius of the Bugatti Veyron and the opulent elegance of the Maybach 62.

 

Looking at the new Alfa, not only does my brain say ‘Kudos to you Vittorio Jano’ (the designer), but my heart also leaps out of my chest, past my throat and splatters all over the lovely red facade of the V8 monster. It is this stimulation of both head AND heart, of intelligence AND emotions that make cars such as this timeless. It will always look good. As will the first Jaguar E-Type, the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT-500, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Coupe and the Lamborghini Miura. These cars all have the ‘thing’ that gets them into lists like the one above and if you can snap one up, no matter the price, do so. Horsepower will grow and grow and even engineering will become a more exact and intuitive science, but beauty lasts for as long as the car does. Look how long ago the Merc 300SL was designed, built, sold and driven. It still tops ‘Most Beautiful Car’ lists to this day. Beauty such as that is beauty that isn’t designed. It is created. Truly beautiful cars truly are timeless.

 

~ by John Clark on May 22, 2008.