What is the most beautiful car of the last decade?

By Matthew Lange 30th August 2011

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The Alfa 8C - the most beautiful car of the last decade?

Spotting an Alfa 8C on the streets of London leads to a question for Drive Cult readers.

Walking through Chiswick in West London yesterday, I happened upon this rather lovely Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. As usual, whenever I see a rare or unusual car, I snapped a couple of pictures and thought about whether or not it's worth a Spotted in the Wild entry here on Drive Cult.

As I pointed the iPhone at the Alfa, it occurred to me that this might well be the most beautiful car of modern times. The voluptuous curves engender immediate desire, and in the case of this example, the Rosso Monza paint sets it off perfectly.

In an era when pedestrian impact requirements and the wind tunnel dictate the shape of cars as much as the designer's imagination, the Alfa stands out for its exceptional beauty.

It also occurred to me that perhaps I should ask Drive Cult readers what they think is the most beautiful car introduced this century? This isn't me shamelessly crowdsourcing a Top Ten list, but rather just an informal poll to satisfy my own curiosity. I'll announce the winner at the end of September.

The only criteria is that it must be a car introduced since January 1st 2000, and it must be a production car with at least fifty examples made (sorry, but Jim Glickenhaus’ wonderful Ferrari P4/5 doesn't qualify!). It doesn’t have to be an expensive supercar, or even a sports car at all - although I would be surprised if the winner isn’t.

I expect to see the 8C quite high up in the rankings, but the Ferrari 458 will likely also be in with a shout, as will most of the recent Astons. A more left-field choice might be the Morgan Aeromax, with its Art Deco styling, and perhaps the Lotus Elise Series 2 might represent something a little less exotic.

So, let us know what you think the most beautiful car of the last decade is. Leave a comment below, or reply to us on Drive Cult’s Twitter feed or Facebook page.

Not keen on the styling of more recent Ferraris. Always been an Alfa fan and agree with you that the 8C is absolutely gorgeous. Put that at the top of the list :) Not sure other cars get a look in, compared to this.
Posted by John Rutter on 2011-09-28 07:51:52 Ok, after much deliberation I've come to the conclusion that the 599 GTO is a beauty.
Posted by Ben on 2011-09-25 06:53:09 I thought I'd already voted on this, but I must have forgotten to press submit, as I don't see my comments above. For a car to be really considered beautiful (in the eye of the beholder, as its all relative), I feel that it must be a shape you never grow tired of, that never ceases to make you smile when you see it. This for me is why I would vote against a DB9 or V8/12 Vantage. When they first were launched, they did have a wow factor, but now I've seen hundreds, if not thousands of them, they look just a bit plain. Perhaps if Astons had remained a bit more exclusive, the wow factor would have remained, and I wouldn't have had a chance to examine them as much in detail, and they might have retained the wow factor. On the other hand, whilst the Jaguar XK has now, with the new headlights evolved into an attractive car, in my head when I close my eyes, I still see it with the guppy expression it had upon launch. So I've been scratching my head and trying to decide. There is no doubt that the subject matter of the photo above, the Alfa 8C is pretty... and on the one occasion I've seen one (when walking up to the British consulate in Amsterdam a couple of years ago, to renew my passport), I did stop, and double take, and then look some more. However I worry that it's benefiting from the enforced un-obtainability and should they pop up everywhere, the impression of beauty may wear thin. Hence my choice is its sister - the Maserati Gran Turismo S. I've had an opportunity to study them up close, as I pass one on my walk to work each day, and the days when its absent from its parking bay always seem to drag!
Posted by Andrew Mulholland on 2011-09-24 12:41:46 I bet it will be a total agreement about the Alfa 8C (I prefer the Spider version) and the AM V8 Vantage (an V12 for me, I absolutely love the bonnet air vents). The Ferrari 599 SA aperta it should be in this list if it were a year or so older. On the cheaper side, I would say an Alfa 147 GTA should be included. The normal version has gourgeous styling, but the brutalized GTA stole my heart many years ago. Still in Alfa, the Brera deserves recognition, even more than the 159, who stole the "nose" design from its coupe brother. The Honda Integra DC5 still makes me turn my head the very few times I see one. And in terms of elegance, no car is better than the Jaguar XF. Reviewing my list, seems that Alfa has been done a fine job lately :-) Ps: Sorry about my english; I know is far from perfect.
Posted by nachetetm on 2011-09-24 06:40:04 @Chris Thanks for the comments. I did think about whether the question should simply be best looking car of the decade? By making it the most beautiful car of the decade it was intended to be a challenge that would require a bit of thought for the reasons you have very adeptly described. There are many cars that can be described as good looking but not beautiful. The BMW 1M coupe with its perfect stance is a great example of this in my view. @Giannis That's a fair point which we'll take on board as and when we do a similar exercise.
Posted by Matthew Lange on 2011-09-08 18:35:48 Next time you guys start a poll like this put down some ground rules first on how readers should "vote". I.e. only one choice, or three or even on the way votes should be written. An example: "VOTE: Alfa Romeo 8C" and subsequent author comments in a different post.
Posted by Giannis on 2011-09-08 13:12:54 Perhaps the problem here is the adjective 'beautiful'? It's very restrictive in the context of modern car styling - which uses a broader vocabulary than just classical 'beauty'. One could argue that the 8C and the early Fisker-Astons were the only cars of their generation that set-out to achieve plain beauty, almost all the others have tried to move into more technical areas, challenging with aggressive shapes and, much of the time, deliberately avoiding what we call 'beauty'. I won't write 'beauty' again, I promise. Actually, I can't avoid it here. Thing is, I'm not especially fond of beautiful cars. I like handsome machines, I like dignity, I like broad-shoulders and I love the quiet, subtle delivery of presence. Bring those together and you have some approximation of 'beauty' for my strange outlook on car styling. That's why I still gasp at the wheel, wheel-arch tension on a B7 RS4. It's not traditionally pretty, but it has that wow-factor nailed. Beauty for me is a Vanquish S - less petite than the Vantage and with ten-times the presence. The 159 Sportwagon is, by a country mile, the best looking everyday machine. Flip this on its head for a minute, and incorporate a broader outlook than just the B-word, and I'm trying to think of something wrong with an E46 CSL's styling. What a great piece of design - miles better than anything since. Enough of this, I have work to do
Posted by Chris Harris on 2011-09-08 07:29:03 After a week, the Alfa 8C holds a narrow lead over the Aston V8 Vantage. The Ferrari 458 and Porsche 997 tie for third overall, and are just ahead of the Mercedes SLS and Morgan Aeromax. Only affordable choices so far has been another Alfa the 159 Sportwagon nominated by Chris Harris and the 370Z and Mini nominated by our own Jamie Wolfcale. Surely there are some other beautiful cars that don't cost an arm and a leg? Plenty of time still to vote and continue to let us know via the usual choices. The new Jaguar C-X16 concept is unfortunately not eligible as it is not confirmed for production but I suspect it would have been a strong contender.
Posted by Matthew Lange on 2011-09-07 19:57:45 Jerry, it's the best looking cars of the last decade, not century. :) As for me, i'd have to go with the Alfa Romeo 8C as well. I honestly cannot think of another car released the last 10 years that looks that beautiful. Classically proportioned, simple lines and yet full of details for your eye to linger on. It remains one of my all time favourite cars and one that given the chance and most importantly the money, i would not hesitate to own. Who cares that apparently it doesn't drive as good as its peers, simply look at it... The various TVR's mentioned are indeed good looking but i would never call them beautiful and the same applies for the 599 GTB, the Zondas, the Murcielago and the Enzo that have already been mentioned. Aggressive, purposeful, shocking, yes. But beautiful? Not really.
Posted by Giannis on 2011-09-02 12:33:23 The exotics listed in the other comments are all very lovely. I completely forgot about the TVR's, but they do look great in photos. But seeing a car in a photo is very different than seeing and hearing one in person. So while there are many higher priced machines I dream of, I nominate the following 3 rides for beauty that were and still are attainable for the average Joe: 1. 1st generation Ford Mustang - timeless muscle car looks, simple but elegant interior 2. Nissan 240z - great proportions, sleek profile 3. 2nd generation Honda CRX - not sure what about this econobox attracts me to it. Love the wide stance, flared rear wheel arches, and big greenhouse. The Audi Quattro concept also stirs up a similar feeling, but it's obviously not attainable in the same way. That's to say nothing about these cars' performance, but whenever I see one of these, I can't help but stare.
Posted by Jerry Cheung on 2011-09-02 06:04:44 To me, many of the cars already nominated are stylish, purposeful and certainly attention grabbers. But are they beautiful? The Aston certainly is beautiful, but it it the most beautiful? I need longer to think about this...
Posted by Peter Dykins on 2011-09-01 19:53:57 Seems quite a lot of love out there amongst our twitter followers for the V8 Vantage.
Posted by Matthew Lange on 2011-08-31 21:20:21 Dammit, I was a year out on the Tuscan. How about the Sagaris? Less pure, more aggression.
Posted by Martin Spain on 2011-08-31 19:57:32 now, this is a tough one, there is quite a substantial amount of cars out there that I think are achingly good looking, Lamborghini's, quite a lot of Ferrari's, any form of Pagani, most if not all Aston Martin's, oddly, I do quite like the Bugatti Veyron SuperSport, and Grandsport, just not the 16.4, the Mercedes SLS AMG, what a machine. DAMN YOU! You had to ask such an awkward question didn't you? Right, here we go...actually, the Ford GT, Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead, McLaren SLR 722s, 997 GT3 RS MK2, Audi R8 V10 Spider, and more, eugh...this is it, ...the Ferrari Enzo. Done, at last.
Posted by Tom Norton on 2011-08-31 19:53:02 The TVR Tuscan, MK1 TT, Pagani Zonda are all great looking cars, but all were launched in the nineties and therefore not stictly eligible. Yes that makes me feel old too. Via my Twitter feed as expected lots of votes for the 8C and the 458, but more surprisingly but no less worthy a vote for the Mercedes SL R230 version.
Posted by Matthew Lange on 2011-08-31 19:45:50 Good call on the TVR Marty, but I'm going to nominate a different one - the Typhon.
Posted by James Wolfcale on 2011-08-31 07:59:26 Whenever the subject of beautiful car comes up, I always find myself on the fringes. I took a good amount of flak on Twitter the other day for saying the Ferrari 360 was better looking than the 355. It's now out of production, but ever since it was introduced I've never tired of looking at the Lamborghini Murcielago - especially in LP640 form. It's main rival, the Ferrari 599 GTB has got to be up there too. The Pagani Zonda was also always striking in various iterations. Too bad I still can't bring myself to say the same about the Huayra. Further down the price scale I think both the Nissan 350Z and Mk1 Audi TT where both groundbreaking designs that have stood the test of time very well. Front-wheel-drive compacts can be gorgeous too. Take the Mk1 Mini Cooper for example. Not that I'm biased or anything.
Posted by James Wolfcale on 2011-08-31 07:57:19 I'm going to nominate the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Easily the prettiest car Aston have ever made, and only the sheer number produced will stop it from being a future classic. Honourable mention: TVR Tuscan. It's all about the swoopy curves, aggressive stance and a multi-colour flip paintjob. Not exactly subtle, but attractive nonetheless.
Posted by Martin Spain on 2011-08-31 07:40:19

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What is the most beautiful car of the last decade?

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