Which Vehicle Has the Best Silhouette?
Perhaps the best silhouette isn’t a minivan from Oldsmobile in the 1990s, but it clearly gets the ball rolling for Hagerty’s According to You series. Admiring the beauty of the profile view has been a thing for portraits of human beings for thousands of years, so it’s no surprise we apply that aesthetic preference to objects around us, like the automobile. This angle has endless appeal, and I’ll assume I am not the only person in the Hagerty Community who stops in their tracks when the long lines of a well-designed automobile crosses my path.
Car designers spend an inordinate amount of time ironing out the side view to ensure the front and rear ends will look proper for the entire vehicle. So let’s make a big deal about it and see which vehicle has the best silhouette in the eyes of our readers. To start things off, here’s my choice.
As a late Gen-Xer, I saw these Thunderbirds everywhere during my childhood. While their front end wore sealed-beam headlights that didn’t necessarily work with the aerodynamic body, that silhouette was to die for. It was a little bit cab backward, possessed a great mix of soft curves and hard muscles, and included window trim that harmonized beautifully with the overall shape.
But I really started noticing these 1983–86 Thunderbirds after the 1987 redesign eliminated the aggressive drop in the trunk lid, the integrated ducktail, and the muscular contours in its thick C-pillar. The first three years of the “Aero Bird” looked like nothing before or since, and the car and its lovely profile passed far too quickly.
The way this C-pillar reflected the light at dawn or dusk was impossible to overlook, and though the overall shape wasn’t nearly as aerodynamic as the designs that replaced the 1983 Thunderbird, this truly was an automotive silhouette for the ages.
Which leads us back to our initial question: Which vehicle do you think has the best silhouette?
***
Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. To get our best stories delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.
How about the 1958 Chevy Impala 2 door hardtop? My wife’s uncle thought it looked like a water buffalo!
Hello, one of the most recognizable and possibly, the most desirable profiles of them all: The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti.
68 AMX is my pick!
1963 Ford Falcon hardtop
2012-2019 FIAT 500. Totally unique and unmistakable. You would never confuse it for any other car from any other marker.
Without question for me it is the 1966 (and ONLY the 1966) Oldsmobile Toronado.
Good choice, nothing like it and timeless looks.
So many Ferraris – the Dino, 250 GTO, 275 GTB, La Ferrari, etc., as well as the GT40, Miura, E-Type, and numerous British Roadsters of the 50’s and 60’s.
But the grandaddy of all side silhouettes has to be the Bugatti type 57sc Atlantic.
1971 & 1972 Buick Riviera.
I’d advance all the “big” Austin Healys as the most sleek body, creature comforts not necessarily withstanding
We picked up an Audi A4 cabriolet last summer and drove it across Canada. It has one of the sleekest side views of any convertible I’ve seen (and it’s our 36th!) Most ragtops don’t look as good with the top up. Also, a bronze 1968 Corvette we had years ago was quite stunning.
Too many to pick a favorite!
I’d say any modern Corvette. They’re all designed in the wind tunnel these days so they’re all aero efficient but the later C4’s with the rounded ends I think look great.
From a basic sedan point of view I’ve always loved the 2007 Mazda 6 profile with the spoiler.
The 1956 Continental Mark II is still the most elegant and beautiful production American car.
1956 Mark II