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?
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Oldsmobile. ;<)
1) 59 Cadillac Eldorado
2) 59 Impala
3) 95-96 Caprice/Impala SS
4) Ferrari F40
5) Toyota Supra MK3
C3 Corvette, Studebaker Avanti, and a two page ad in Motor Trend magazine introduced my first love the 1979 Mercury Capri.
Big Healey, MGTC, BMW e24, Audi TTMk1 are my favorites. I have owned 3 out of 4 so perhaps I am partial. Still have the e24 and the TT and enjoy looking at them and driving them every day.
The 1983 T-Bird was attractive in silhouette, but I think the 1989-1997 looked even better that way.
^1965 Olds 442, or Jag XKE 2+2
For the classics, I admire the lines of the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. It emanates the Art Deco styles and designs of the era and is still gorgeous by today’s standards. For modern cars, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is a beautiful example of smooth stylish lines that also exude power and finesse.
84-86 notchback Fiero. Best looking shape of the 70s-80s wedge cars.
The first Jag e types with the worthless bumpers and glassed headlights
1) 69 Oldsmobile 442 coupe 2) 53 Studebaker Commander coupe 3) 61 Pontiac Bonneville coupe 4) 72 Ford GranTorino Sportsroof
1: Aston Martin Lagonda
2: GM B-body wagons ’91-’96
Hmmm? I think I’m going to go with profile that is making its way back, finally after so many years of box shapes. 2006 MB 500CLS. So soft.
This is obviously in the eye of the beholder. As a kid in the 70s I loved to draw cars. Every drawing was a side view. Every drawing was based on Bill Mitchell’s studios mid 60s designs especially the shape of the bumpers, the sweeping point to the nose and the sail panels. I always thought the ’66 Chevelle and the first series Riviera were the absolute perfect versions of the look. I’ve added many to my list since (I had a couple of Ford Mavericks (one was a Comet) and have always liked the lines.
I have to mention Bill Thomas’ Cheetah. Although it’s nearly a one off car I’ve always thought that the side profile was really cool. Too bad he never got the chance to take on the Cobras.
Like someone said, hard to beat an early 911 (well… the 904…), but after seeing the other contestants, my vote is for a black Matrix-style Lincoln Continental 64. If I just had the garage…