I forgot all about the Karmann's... I'd say if my posting of Jap cars didn't get any negative feedback, your v-dub shouldn't either...
That mercedes makes me want to puke. that is awful. It looks like a jegs catalog threw up in a rich guy's garage.
At least it can't be called a "cookie cutter" race car, and it is "swoopy" and a "vintage body design".
Here are a couple of cars I just cant get out of my mind... Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari by Pininfarina. The Osi Alfa Romeo Scarabeo. The Lancia Stratos Concept car. The original Countach ( no flaired fenders, no wings, etc ) Fiat 8V Ghia. Here is a Hot Rod version it, on a Cobra chassis ( with a Le Mans spec big block...) The Futura. ( it probably didn't handle very well, but was cool...)
The Exner Simca Spl. This is an unfinished bubbletop by Cushenberry ( I think its being finished right now ) The MantaRay. The Reactor
Definitely not cookie cutter! Its just a bit obscene. It's hard to improve upon the original gullwing design, and a 40-foot hood scoop is not one way to do it.......
Looking through this thread, I didn't see a whole lot of mid rear-engined cars that fall in the "swoopy" category. Here's a couple I dig with swoopy lines... Porsche 904 Porsche 906 Ferrari Dino Would love to see some more mid-engined swoopy cars!
That's pretty neat -- I'm familiar with a number of Frazer Nash models, but I don't think I've ever seen that one before. The cut-down side is a later example of the "falling waistline" that Pimpin Paint commented on before. Wow! If I've ever seen that Porsche before, I haven't seen that view, with its long tail. Gorgeous! The Bosley (your 14th picture)! I'd forgotten about that one, and it's a beaut. An amazing example of home building from the early '50s that was outside the box, styling-wise, by a guy who'd never built a car before. It was on display at the Petersen recently. This is a really nice example of late '40s customizing trends, combined in an uncommon way with an excellent result. Understated, but very nice. This is kinda nice too, but the stance suggests that it's a modern job. The lowered sidemount is an interesting detail. I wonder if there's really a spare tire in there? I've never been crazy about this model of Ferrari when seeing it on the ground, but the body sure did employ swoopy well. Scooter, I think you underestimate your threadmates' contributions. I count 35 mid-engined cars before your post (including the race cars, but not counting duplicates)! Here are a few more mid-engined swoopies, I think all pre-1970: One of the all time best, in my book -- this car has been mentioned before, but this profile view of the Miura is particularly handsome: One of the earliest mid-engined GT race cars, the Ferrari 250LM. This one has also been shown already in this thread, but I'd like to comment about it. Because it's an early car (1963, I think), it's still on wire wheels, which had just about reached the end of the road on racing cars. Of the well-known mid engined GT racers, I think maybe only these cars and the first series GT40s were still on Borranis. This car, unlike the Miura above, looks better viewed in the round than it does in profile. The top looks too short in straight profile, but the rear view shows its taper, which somehow softens its abrupt trailing edge: ...and one more interesting mid-engined period piece: Giugiaro's Bizzarini Manta, doing swoopy with just a single line: Agreed! What is it?
No underestimations here, just a pure lack of recognition on my part! HAHA! Some of those I just plain didn't know were REAR mid-engined (vs. Front mid-engined). HAHA! I'm amazed by so many amazing cars that I'm unfamiliar with and now feel the need to familiarize myself with them. I hadn't seen this one before! WOW!! Really cool!
The 250LM was Ferrari's first stab at a mid-engined GT racer. Despite its having a 3 liter V12 right behind the driver's seat, the car is quite compact and very small overall. As I recall, its competition record was quite distinguished, although in the end Ford prevailed with the GT40. The overall look of the car is kind of a snapshot of a particular moment in racing car body design. The fenders have the voluptuous, sweeping forms of the '50s cars, but the short top (think Porsche 914) and the overall mid-engined proportions predicted the shapes of cars to come. The wire wheels combine with the fenders to give it a vintage/throwback flavor, while the chassis was actually a pretty advanced layout for the day.
Some of those swoopy European cars posted are incredibly beautiful! I can't get enough. Keep 'em comin'!
This is taking "swoopy" to the extreme....... 1953, 54 & 55, Alfa Romeo Berlinetta Aerodynamic Tecnica .....(B.A.T.) '53.... '54..... '55.....
Whooo! What a neat photograph! Thanks, Rick, for keeping this thread alive. Do you have any other pictures of this car? Is it another 2900?
That needs to be de-raked before it'll be quite convincing. Designers started drawing wedge lines from bottom front to top rear in the '70s and haven't been able to stop. It's easy on the wrist in the standard left-side view, so all that's needed is an excuse, especially when cars are expected to look like designers' drawings and not the other way round. Raise the front end until the bottom edges of the front wheels peep out, and it might just be spot-on.
Ned, I can't agree with you. I don't think that's an improvement. In general, I agree that cars with skirted fenders look right with a level or tail-down stance. The original image here, which I believe is one of Terry Cook's Bugnottis that has been photochopped, seems exempt from my observation above because of the skirted front tire. In my view, it looks perfectly acceptable -- even good -- on a forward rake. I suspect that the entire front fender has been shrunk in size from Cook's original version, making the forward pitch look less arbitrary. Maybe it would look good with the front end raised a taste, but I think you've taken it up much too far.
Ned, Some of us are in your corner, it looks classic, rather than raked, in your version. The level cowl, front wheel & fender treatment add to the overall impact as I take it in.
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