The MK1 TT is quite simply the most beautiful German car design in…what…the last 50 years….since the original Porsche 911, in my humblest opinion. The 80s and early 90s were pretty dark and depressing times for German car design which entered a comfort zone of drab, unimaginative, uncreative designs (except Porsche, who were always putting together interesting cars)..and the TT put an end to those dark ages. Timeless, ageless, and pure…..and with rumours of the next-generation MK3 TT being heavily influenced by the original, the MK1 TT’s legend will continue to grow.
Here’s the original 1995 MK1 TT Concept….the automotive design equivalent of punk rock in 1995! I have turned the original manufacturer photos in B&W to fully appreciate the geometry and design pornography!
It is astounding to me that the MK1 TT Coupe that sits in my garage (for the last 10+ years) is virtually identical to this concept, barring a few select details.
BMW fires back with a pretty wicked looking new 4-series coupe concept. Let’s face it….BMW hasn’t made any good looking 3-series coupes since the E36. The E46 was rounded, bloated, and pedestrian to look at….the E92 looked like a gigantic Civic. This new 4-series coupe hits the spot. Just don’t look at the hideous rear bumper. Everything else on it is nicely done, and pretty impressive for BMW. It seems they are finally realising that the devil is in the details……taking a hint from the Audi school of design on making the little design elements count. Nice one, BMW……consider me impressed! First the beautiful 6-series Coupe and Gran Coupe, now the 4-series? The propeller may be on the rise…..sort of….oh wait, i just remember that horrific concept they showed in L.A last week. Nevermind!
The Lotus Elan—-a car i love, but largely ignore. I have to say….this 2+2 is beautiful with a much nicer roofline than the original Elan, IMO—-and very nicely appointed interior. It’s on sale…..for only $40k! Come on and buy it….you only live once.
This car is completely restored and is a 1971. Follow the link at the bottom for more info:
The last ‘original’ Bugatti (referring to the original family run company) to be produced was the Type 101 and one of these 101s went to coachbuilder Antem and was transformed into something weird and somewhat charming. The Bugatti T101 Antem Coupe is an unusual looking design, smothered in mystery and uniqueness. In those days, plenty of ‘one-off’ cars existed, but the significance of this being of the final 8 cars Bugatti ever built before disappearing and being resurrected by an amped-up Volkswagen make this car even more interesting than it already is, in my opinion.
Only eight Type 101s were ever built. The chassis 101 504 would then be sent to Antem of Paris and become the unique Type 101 C Antem Coupé, arguably the most striking and beautiful Type 101.
I love prototypes which have been lost or aborted during their development—-they have a curious aura of mystery surrounding them, and blistering questions of “what may have been” and “where are they now”. in 2001, BMW was working on a lightweight (2500+ pound) coupe with 300+ HP capable of 0-60 times of under 5 seconds. Judging by the Toyota-like styling, and not-so-BMW-like design features and its MK1 Audi TT inspired minimalist interior—-it is very possible this car was merely a test bed for new technologies. I don’t think the world will have a breakdown because it was never produced, however it can definitely be added to the list of mysterious prototypes which were tested and then dissappeared. I’m guessing this car eventually morphed into the Z4 Coupe in 2006 and maybe used the carbon fiber technologies towards their M3 CSL.
BMW themselves eventually released photos of the car in 2010, as part of their 25th anniversary celebration of BMW Technik GmBH.
The two-seater sportscar was designed to be as light as possible through the use of high-tech materials.
The centre section of the car – from the front bulkhead to the rear bulkhead was a monocoque made from carbon-fibre reinforced plastics. The front and rear subframes were made of aluminium. The final prototype weighed just 1166kgs.
The Z29 was powered by the then-current 336bhp straight-six engine used in the M3, which gave the car a 0-62mph sprint time of just 4.4 seconds.
The Z29’s unusual scissor doors never made it onto a production car, but the Z29 is said to have influenced the 2006 M Roadster.
However the project had its biggest influence on the 2004 M3 CSL, which used carbon-fibre, reinforced plastics for the roof panel, as well as various other body mouldings including the front bumper.
BMW founded the Technik GmbH division in 1985, with the intention of using as a think-tank to ‘develop and innovative, future-oriented and original overall vehicle concepts and sub-concepts away from the constraints of a specific series workflow schedule’. However, the board added that Technik’s objective should ‘always be to develop solutions that have the potential for series development.”
4Star Classics has some great stuff, and here they present a VERY clean late-model year 1989 Audi (Ur) quattro 10v. It is often thought that these late-model year quattros (made until 1990/91) were some of the best coupes made in this configuration. Sales in this country had all but ended by then, but continued in Europe. This particular one is right-hand drive, but with an immaculate interior and beautiful paint work—as well as those fantastic euro-spec bumpers and headlights.
Costs a little bit over 10,000 GBP….and well worth it.
yes i love the Alfa Romeo Junior Z—–i know lots of people don’t like it, and i’ve had conversations with Alfisti who discredit its weird Zagato roots and shape—-however I find it to be quite unique, and in person it is very very tiny and compact! All types of cool! I did learn something new today though; that the Junior Z was made in 2 forms, a short tail 1300 and a ‘longer’ tail 1600. Also on the Alfa Workshop, there is a photo of a ‘mid-engined’ variant….
The Junior Z is quickly catching up to the Montreal when it comes to my favourite post WW2 Alfa Romeos.
Lancia Fulvia in a VERY unusual colour! a colour I have never seen before on this car. Does anyone know if this was a factory Lancia paintcode? beautiful it is.
i love finding cool older cars which I am not familiar with….which i really start digging. The as-posted-the-other-day Isuzu 117 Coupe is one of those cars; and here is another one by the obscure, underdog, and defunct japanese carmaker Isuzu. Isuzu still makes commercial trucks, engines, and transport materials; however they stopped making cars in the past decade.
I have a soft spot for 60s Japanese cars, especially built by underdog companies like Isuzu; because i feel it represents a time in the japanese automotive industry where they had passion for what they were trying to make. Sure they were copying the italian style of the 60s (Alfa, Lancia, Fiat….) however those cars were cool; so they were in turn copying cool cars, but with their own japanese twist which made for some very cool, small coupes and sedans. The perfect example of this is the Isuzu Bellett GT and GTR Coupe. I have to say that i really love the chunky round shape of this coupe; it is very unique even for its time. I love the light curve on the roofline. I’ve never seen one in person, but i hope to. I found a few used i Japan, and they sell for between $20-30k now.
“The GT-R, more specifically GT Type-R (for “racing”), was a racing version of the GT, also available to individual customers. First presented in September 1969, the GT-R featured a 1.6 L DOHC engine from the 117 Coupe, power brakes and numerous other modifications. It was visually different from other Belletts primarily by a specific paint scheme, which included a completely black hood. The GT-R achieved many successes in racing, and has gained its own fan community. Only about 1,400 GT-Rs were manufactured.
Though the GT-R was one of the first cars to be called “GT-R”, the Nissan Skyline GT-R was in fact earlier, with the PGC10 GT-R being released six months beforehand, in March 1969. The Holden Torana GTR was released in October 1969. However, there was a Bridgestone GTR motorbike which predates all of these. It is also worth noting that Isuzu used the Type-R designation long before Honda adopted it.” (WP)
IEDEI 
