When is a car so breathtakingly beautiful that it becomes art?
This is a question the Autoworld Museum in Brussels is attempting to answer with a finely curated assemblage of some of the most aesthetically pleasing automobiles ever to turn a wheel. Some are expected – some are not – but they all caress the eyes, inspire wonder, and stir the soul. Autoworld has also conscripted some well-known Belgian car designers to add their impressions of these cars. When Cars Become Art is a pop-up exhibit that runs until Dec. 15, 2024.
Drawn by legendary Italian designer Battista “Pinin” Farina, the 1948 Cisitalia 202 SC opened a new school of body design, inspiring an entire generation of sports cars. Available in both coupe and convertible form, the Cisitalia 202 ran with a 76-hp 1,086-cc inline-four that drove the rear wheels through a four-speed transmission. Sadly, the company went broke after only a few more than 100 of these beautiful cars were built. In 1972, a Cisitalia 202 was the first car to be accepted into the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York City.
Another French revolution took place in the 1930s when bespoke luxury coachbuilders rebelled against the boxy utilitarian cars of the ‘20s and started creating curvy works of art that still stand as some of the most beautiful cars ever imagined. At the forefront of this movement were designers Marcel Pourtout and Georges Paulin. A fine example is this 1937 Delage D8-120 Coach Profile Pourtout. Its wraparound pontoon wings and converging back make this coupe look like it’s speeding along the motorway even when standing still. Power came from a 4,302-cc inline eight-cylinder making 120 hp.
The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL “Gullwing” found its origins in the marque’s post-war racing program, most notably the famed 300 SLR. But those iconic gullwing doors were not merely a styling exercise — they were a necessity, as the car’s tube chassis had such high side rails that normal hinged doors wouldn’t work. To keep the bonnet profile low, the race-derived 215-hp 3.0L straight-six was tilted to fit. With a top speed of 215 km/h, about 1,400 300SLs were built from 1954 to 1957.
What could possibly make the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB even more beautiful? How about a robin’s egg blue paint job? Powered by a lightweight Colombo 3.0L V12, this Ferrari coupe was fast, agile, and highly competitive. Belgian car designer Lowie Vermeersch said, “The Ferrari 250 SWB symbolizes the classical approach to art: capturing the universal perception of form and beauty. The proportions, the simplicity, the coherence of what it is and what it expresses, the sheer intuitive appeal of its full forms … it is universal beauty.”
Designed by Carlo Felice Anderloni, the 1953 Pegaso Z-102 Thrill is aptly named, as this car was a daring one-off commissioned by Pegaso created for the Concours d’Elegance scene. Immediately noticeable are the flying buttresses forming the rear wings' leading edge. It has a decidedly jet-age look, enhanced by the bold red and black paint job. More than just looking fast, the Pegaso Z-102 Thrill delivered the goods with its 170-hp 2.8L V8 that pushed it to a top speed of 225 km/h.
What??? My eyes! Consider this 1975 AMC Pacer a palette cleanser … a quick plunge into an ice-cold pool after luxuriating in a hot tub. It’s supposed to be good for you. Hey, some folks find the Pacer quite attractive. The Pacer shot to fame after Wayne and Garth headbanged to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody in a blue Pacer in the 1992 film Wayne’s World. That movie also gave Bohemian Rhapsody a second life, propelling it back on the charts. Fun fact: the B-side of Bohemian Rhapsody was a song penned by Queen drummer Roger Taylor called I’m In Love With My Car.
Many folks, including Enzo Ferrari, considered the Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Coupe the most beautiful car ever produced when it broke cover at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show. And it was attainable. Priced for the consumer market, the E-Type was the fastest production car at the time, and it was conceived as a synthesis of a competition racer and an everyday-use sports car. Jag’s design chief, Malcolm Sayer, came from the world of aeronautics, and his flowing design is as much a result of aerodynamic calculation as it is divine inspiration. The Jaguar E-Type was the third car to enter the MoMa design collection.
This 1927 Avions Voisin C14 Lumineuse was painted by Dutch artist Bernadette Ramaeker. The pattern was inspired by the first British Voque magazine cover, which depicted a stylish woman leaning on an open Voisin painted in an Art Deco triangle motif. The painstaking work took six months to complete. Notable Voisin owners include Maurice Chevalier, Josephine Baker, and Paul Morand.
This 1954 Bugatti “Brown” isn’t officially a part of the When Cars Become Art exhibit, probably because it’s quite weird-looking. OK, it’s butt ugly, if we’re being honest, but it certainly qualifies as art. Its laminated polyester body is the work of Parisian painter and sculptor Jacques Brown. It’s built on a pre-war Bugatti Type 57 chassis.
The Citroen DS debuted at the 1955 Paris Motor Show and instantly shot the consumer automobile decades into the future. Space age aerodymanics, a single-spoke steering wheel, and a hydraulic system that took care of the suspension, steering, brakes, and even control of the transmission and clutch were its major wow factors. Add to that front-wheel drive, disc brakes, an aluminum hood, a plexiglass rear window, and a rayon interior. It was drawn by Citroen’s chief designer, Flaminio Bertone.
Presented at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, the Lamborghini Miura set the template for the mid-engine supercar with its transverse V12 and stunning bodywork drawn by Marcello Ghandini. Almost 60 years on, the Miura, here a 1970 P400 model, remains a sight to behold. We’ll let Steve Crijns – designer at Lotus and McLaren – have the last word: “When you draw something as breathtakingly beautiful as the Lamborghini Miura, nobody ever throws it away. That’s different from many modern cars, where even people talk about how to recycle them one day.”
