602 replies to this topic

[sabrejet]

Since there is already a thread running on, "Achingly, Timelessly Gorgeous" I thought it might be interesting to look at the other end of the scale. So here's my pick:

 

* Voisin C6 Laboratoire (though I do find it compelling to look at)

* Ligier JS.5 'teapot'

* Ensign N179

* Cadillac 'Le Monstre'

* Nissan GTR LM

* Daytona Prototypes Gen 1, 2 and 3 (but not including the Gen 3 Corvette, which bizarrely belongs in the other thread)

* Mosler Raptor

* Rondeau M482

* F1 clown cars from the 'protuberance' era (2014-ish?)

* McLaren Senna.

[Victor_RO]

May I present...

 

http://www.racingspo...7-06-14-113.jpg

[Sterzo]

Some good nominations there, Sabrejet, and it must have been difficult to "love thy Voisin." These two old threads might provide some inspiration (or otherwise).

 

https://forums.autos...me/?hl= ugliest

 

https://forums.autos...er/?hl=ugly car

[Afterburner]

* Daytona Prototypes Gen 1, 2 and 3 (but not including the Gen 3 Corvette, which bizarrely belongs in the other thread)

The Gen 3 only really started to look good in its final two seasons, when they delivered the updates that brought the styling in line with the C7. Pictures don't do that car justice, making it appear tall and sort of bulbous–it was very low, sleek, and properly badass in person.

[lcbulldog]

Excalibur J from 1953, 1954

[ensign14]

May I present...

 

http://www.racingspo...7-06-14-113.jpg

 

I quite liked the look of that one.  Especially in its original form with spats over the rear wheels too.  Like it was hovering.  It came back the next year though seemingly having been through a sandstorm and failed scrutineering.

 

I would submit the toothpaste tube Connaught...

[Pontlieue]

Zulltec CZ2

 

 

Picchio DP2

 

 

Dywa 008

[paulstevens56]

Last generation of LMP1 cars, most of them were hideous to look at.

 

Some of the 80's aero LM cars, though functional were hideous to see!

 

the triple deck radiator Ensign that Daly had to drive in the 80's

 

Mid 80's CART cars with huge back ends made them look like whales.

 

McLaren Senna

 

Gumpert Apollo

 

Anyghing made by Ssang Yoong

[sabrejet]

I would submit the toothpaste tube Connaught...

 

I'm so glad you said that: I thought it was just me 

[kayemod]

For me a winner among road cars is the Chrysler 300C. Years ago I was offered one as a loan car while my Alfa 159 was at the Dealer's.

 

I said "No thanks" and walked 2 miles home, some of us have our standards you know.

[404KF2]

Aztek

[E1pix]

For me a winner among road cars is the Chrysler 300C. Years ago I was offered one as a loan car while my Alfa 159 was at the Dealer's.
 
I said "No thanks" and walked 2 miles home, some of us have our standards you know.

One wonders if a 20-mile walk may have added some beauty... ;-)

[GMACKIE]

My '54 VW Beetle has a face only a deranged dictator could love...

 

 

Funny thing about the 300C - at first I hated the look of them, however, after a while they 'grew on me'. (A bit like ringworm). 

[E1pix]

My '54 VW Beetle has a face only a deranged dictator could like.

I beg your pardon, the latter I am not!

[john aston]

My '54 VW Beetle has a face only a deranged dictator could love...

 

 

Funny thing about the 300C - at first I hated the look of them, however, after a while they 'grew on me'. (A bit like ringworm). 

 Me too - they're a real gangster car (but not 'gangsta'  ) and look they should be in a film noir with Bogart at the wheel.

[Charlieman]

* Voisin C6 Laboratoire (though I do find it compelling to look at)

Gabriel Voisin was also responsible for the more prosaic Biscuter. Short and stumpy with a wonky nose like I imagine Pepe Carvalho's assistant to be in the novels by Manuel Vasquez Montalban.

Biscúter - Wikipedia

 

There have been so many horrors in the last 30 years -- Bentley, Maybach, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Range Rover -- that I think we need a cut off date for modern cars.

 

Some neighbours own a Peugeot Bipper Tepee which isn't too bad looking, but surely the name was an inside joke in the marketing department. Who can get the most ridiculous name past senior management?

[sabrejet]

How about 'Bongo Friendee; in terms of ugly names?

 

But yes we do need a cut-off date. Otherwise the SsangYong Rodius would trump all.

[Charlieman]

the triple deck radiator Ensign that Daly had to drive in the 80's

Was the Ensign N179 a bodge job based on the N177 or, as I have read on the interweb, a completely new design? Ensign had little sponsorship and my recollection from magazines is that the car was an interim model.

 

Other early ground effects F1 cars were pretty ugly, The first versions of the Arrows A2 and Lotus 80 were challenging and failed to meet the promised performance. I suspect with more development they'd have worked better but both teams went back to more conventional designs.

[Ray Bell]

Is nobody, now we've sunk to road cars, going to mention this monstrosity?





Fiat's Multipla...

[pete53]

Not everyone's cup of tea and I have seen some disparaging remarks about the Lancia Flavia Sport Zagato, which competed in the mid 60s in touring car events in Europe. Personally I rather like it.

 

[10kDA]

Not everyone's cup of tea and I have seen some disparaging remarks about the Lancia Flavia Sport Zagato, which competed in the mid 60s in touring car events in Europe. Personally I rather like it.

 

Still better than any Econobox from the past 25 years.

[10kDA]

 Me too - they're a real gangster car (but not 'gangsta'  ) and look they should be in a film noir with Bogart at the wheel.

 

Sorry, I'm 180° on this one, totally gangsta. I think Chrysler styled it with dope spinnas in mind from the start.

[10kDA]

May I present...

 

http://www.racingspo...7-06-14-113.jpg

 

https://medleyana.fi...juggernaut2.png

Edited by 10kDA, 14 February 2019 - 13:15.

[paulstevens56]

Some other road based contenders.

 

The Mitsubishi CC type thing that tries to be a 206CC, hideous thing.

 

And what is that awful Mazda sort of off road thing?

 

Oh and I have also never understood the fascination with Kate Moss, but she is not a car, sadly.

[E1pix]

https://medleyana.fi...juggernaut2.png

^^^ Brill.

Drive to work and hunt for lunch on the way.

[Geoff E]

The Multipla was quick to appear in the earlier "Ugliest road car" thread https://forums.autos...ar-of-all-time/

[RogerFrench]

Several Allards, K1 for example.

[TennisUK]

The first versions of the Arrows A2 and Lotus 80 were challenging and failed to meet the promised performance. I suspect with more development they'd have worked better but both teams went back to more conventional designs.

I reckon those two cars were two of the best looking F1 cars ever...

[kayemod]

Some other road based contenders.

 

Oh and I have also never understood the fascination with Kate Moss, but she is not a car, sadly.

 

Maybe not, but I'd say she's been around the block a good few times...

[Doug Nye]

 

In such a discussion as this it would seem churlish not to present perhaps the second-ugliest Ferrari ever built?  E.D. Abbott of Farnham's Ferrari 212 Export, chassis serial '0165 EL'...  

 

I am extremely proud of my home town and its local businesses - but one must be honest...

 

Oh, and seeing mention of the Cunningham 'Le Monstre' above, I feel it would be churlish not to defend her.  She might be a somewhat plain old lady, but I can assure everyone that she is very obliging, and she has lovely manners... 

 

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 14 February 2019 - 21:18.

[ensign14]

 

[Bob Riebe]

[PCC]

 

Sorry, this thread is about road cars, not freight cars. Or fright cars.

[404KF2]

Is nobody, now we've sunk to road cars, going to mention this monstrosity?



Fiat's Multipla...

 

That was a fine continuation of the original's utter hideousness:

 

[john aston]

I adored the Multipla's look- how nice to see a car whose form was -

 

- not an homage to a predecessor (as every other car now is )

 

-  didn't fall victim to many stylists' habit of inserting design cues to make a pedestrian car look sporty- double exhausts , faux diffusers and raised nose look, pumped up arches and huge wheels

 

- dictated by its function

 

-  immediately recognisable

 

- lacked entirely the pumped up macho persona every Merc , Audi and BMW now assumes

 

-..brilliantly packaged

 

 

Horrors which keep me awake include a brace of Austins whose 'style ' is an affront to any sane person's sense of taste - the utterly ludicrous , absurd jokes that were the Metropolltan and Atlantic .

Edited by john aston, 15 February 2019 - 07:31.

[ensign14]

The Multipla might have looked better had the chap who designed the top half ever met the chap who designed the bottom half.

[Ray Bell]

Or if it didn't look like it had rolls of fat bulging out...

 

And the rear view it appears that the C (D?) pillars rise with an outward lean to them.

[Charlieman]

Horrors which keep me awake include a brace of Austins whose 'style ' is an affront to any sane person's sense of taste - the utterly ludicrous , absurd jokes that were the Metropolltan and Atlantic .

The big mistake with those two models was to try to guess what Americans would like. If you design something that you and some mates like and understand (e.g. Morris 1000), it is possible that somebody else likes it too. But if you design to a market research spec something that you wouldn't buy for yourself or a friend, it is likely to be a failure. If you design to a market research spec you'll never create anything new.

 

Hmm, Austin Maxi. Not pretty, not ugly, definitely not sporting. It never recovered in sales after early glitches (e.g. gear change mechanism) even though it was better than all other British cars of its type (Cortina, Marina, Viva). Public perception sometimes overrides innate qualities. Meanwhile Renault sold nearly 2 million 16s with an embarrassing appearance.

[opplock]

 

 

Hmm, Austin Maxi. Not pretty, not ugly, definitely not sporting. It never recovered in sales after early glitches (e.g. gear change mechanism) even though it was better than all other British cars of its type (Cortina, Marina, Viva). Public perception sometimes overrides innate qualities. Meanwhile Renault sold nearly 2 million 16s with an embarrassing appearance.

 

In the late 70s I worked with someone who owned a Maxi. I only went in it once and was surprised that he had a length of 4 by 2 timber between the front seats. The reason soon became apparent. A hefty whack against the gear lever was often required when changing gear. Better than all other British cars of its type? - I'm glad I never experienced the others.

[PCC]

- not an homage to a predecessor (as every other car now is )

 

-  didn't fall victim to many stylists' habit of inserting design cues to make a pedestrian car look sporty- double exhausts , faux diffusers and raised nose look, pumped up arches and huge wheels

 

- dictated by its function

 

-  immediately recognisable

 

- lacked entirely the pumped up macho persona every Merc , Audi and BMW now assumes

 

-..brilliantly packaged

All those things make it quite virtuous. I'm not sure they make it beautiful.

[GazChed]

Nice to see the new Alfa Romeo Formula One car is as ugly as any other Formula One car of the last thirty years ( or any other single seater for that matter ) .

[bradbury west]

Being of a certain age I offer the Lea Francis Lynx.
Roger Lund

[Sterzo]

Horrors which keep me awake include a brace of Austins whose 'style ' is an affront to any sane person's sense of taste - the utterly ludicrous , absurd jokes that were the Metropolltan and Atlantic .

 

Ah, the Atlantic, which was always advertised second hand as "suit lady owner," thereby ensuring in the norms of the time that no man would ever buy one.

 

In the late 70s I worked with someone who owned a Maxi. I only went in it once and was surprised that he had a length of 4 by 2 timber between the front seats. The reason soon became apparent. A hefty whack against the gear lever was often required when changing gear. Better than all other British cars of its type? - I'm glad I never experienced the others.

My employer gave me a fleet car for a time, and oh joy, it was a Maxi. Once carried an avocado green lavatory in the back, and was reluctant to unload it because it looked so right for the car.

[Geoff E]

The Multipla might have looked better had the chap who designed the top half ever met the chap who designed the bottom half.

 

Or as I said in the other thread in 2003 (sixteen years ago tomorrow in fact) - 

 

As Jeremy Clarkson (is he persona non grata in these parts?) once wrote "It looks as if the top and bottom halves were designed by two committees which never met". 

Edited by Geoff E, 15 February 2019 - 16:36.

[Duc-Man]

The Multipla might have looked better had the chap who designed the top half ever met the chap who designed the bottom half.

 

Same goes for the designers of front and back half of the Skoda Roomster....where is the face-palm smiley?

But since we talk about racecars. I decided to go for cars between 1960 and 1990 that I know about. My votes go to:

 

1967 Cooper T81 with the huuuuuge cooler intake in 1960s F-1

Alfa Romeo 177 in 1970s F-1

I can't think about any F-1 car from the '80s that would fit in here.

Marcos Mantis and then there is this little car with this gigantic windows that I tought to be a Lenham Sprite but it isn't in 1960s prototype/endurance race cars

Matra MS630 and MS640 in 1970s Prototype/endurance race cars

Rondeau M382 and Mazda 717 close up in Gr.C. There are some not very pretty Gr.C cars but the M382 just looks like some really big person fell onto the mold and they left it that way

3rd/4th generation Ford Taurus (lookalike) in NASCAR winning the post 1990 special award.

[sabrejet]

 

In such a discussion as this it would seem churlish not to present perhaps the second-ugliest Ferrari ever built?  E.D. Abbott of Farnham's Ferrari 212 Export, chassis serial '0165 EL'...  

 

DCN

 

Second ugliest?

[Radoye]

[opplock]

Painfully, awfully, ugly - we have a winner! I can't work out whether someone has attempted to convert a Lola T140 into a 3rd rate Lotus 7 copy or vice versa. I thought the Katipo (Matich SR4 converted into offset single seater for F5000) was hideous but this is worse.

[kayemod]

Second ugliest?

 

 

 

 

I suspect that this one wins the prize for ugliest Ferrari ever, it certainly does for me.

[Tim Murray]

This one must be a contender:


https://news.justcol...so-concept-car/