Then this unique Ferrari 330GT Nembo Spyder would epitomise it. So says Malcolm Thorne after sampling a car due to be auctioned to raise money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Beauty is a particularly subjective matter, and yet you could argue that there are certain givens out there that can be universally acknowledged for the magnificence of their aesthetic. Would anyone really argue that Michel angelo’s masterful depiction of David is anything other than awe-inspiringly beautiful? Or that the cathedral in Florence is anything but spectacular? Or that a misty sunrise over the hills of Tuscany is anything but sublime? If we are in agreement that such things – however finite in number – can be universally exalted, that nobody could ever turn a creased brow and mutter words to the effect of “well, it’s nothing special”, then I would add another candidate to the list: the Ferrari 330 Nembo Spyder.
Before reading any further, just pause a moment, look at the pictures and drink it in. Was there ever a more convincing amalgam of hunched-up muscles and gracefully flowing curves? The basic profile is absolutely spot on, with not a wrong angle anywhere to be seen; it is those rolling Tuscan hills transformed into hand-beaten aluminium. But what is the vista of that landscape without the mist or extraordinary light of early morning, the subtleties that elevate the merely pretty to the truly divine? For the Ferrari to make it onto our list of Unequivocal Beauty requires more than just a well-considered profile, but the Nembo pulls it off. Gloriously.
Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
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Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring