Random Best Looking Car Brands (16 items)

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  (#1) Aston Martin

  • Automotive industry

  Since Henrik Fisker showed up a few years ago, Astons have gone from being some of the best looking cars on Earth to the almost undisputed champions of style. That said, this one is a little bit of a cheat. Part of the reason all Astons today look stunning is because they all look basically the same. Try telling a Vantage from a Vanquish from a DB9 in less than 30 seconds, looking at them one at a time. Good luck! Still, you can't fault Aston for knowing a great thing when they've got it and sticking to what works. 
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  (#2) McLaren

  Most of us think only of the P1 when we hear the McLaren name these days, but they've got several models, and every one of them is a looker. Granted, they're unapologetically mid-engine, so they don't have the classic proportions of some other sports cars. And some people decry the styling as a bit underwhelming at first glance. But like any good art, it's the details that draw you into McLaren's styling. These cars demand some study to be truly appreciated - preferably at 200 mph.
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  (#3) Ferrari S.p.A.

  • Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car Bodies, Automotive industry

  Jeremy Clarkson once made the point that Ferraris were never pretty. Striking, yes, in the same way that a two-ton rhinoceros is striking. But not pretty. Some, like old Testarossas and F50s, were very eye catching, but they were also styled like shaved bricks. That certainly isn't the case anymore, especially with the 458 Italia. Even without the speed connotations, modern Ferraris like this are just objectively beautiful pieces of automotive sculpture. 
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  (#4) Maserati

  • Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car Bodies, Automotive industry

  It seems a corporate kinship with Ferrari has been good for Maserati, especially in terms of design. There was a time when Maserati didn't really seem to know where it was going, but they seem to have settled on decidedly "forward." Looking a bit like an LF-A that's been to finishing school in Switzerland, Maserati's newest offering blends the best of classic proportion with the hardest of post-modern detail. That's carried over through the entire line, and the brand is better for it. 
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  (#5) Eagle

  • Automobile

  Another hypothetical cheat... sort of. Eagle manufacturers completely rebuilt the original Jaguar E-Types, which are by any definition brand new cars. And since the E-Type is the best looking car of all time, you could hardly leave them off a list like this. Still, Eagle is a single-model brand - which would disqualify them, if not for the fact that Jaguar itself remains one of the best looking brands out there today. Some would place it second only to Aston Martin. But even as pretty as modern Jags are, almost anyone would agree that not even the best-looking modern Jag holds a candle to the original E-Type. 
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  (#6) Audi

  • Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car Bodies, Automotive industry

  Audis are good-looking in the same sense that all properly tailored business suits are good-looking. Clearly, Iron Man's R8 is a stunning piece of machinery, but that's what's always been so great about Audis. They're machines, and they know it. An Audi doesn't want to be your object of lust, your weekend mistress, or your local psychopathic football hooligan. It just wants to be good at being a car. The fact that it looks as tailored as a Saville Row suit just shows the world that you (and it) mean business. 
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  (#7) Alfa Romeo

  • Automotive industry

  It's become almost de rigueur these days to pay homage to Alfa in any conversation on aesthetics. They've got plenty of fanboys and God knows more than a few will tell you these Italians can do no wrong on styling. They're wrong. There have been plenty of ugly Italian cars, but very, very few of them have been Alfa Romeos. In the same way BMW defines "form following function," Alfa defines the "form first" design philosophy. Very rarely will you ever find a flat panel on an Alfa; they're all sophisticated style, complex curves, and sweeping lines, a lot like the roads of Italy.
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  (#8) BMW

  • Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car Bodies, Automotive industry

  You probably either already have or will now notice that German cars make up a pretty significant portion of this list. That's no accident. Form should always follow function, and nobody gets that better than the Germans. BMW has long epitomized that design philosophy. If you like machines as machines, instead of art or styling statements, BMW does it better than anyone. 
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  (#9) Pagani

  • Automotive industry

  Pagani is definitely a dark horse, not because the Hyuara isn't gorgeous - after all, it's the car so nice you have to spell-check it thrice. It deserves to be mentioned. But Pagani only gets a technical pass on the single-model rule because somehow, the Zonda is still in production. The Zonda is the Brett Favre of supercars; they keep telling us it's going to retire, but five seasons later and it's still winning games. So, for the moment, Pagani has to bear mention for both the Hyuara and the Zonda. Until the last encore, anyway.
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  (#10) Bentley Motors Limited

  • Manufacturing, Automotive industry, Engineering

  Ettoro Bugatti once quipped that Bentley, their rival, produced "the world's fastest truck." That's a pretty accurate description, given the immense proportion and speed of Bentley's early cars. Their current lineup represents a real return to form for Bentley, which was, at one time, barely distinguishable from Rolls Royce. The Continental's proportions are certainly part of its charm, but more so is its styling. With their slick but oddly brick-like styling, modern Bentleys come off as the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove. Though, "war-hammer in a silken sack" might be more appropriate here. 
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  (#11) Mercedes-Benz

  • Manufacturing, Automotive industry

  Mercedes is kind of a "love-it-or-hate it" brand. There's no disputing the fact that many of their cars are handsome, in the sense that you'll never encounter a situation in which a Mercedes seems out of place. From High Street to Dakar, the Mercedes badge has been everywhere. As a styling entity, Mercedes has always been the most outgoing of the German brands. More so than BMW or Audi, Mercedes has long put a pretty strong emphasis on just being awesome and standing out in a crowd. Mercedes isn't afraid to come off as a little over-the-top by German standards, which is probably a big part of the brand's appeal in America. 
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  (#12) Morgan

  Does carbon fiber strike you as somewhat underhanded? Do Bentleys seem "a tad bit boxy?" Do you view foreign food with suspicion and spend an inordinate amount of time talking about "The War," or memorize Shakespearean sonnets because "you never know?" Then odds are that, as far as you're concerned, nothing but Morgan matters. The fact that they're the only cars in the world right now made of wood, with both running boards and discrete fenders might make Morgan the most beautiful car brand in the world. At least, it will if you think automotive styling peaked in 1933 - which it probably did.
  
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  (#13) Tesla Motors

  • Automotive industry

  As of pretty recently, Tesla added a second model to the line-up, and a third is on the way. But it's the Model S that really carries the majority of the company's design language, and that is a very good thing indeed. One of the best things about the Model S is that Tesla avoided the temptation of making it look like an electric car. If nobody told you, you might mistake this for a V-12 powered grand tourer... and a very handsome one at that. This isn't just a gorgeous car, it's a very smart move for the company. 
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  (#14) Koenigsegg

  • Automotive industry

  Koni only makes a few cars, but it's hard to find fault with any of them. Some say the Agera and Regera's shapes are a little on the "safe" side, even a tad bit dated compared to the crazy angles coming from other supercar manufacturers today. But who cares? It's not like anyone will ever mistake Koenigsegg's cars with any of the other fastest automobiles in the world. And if this is the shape that kind of speed takes, then handsome is as handsome does. 
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  (#15) Lexus

  • Automotive industry

  Lexus has a pretty strong design language these days, especially since the LFA came along and cast a massive halo over the brand. If you like Japanese styling, then Lexus is pretty much the top of the heap right now. There's something to be said for a brand that subcontracts its dashboard displays to the developers of Gran Turismo. Granted, Lexus's SUVs generally look like hippos that got hit in the face with a bulldozer - but their post-LFA cars are without a doubt some of the best looking things coming out of Japan today.
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  (#16) TVR

  • Automotive industry

  TVR is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of brand. Certainly, they've had their ups and downs over the years. TVR's cars have always been well proportioned, but their wacky little detail work back in the day was a little over the top for some people. Not so much these days, though. TVR seems to have matured a little bit, allowing those classic proportions to carry the visual impact. 
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  (#17) Honda Motor Company, Ltd

  • Truck, Aerospace, Aviation, Telematics, Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car Bodies, Automotive industry

  No, that's not a mistake: Honda really is on a list with Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin. Like Audi, most of Honda's products don't really stand out in a crowd, but the company's design language as a whole these days is quite solid. Even their crossovers and minivans look decently sharp, while still remaining recognizable as part of the family tree. That kind of design language versatility is surprisingly hard to pull off, but Honda, of all the mass-market manufacturers, probably does it best. No, their cars might not necessarily stand out in a parking lot, but of all the good-looking cars in any given parking lot, a pretty fair number of them will probably be Hondas.
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  (#18) Chrysler

  Chrysler is a little bit of a dark horse here, but look closely at the 200 pictured above. It's every bit as handsome as anything coming out of France and compares pretty favorably to a lot of Italians in its class. Then again, it should, considering the fact that it was styled under Fiat ownership. But let's not split hairs. Right now, the only other "car" in Chrysler's lineup is the 300, which is, and has been for some time, one of the best looking cars in America. Between the two of them, there's a lot of versatility in Chrysler's design language. Lets hope that translates to future offerings.

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