Cars I Want

This is just a great-looking car. It's distinctively of its era, with a bit of 80s boxiness and a little taste of 70s muscle car in its stance. But nothing else really looks like it. Supposedly drives and handles well too, and won races for a few years there.

 

One of the most beautiful cars ever, and I suppose it doesn't hurt that James Bond made it look so cool. Even without the bullet proof shield and the machine guns, it's a sweet ride.

And here we have a modern Aston Martin, also beautiful. I'd take any of the current lineup, but I think I slightly prefer the "baby aston" Vantage, the least expensive at only $100k or so. and, of course, I'd take the coupe.

The A3 seems an ideal daily driver, fun but practical, and cute besides. I prefer the first generation, especially the 3-door S3 -- it looked small and nimble, unostentatious but with good lines. The new generation (the first in the US), like all the newer Audis, looks larger and a bit bloated. Still, the newer generation has DSG, which might be the most drivable automatic(ish) transmission ever. A 3.2 quattro DSG would be sweet for tooling around every day, though I think I'd prefer the 2.0T if I could get it with quattro and tuned up a bit (new S3?). Make it in that dark gray for understated elegance. and then throw in a 2003 european S3 in imola yellow, for kicks.

I like both the original "ur-quattro" and the later 1990 coupe quattro. The original has a nice boxy 80s look to it, and all the racing associations of Audi's rally cars of those years. The later car is the sleeker, more rounded Audi look of the 90s and probably a more well-rounded cruiser.

The current S4 and RS4 are far more impressive cars than the old B5, but I'm not a big fan of Audi's design direction in the last few years. The B5 body is a classic, beautifully proportioned, wedgey but curvaceous, and understated compared to the current slab-sided, bass-mouthed incarnation. Plus, something about a twin-turbo v6 appeals to me, even over the RS4's v8. Not that I would turn down an RS4, mind you.

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The original M3 has a brilliant racing history, with looks to match. I long for one of these, though ones in decent shape are getting pricey. I've also never driven one, and the high-revving 4-cylinder engine is supposed to demand a lot of attention. good for racing, maybe not the best for tooling around looking cool. those flared wheel wells though, they're brilliant.

The M5 to me is the ultimate touring car -- large and elegant, fast and a bit menacing. I like the original e28 M5, but it looks light and sporty enough to not really convey that sense of imposing touring car. The e34 is more stately, but still with the beautiful older-style grill and round headlights (unlike the other BMWs that would follow in the 90s and beyond).
Mine would be black, the only proper color for this car, in my opinion. Hell, throw in an old-school e28 M5 and the super-elegant e39 as well. I'd say add an e60 too, but that car with its many many HP and V10 and so on seems too over-the-top. maybe the e63 M6.

Since I already have one of these, it seems silly to put it on my "cars I want" list, but the point is I'd keep it even if I could get all kinds of others. Though it'd be a little tempting to upgrade to the S54 engine with the extra horsepower and so on.

Yes, it's another M Coupe. But I like this one too. I really like the Z3 coupe's polarizing hatchback looks, but I have to admit that the fastback on this one is sweet. And though I've generally disliked the designs of BMW's "Bangle era" I think it works on the Z4. Compared to the Z3, the Z4 is more powerful and refined, less raw. So, give me one of each. Color? blue or black.

I think this is one of the best looking small sedans ever made. It's simple and understated, but something about the proportions and the look of the grill and headlights just works. The 510 also has a long and distinguished history both on the street and the racetrack. they're still around too, winning rallies and so forth. I want one, but first I probably need to get better at working on cars and find a place to do it.

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As supercars go, I like the Koenigsegg CCR. The design is beautiful, and something about the fact that it's a Swedish supercar appeals to me -- it seems somehow less ostentatious that way. but damn, it's fast.

I love these cars, and it's hard to pick one favorite. I lean a little toward the Lancia Delta S4, with its boxy 80s hatchbackery and so forth, but the Audi is amazing, and the Metro 6R4 may be the hottest hatch the world has ever seen. One of each please, in full rally colors. Oh, and some rally driving lessons too.

Lotus is distinguished by great handling and light weight, getting incredible racing performance out of cars that are lighter and less powerful than their competition. The original Esprit was in this tradition, though more of a supercar than any previous Lotus and with eye-catching futuristic looks. Sold as an exotic, it suffered a bit in comparison to other cars with bigger engines, so over its lifetime the Esprit gained a turbo and four more cylinders.

I love the original 70s futurist look. The 80s redesign is a small evolution, and the 90s version became more rounded and less distinctive (though still appealing). I'd like a mid-80s turbo, with the James Bond enhancements.

I think the Exige (and its sibling, the roadster Elise) is the ideal realization of the light and nimble approach to making a racing car. At under 2000 lbs and with a 200hp engine and, they say, perfect handling, it can keep up with more powerful and more expensive cars. at about $50k, it's the bargain supercar. The car is already so look-at-me unusual, it'd seem a shame not to go for the orange or bright green, though I'd be tempted by a stealthy black or dark gray.


(the picture is actually an Elise, in "krypton green")

The classic Porsche. It somehow combines the beauty and sportiness of a Porsche with the minimalist appeal of a VW beetle.
 

I'm actually not a big Porsche fan. Something about the 911 just seems overdone to me -- not that it's flashy, but it just seems kind of hulking and bloated, perhaps just in comparison to the beautiful Porsches of 20 or 40 years ago. and the Boxster is (a) a convertible, which I avoid; and (b) 4 parts dull and 1 part ugly. The new Cayman, on the other hand, seems like the perfect Porsche. it's said to handle like a dream, and though the whole Porsche line (Cayenne excluded) look a little too alike for my tastes, I like the way those design cues look on this car, especially the rear wheel-well bulges and the sharklike gills just in front.

Though there are better cars in various dimensions, I loved my 01 VW GTI vr6. It's one of the best compromises of performance, comfort, luxury, and price around. and the 04 R32 is pretty much the acme of the GTI (at least, the vr6 GTIs), with 40% more horsepower than my GTI and all-wheel drive. there are few cars that can compare as an everyday driver. make mine in that beautiful blue, or maybe in black for a stealthier look.