The 50 Best Looking Formula 1 Cars: No. 15 – No. 11
Below is the continuation of the 50 Best Looking Formula 1 Cars series. In this edition you will find cars No. 15-11. Be sure to check out the previous editions to find cars No. 50-16.
15. Alfa Romeo Monoposto Type C
The Type C bears all the resemblances of a classic grand prix car. Short back, long front, and large wheels. Finished off with a coat of red, and a gold plated, intimidating grill, what we have is a stunning 1930s racer.
1935 Alfa Romeo C-8C-35
This particular car was also one of the first to bear the Ferrari prancing horse, as the Scuderia team were then the racing team of Alfa Romeo.
When Alfa Romeo decided it would start putting its name on its race cars (Alfa Corse), Enzo Ferrari packed up shop in 1939 to begin working on what has now become the most famous racing team in the world.
14. Honda RA300
It may have had a short racing history, and looked half finished, yet the RA300 was a fine racing car and easy on the eyes as well.
It was introduced half way through the 1967 Formula One season, competed in four races, won one, and then was retired. Its replacement was less successful, and unfortunately, not so easy on the eyes.
The car bears much resemblance to the Eagle Mk1, but whereas the Eagle Mk1’s paintwork is very much straight out of the 60s (the Shelby Cobra comes to mind), the RA300’s looks as if it was designed only yesterday.
It may not have made the top 10, but without a shadow of a doubt, the RA300 is one of the coolest racing cars of all time.
13. McLaren MP4/5
The MP4/5 was a powerhouse in its day. Bearing the now famous orange and white McLaren livery, the MP4/5 dominated the 1989 season, winning 10 of the 16 races that year.
Senna at the wheel of the McLaren MP4/5.
A championship that was raced down to the wire between McLaren drivers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, the car eventually gave Prost his third driver’s championship after an eventful Japanese Grand Prix.
The next year, McLaren again used the MP4/5, giving it the uninspiring name MP4/5B. However, its performance was nothing but inspiring, providing Senna his second driver’s championship.
Though beautiful, the MP4/5/MP4/5B also looked rather menacing compared to its opponents of the time; the personalities of its drivers, Senna and Prost, seemingly encased within its chassis.
12. Force India VJM07
This entry will no doubt be the most controversial for three reasons, 1) because of its beyond ugly nose, 2) that it’s so high up on the list, and 3) that it’s on the list in the first place.
But regardless of these three factors, here it is, the VJM07, with its proboscis nose and all.
At the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez achieved Force India’s first podium since 2009, with third place in the race.
Yet if we ignore the nose, the VJM07 is actually quite a good looking car. It also has an extremely good looking profile (nose included).
Its livery is some parts vibrant mixed with shade, but at the same time, this isn’t jarring.
And like the Ferrari F14T (spoiler, this one hasn’t made it on to the list), the more you look at the VJM07, the better looking it becomes.
11. Lotus 77
Though its successor (the 78) would garner all the glory, the 77 can still relish in the fact that it is the better looking of the two.
Lotus 77 Formula One car. Photo taken by Luca Varani, August 2005 at Sears Point Circuit, California.
The 77 had a less than lackluster year. So much so, that designer Colin Chapman had already designed and completed the 78 before the season’s end, with its driver, Mario Andretti, wanting to toss it to the curb as quickly as possible.
Though both Chapman and Andretti were correct in assuming the 78 was a better car, with Andretti winning the driver’s championship the following year and Lotus taking the constructor’s, the 77 wasn’t all that bad.
Slated as the ‘best of the rest’ behind the Ferraris, McLarens, and Tyrrells, the Lotus 77 managed one race win and one pole position.