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Beauties to behold even after 2,500 years

Published: 12th March 2021 Author: Robin Roberts

Online version: https://www.wheelswithinwales.uk/beauties-to-behold-even-after-2500-years/

A mathematical ratio dating back 2,500 years has been used to analyse the aesthetics of performance cars over the last 70 years.

The study conducted by carwow analysed the proportions of 197 of the world’s most powerful cars and then compared them to ‘the golden ratio’ – a mathematic measure for perfect proportions.

The top 10 is dominated by classic sports cars from the 60s and 70s, but it’s the 2019 SP1 that takes the top spot as the world’s most beautiful performance car, according to science.

Ferrari states the limited-edition Monza SP is “probably the closest and purest driving www.wheelswithinwales.uk

experience to Formula 1”. With a top speed of more than 186 mph, and fewer than 500 likely to be produced, it’s rare, fast, valuable, and also the closest performance car in the world to mathematical design perfection.

The Ferrari Monza SP is in fact the only car from the last decade to make the top 10. Seven of the top 10 are from the 1960s, and the remaining 2 are from 1974. And although the winning Ferrari is a modern car, Ferrari states the design of The Monza SP1 uses a ‘modern aesthetic to reinterpret a timeless style’ which once and for all proves the classics really are the most beautiful.

Three other also appear in the top 10; What Is the Golden Ratio and How Is It Used? the 1967 GTC Speciale in third, the Historically used by architects and artists in pursuit of 1962 GTO in fifth and the 1967 perfection, and famously used in Michelangelo’s painting, Ferrari 330 P4 in seventh, taking the Italian car The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel designer’s top 10 total to four – the highest of – The golden ratio is used as a benchmark for ideal all manufacturers. proportions and beauty. The Top 10 Most Beautiful Performance Cars By measuring and comparing the distance between Since 1950 and the % alignment to the golden different set points on an object and turning this into a ratio: ratio, it’s possible to establish how aligned it is to the 1. 2019 Ferrari Monza SP1 (61.75%) golden ratio. 2. 1964 Ford GT40 (61.64%) Often, the time-honoured ratio is used to analyse the 3. 1967 Ferrari 330GTC Speciale (61.15%) beauty of human faces, but this time it’s the ‘faces’ of cars 4. 1974 Lotus Elite (60.07%) that have been studied. carwow plotted 14 different points 5. 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (59.95%) on each front-on view of the cars, for example, the 6. 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray headlights, the wing mirrors and the corners of the (58.86%) windscreen. 7. 1967 Ferrari 330 P4 (58.65%) Using that data, the research team at carwow then 8. 1974 Alfa Romeo Alfetta (58.53%) computed and compared the distance ratios between 9. 1966 Lamborghini Miura (57.83%) these points, to reveal how closely their design followed 10. 1969 Indy (57.75%) the proportions of the golden ratio.