Photos by Scott Williamson
Collection Classics: The Language of Fine Design
August 3, 2004
Motorcar designers have a language all their own. When a vehicle’s design mimics
animal or human forms, when its surfaces have musclelike definition, designers
call it muscular. Think: catlike, agile, lithe, wiry, sexy, even passionate.
When its overall aesthetic and proportions command attention and suggest
financial success and social distinction, they call it noble. When its forms
appear to have grown biologically, its surfaces blending together seamlessly, it
is said to be organic. When it has a noticeable demeanor, a personality that
could be, say, playful, aggressive, or intimidating, it has attitude. When its
lines and shapes imply motion, when it looks as if it is ready to launch or
leap, it has gesture.
A vehicle with conflicting themes or a design feature
that is purposefully imperfect to generate controversy and interest—perhaps when
two surfaces meet in an unexpected way or a detail is deliberately
exaggerated—is said to have tension. And when a car’s grille, wheels, trim,
badges, and ornamentation have particular flare in chrome or any bright,
scintillating finish, it has bling. Think showy style, like sparkling oversize
jewelry on athletes and rap stars.
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The Talbot-Lago’s teardrop coachwork does not have a bad angle, and this view
from above is among its best. (Click image to enlarge)The beautiful Talbot-Lago immediately strikes one as highly organic. Every line and every “curvilicious” sweep and swoop flows smoothly into the next. By comparison, the Bugatti seems more muscular, with bulging-biceps fender forms and animal-like grace. And there is serious bling drawing the eye to the big chrome bumpers, flying saucer wheels, and copious body jewelry.
The thick-bodied, chop-topped, block-long Daimler is nothing if not noble. It looks exactly as if it were designed to transport royalty. Both noble and bling also apply to the massively striking Duesenberg roadster, but the word that best describes it is gesture, looking absolutely on the verge of springing from its crouch and attacking some unsuspecting common car. The Voisin seems to look larger than it is, and displays a lot of attitude, with its oversize mascot, boldly sweeping fenders, prominent chrome fender struts, and cockpit-encompassing paint stripe.
With all of this duly considered, we would call them, simply, stunning.
1932 Daimler
Double Six Martin Walter Sport Saloon
Glamorous British film star Anna Neagle was apparently a woman who got what she
wanted, since this magnificent Double Six was commissioned by her husband, a Mr.
Webber, and built by Martin Walter especially for her. Of 26 Double Sixes built,
mostly for royalty over a 10-year period, this is among the longest—its hood
stretches 8 feet, and its 159½-inch wheelbase is a couple inches short of a
Bugatti Royale’s. The model designation derives from the Daimler V-12 engine, a
marriage of two incredibly quiet sleeve-valve sixes with a combined displacement
of 7.1 liters. Neagle’s long, low, black H.R. Owens–designed sports saloon won
England’s Eastbourne Concours d’Elegance when new in 1932 and (following a
five-year restoration) Best of Show at Pebble Beach in 1999.
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