Wednesday 1st May 2013

Blistered arches = ultimate cool: PH Blog

Blisters, flares - whatever you want to call wide arches Harris has got a thing for them and here's why

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Not unreasonably recently my mind turned to blistered arches - and more specifically to a question centred around blistered arches. Namely: was there ever a car built that didn't benefit from this most excellent styling addition? I am no expert on the genesis of these flares, but have to assume they came to be because of so called 'silhouette' racing in the 70s. Competitors took advantage of rule book loopholes to retain a basic glasshouse and then made space for wider rubber. But genuine blisters are a mostly 80s phenomenon and defined a quasi-motorsport look for people of my generation. Why do the Integrale, E30 M3 and Ur Quattrolook so damn good? It's all in the blisters.

From frumpy hatch to hardcore rally rep

On the magazine page the extra width and aggression never quite made the same impact, but I remember seeing my first 8V Integrale on the road in 1989 and thinking Miki Biasion must have driven it straight from a rally stage. And this was just a distinctly ordinary five door hatchback body with its wings lightly pulled. But the transformation was remarkable.

Same with the E30 M3. The first time you saw one, your jaw slackened slightly and you tried to work out how something so obviously similar to a 316i could look so damned desirable. And even though you knew the rear screen angle was altered, you couldn't actually register it without a reference point, so the arches it was. You just stared at the arches. Aged 10, it was abundantly clear why the Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 never won those group tests. It was not equipped with blisters.

The first generation three-door Vauxhall Nova wore perhaps the most excellent blisters ever seen on a small production hatchback. When they were dropped for the five-door version the car immediately looked pants. Plonk a Porsche 924 next to a 944 and tell me the latter doesn't look profoundly tougher than the former. In fact I cannot think of a situation where blisters haven't improved a shape, unless it was some 80s tuning catastrophe. Doubtless I will now live to regret that last statement.

Audi has worked the blistered look for years

Given how keen the motor industry is to resurrect its past and constantly refer back to previous generations I find it strange that the blisters haven't made a larger comeback. At the moment Audi seems to be the only company willing to play the game - it's no coincidence that the new RS4 is one of the best looking cars on the road just now.

Chris

 

[Foxy81]

Mk1 clio 16v/williams

Mk1 Focus RS

all improved from standard looks by the wider arches, totally agree

[rohrl]

[Tuvra]

Foxy81 said:

Mk1 clio 16v/williams

Mk1 Focus RS

all improved from standard looks by the wider arches, totally agree

+ MKII.

Also :

[NotNormal]

Monkey said:

The first generation three-door Vauxhall Nova wore perhaps the most excellent blisters ever seen on a small production hatchback

The best of the lot was the Nova Sport that tricked the eye into making them look even bigger by the way the graphics were applied.



Agree whole heartedly on the blistered arches = cool subject

[davejones81]

For me the ford racing puma pulled the look off a treat

[chris182]

I read the title and assumed it meant this:



Apparently not

[The Big G]

chris182 said:

I read the title and assumed it meant this:



Apparently not

Me too


My daily has both although one of them is going to be fixed soon.

[Duffman83]

993 GT2 - absolute perfection!

Monkey, got any photos of your old one?

[CYMR0]

chris182 said:

I read the title and assumed it meant this:



Apparently not

You're not alone.

[jones325i]

chris182 said:

I read the title and assumed it meant this:



Apparently not

Me too!

[aarondbs]

rohrl said:

that is simply stunning. I think the dimma Peugeot 205 took the idea too far however

[Crusoe]

standard s class looks like it is trying too hard, thought they were aftermarket rear arches when I first saw one.

[Kawasicki]

I too am a fan of the widened arch. I think I like the fact that the proportions turn from pedestrian to aggressive with little effort. The 944 was one of my favourite cars as a kid, and I bought one because of that.

This 924 is one of my favourite competition cars





I just want to drive one, very fast!

[Risotto]

Even better if they're bolted on!

[mikial]

There are exceptions ...

[OllieC]

love this on cars

cant go wrong with an X pack Crapi :

[Kawasicki]

Crusoe said:

standard s class looks like it is trying too hard, thought they were aftermarket rear arches when I first saw one.

Many modern Mercedes try too hard.

[crofty1984]

Am I right in thinking the later Lotus Excel didn't actually have wider arches, they just pinched the bonnet in a bit? Still looks awesome.

[BS75]

Funny the article ends with the current RS4 as a good example of flared arches lookign awesome, because the previous RS4 is one case where the arches were NOT an improvement on the basic car. Unflared looked elegant and quite classy, but flared (awesomness of the RS4 aside) did actually look a bit naff...to my eyes at least.

[anonymous-user]

Always loved the X-pack Mk2