Most Beautiful Car Interiors

[groomi]

Not bothered about classic/modern or wood/aluminium/carbon etc. Just show me pictures of the best looking interiors you have ever seen.

I'll kick off with the simple elegance of the Bugatti Atlantique:

[groomi]

Celt said:

groomi said:

Not bothered about classic/modern or wood/aluminium/carbon etc. Just show me pictures of the best looking interiors you have ever seen.

I'll kick off with the simple elegance of the Bugatti Atlantique:

Is that wheel off a ship? looks massive!

It is a big wheel (as all were back then), but that photo also has a lot of foreshortening as the steering column protrudes from the dash much, much more than any modern car - about a foot and a half I'd guess.

[groomi]

DjSki said:

Pure, functional beauty?

GT40?

[groomi]

I'm surprised at the lack of classic mentioned on this thread. In an effort to redress the balance somewhat:


'Stang - how many years do those 'dial pods' pre-date the Tuscan?


550 Spyder - Simple elegance


Mini - Functional simplicity


250 California - Beautiful

[groomi]

s3fella said:

Nolar Dog said:

This.

I've had one from new, just done over 100k miles this week! It's a great interior IMO, never get bored of it!! Still looks mint too !! !

That's a lot of miles to do in one day - especially in snow!

[groomi]

Los Angeles said:

m8tt c said:

Makes me happy being here!

Beautiful. Attention to period tradition and detail superb. Always wondered why the dash runs short, passenger side. Any explanation?

Presumably a true nod to tradition where the dash was simply somewhere to put the instruments.

[groomi]

Los Angeles said:

groomi said:

Presumably a true nod to tradition where the dash was simply somewhere to put the instruments.

It's an irritation to the eye, the lack of symmetry, as if it's incomplete.

It's only because your mind has been conditioned to expect it to go all the way across.

[groomi]

OK, some fabulous pictures posted in response to my original post. Now let's move it on a bit...

From what we've looked at what do you think are the essential ingredients for 'beautiful interiors'? Does it have to have wood or leather or metal or intricate dials or toggle switches etc. etc? Does it ave to be all one colour or do two or three colours give a better atmosphere?

What are the specific details and/or features which make an interior special?

[groomi]

Los Angeles said:

groomi said:

What are the specific details and/or features which make an interior special?

Good proportion to volume, exact colour harmony, tactile elements that offer visual interest, a feeling of intimacy, high quality of materials, understatement, driver focussed instruments, night illumination ambiance.

JD said:

groomi said:

What are the specific details and/or features which make an interior special?

By the looks of things, it has to be either British or Italian!

Interesting! "High quality materials" and "driver focussed" could easily be found in many/most Germanic interiors - yet these are specifically excluded in JD's comment.

From this can we construe that these are not "essential" requirements for a beautiful interior?

[groomi]

taldo50 said:

not sure it qualifys as beautifull however i used to have one of these exactly the same and loved every moment i spent in it, i used to look forward to getting into it for a journey, especially when going to scotland to see the mrs's folks.

Indeed, a nice place to spend time in. Mine had the full wooden dash (where the dials are) and the non-airbag steering wheel which was a bit more elegant.

I preferred the XJ40 interior to my X308 to be honest.

[groomi]

Agoogy said:

Is nice.... but...leather - check
aluminium - check

oh hell lets have wood too...

and a belt...

Agreed. The belt is a tacky retro add-on and the wood is perhaps a little out of place. But you are suggesting these and the wood and aluminum are a 'cliche'. So what would you suggest as a contemporary material (and don't say carbon fibre)?

Not stirring, just genuinely interested in peoples thoughts on this.

[groomi]

sleep envy said:

flock or leather - painted plastic, tree and carbon trim has, IMO, no place in a car interior

So that leave aluminium and unpainted plastic then? Or are you harking back to the days of vinyl and velour?

[groomi]

sleep envy said:

groomi said:

So that leave aluminium and unpainted plastic then? Or are you harking back to the days of vinyl and velour?

all panels can be trimmed and it's more resiliant compared to highly polised surfaces

the Zonda has a mix of to many different materials (leather, tree, aluminium, carbon) which makes it look like a mess especially with the red quilting - look around the gearstick, from top to bottom you've got all 4 within 15cm of each other

why have wood for the tactile bits?

the centre dash console and handbrake cowling don't need to be carbon - they look very much an afterthought

ETA - I'd hate to image what the glare/reflection is like on the winscreen from the dashtop carbon

Edited by sleep envy on Tuesday 3rd February 15:35

That's all well and good, but what would you like to see?

[groomi]

sleep envy said:

thought I'd explained that?

lose the wood and unnecessary carbon as a minimum

Sorry, I mis-read your earlier post thinking that you didn't like flock or Leather.