The Automotive Renaissance of the 1960’s

Posted on Sep 21, 2019 in Antique | Comments Off on The Automotive Renaissance of the 1960’s

Every gear head has a favorite era in automotive history. For me it has always been the 1960’s, not just because I grew up in that era, but because it was a time when every major carmaker created an icon. From 1960 to 1969, creating the automotive equivalent of the “Mona Lisa” was ordinary.

Lincoln Continental

Within a span of 10 years, European car makers created more sought after, collectable and beautiful rolling art than any other time in history. Think about it…it was like everyone was Michelangelo, Renoir and Van Gogh at the same time. In England, Jaguar created the XJ6 and the iconic E-Type, considered the “Most Beautiful Car of all Time.” British Leyland designed and produced the symbol of the sixties, the Mini. Aston Martin produced the most recognizable car of all time, the DB5 (James Bond’s car) and the legendary DB6. Rolls Royce created the Silver Shadow, the first all new Roller with unitized construction. Intermixed were the small manufacturers like Jensen, MG and Triumph, all producing iconic vehicles.

Aston Martin DB5 – JB007

In Italy it was virtually an automotive renaissance with Ferrari creating the 250GT Lusso, the 250GTO, the 275 GTB/4, the 250 GT California, and the 365 GTB/4 Daytona. At the same time Alfa Romeo created the Spider Duetto, the GTA, the Giulia and the Tipo 33 Stradale. Smaller Italian manufacturers included Maserati with the 3500 GTI and the Mistral, Iso with the Grifo, and DeTomaso with the Mangusta. Finally, to crown Italy as the true masters of car design, Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A. was created in 1963, and the world’s first true supercar was produced in 1967, the Miura.

DeTomaso Mangusta

For the rest of the world it was not business as usual, with each creating its own masterpiece. In France, Peugeot created the hard working 504, Panhard produced the simple but beautiful 24, and Citroen was still building its 1955 DS Goddess. Other master works included Volvo with the P1800 and 140 series and Saab with the amazing 99. Japan produced the beautiful Toyota 2000GT and the enduring Datsun 240Z. Germany had the Mercedes-Benz SL Pagoda and BMW the cute 2000 and 2002. But the top of the list is the legendary Porsche 911. It remains on sale today with virtually the same shape.

Porsche 911

In the US, the artwork was different from Europe. Instead of a classic Vermeer, we were creating a Jackson Pollack. The cars were not as iconic as a Ferrari GTO or a Porsche 911, but still breathtaking in their own rite. Styling in America started in the 1920’s, peaked in the 1950’s and died a terrible death in the 1970’s. Most of the cars produced beyond 1969 were either hideous barges or anonymous blobs not worth mentioning. Following the excess of the 1959 model year, the automotive stylists of the time started to clean up their act. Gone were the gobs of chrome and Batman tail fins. Car stylists focused on smaller, lighter and cleaner designs.

Studebaker Avanti

The style of the time dictated a clean “Mad Men” look, following the understated examples set by Hollywood stars and fashion designers like Chanel and Oleg Cassini. This was a time of Jackie Kennedy and the pillbox hat, Audrey Hepburn, Steve McQueen and Cary Grant.

Chevrolet Chevelle

1961 was the year that Elwood Engel designed the Lincoln Continental, and its slab sided understated elegance would continue in his work with Chrysler on the Imperial. The 1960’s also ushered in the birth of the pony car and muscle car. These smaller and lighter vehicles brought sportiness to the American roads. Stylists were allowed one last hurrah during the sixties, and produced some of the most beautiful American cars of all time. From the clean styling of the original Plymouth Barracuda, to the aggressive personal luxury look of the 64 Buick Riviera, these were definitely works of art.

Buick Riviera

The decade starts with two holdovers from the decadent fifties, the Chevrolet Impala and the Cadillac. Both have styling cues left over from the previous model years, but the overall tone is one of a drive toward subtlety. This trend is demonstrated by the evolution of the Ford Thunderbird, a car that was originally to be redesigned with the Continental’s body, but instead became the bullet bird, an icon as famous as its 1950’s sister.

Ford Thunderbird

The 1960’s also brought the split window Corvette, a car that to this day is one of the most desirable Corvette’s on the market. Chevrolet produced the Corvair, the Ralph Nader “Death Car” whose clean styling still looks fresh 50 years later. One of my favorites is the cleanly styled 1964 Chevy Chevelle. This trend was epitomized with the revolutionary Raymond Loewy designed Studebaker Avanti, a car that was still manufactured 40 years (on and off) after the demise of Studebaker.

Chevrolet Corvette

Pony cars were introduced with the iconic Ford Mustang in 1964. Included in this list is my favorite…not Eleanor from Gone in 60 Seconds, but the Steve McQueen “Bullit” car, a 1968 390 V8 Ford Mustang GT fastback in (of course) Hunter Green. Chevrolet played catch up to the Mustang with the Camaro, and the 1967-68 model is another of my favorites, and the most collectable.

Chevrolet Camaro

Muscle cars were born in the 1960’s, and included icons like the 1967 Pontiac GTO, the 1968 Dodge Charger, Oldsmobile 442 and the Chevrolet Chevelle SS. These cars were huge, powerful and beautiful in an aggressive way not seen before. Ford tried to compete with the Cyclone and Torino, but never achieved the cache of the GM and Mopar cars.

Pontiac GTO

As the 1960’s drew to a close the market was leaning towards personal luxury cars, and cars designed by committee. The atrocities performed on cars like the Thunderbird are to this day almost unspeakable. Federal mandates and the consumers need for more steel dictated bulk and not style, and the era of the automotive stylists came to a virtual end.

Dodge Charger

The 1970’s, 80’s and even 90’s did not produce many good cars, either in quality or looks. In fact, it wasn’t until recently that the time of the designer started to breathe again. Companies like Kia are starting to use designers to reshape entire brands, and the Optima is an excellent example of how one great stylist can change the financial future of an automaker. Today, cars like the Optima, Nissan Cube, Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro are good examples that there is hope for the automotive manufacturers.

Plymouth Barracuda

While some may disagree, I cannot think of another period in automotive history that was so rich with rolling art and masterpieces as the swinging 60’s. In a world that included the Cuban Missile Crisis, the space race, the civil rights battle, the assassinations of JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King Jr., Vietnam, the Six Day War, counterculture and the British invasion…it is astounding that such beauty was able to be created.

Mercury Cougar

Chrysler Imperial