Our art editor explains which view of a car is best
So which is best? The front or rear of cars? There’s been much heated debate in the office recently, and we’d like to poll your views. We spend our lives in the driving seat, looking at the behinds of cars in front, yet most people reckon that cars’ derrieres are less appealing than their faces.
I, on the other hand, prefer the rear view; it’s more more aggressive and often more distinctive, too. Say you’re following a Ferrari – seeing and hearing it from behind makes it so much more exciting than a quick flash of a front. With increasing alarm, all cars are starting to look similar, yet rear views still distinguish a car’s appearance. Take for example the rear of a 911. It’s the view that I consider the defining shape of the iconic Porsche, not the front. It’s the same with the details at the back of a Maser MC12.
Not everyone gets the back end right, though. Mercs look better from the front, but I think designers are paying more attention to details – the exhaust layout, design and pipe count, for instance – to make the rear-ends more distinctive. And that’s an admission the back is just as important as the front. Isn’t it?