Sports car design in the 70’s and 80’s was defined by bold angular lines, wedge-like silhouettes, and pop-up headlights. These iconic design elements not only defined the Italian poster cars, but were incorporated into the design language of more accessible European and Japanese sports cars of the time.
This aesthetic was pioneered in the late 60’s to the mid to early 70’s by two Italian automotive designers in particular: Marcello Gandini and Giorgetto Giugiaro. Both of these designers debuted concepts for mid-engined, wedge shaped sports cars in 1968, and were responsible for designing vehicles for Lamborghini, Ferrari, DeTomaso, Alfa Romeo, and Lotus. In 1971, Pininfarina entered the game as well, with Leonardo Fioravanti designing the Ferrari 365 GT4 BB and all subsequent mid engined 12 cylinder Ferraris. All of these mid-engined sports cars had tall hips, angular rooflines, low noses, and the signature flat hood/popup headlight combination consistent with the design language of the 80’s. Note the lack of spoilers, splitters, skirts, and diffusers – these were added as options later in the lifecycle of the design.
1975 Lotus Esprit, Designed by Giugiaro
1974 Lamborghini Countach, Designed by Gandini
The public infatuation with the aesthetic of the iconic italian wedges of the early 70’s resulted in a large shift in German sports car design going into the 80’s. Seeing the popularity of the Giugiaro designed Lotus Esprit, BMW contracted him to design their signature M1 in 1978. This design was entirely removed from the design language of its predecessors, as BMWs of the time were known for boxy profiles with soft edges. While the signature wedge shape, mid engined layout and pop-up headlights weren’t implemented into any normal BMW cars, the aggressive corners, flared fenders, and low splitters were adopted in the following M series cars.
1978 BMW M1, Designed by Giugiaro
While it could be argued that the tiny Porsche 914 (debuted in 1969) followed this aesthetic, the company went all in on the design style in the late 70’s. Porsche released their lineup of wedge shaped, front engined cars (the 924, 928, and 944) beginning in 1978. In 1982, the company even began offering a “slantnose” option that flattened the signature fenders and replaced the round headlights of the 911 with pop-up headlights.
Porsche 944, 1983
The influence of the Italian design language of the 1970’s permeated into Japanese design as well. Toyota’s MR2 sports car offered the signature Italian look of the slant nose, angular roofline, mid-engined supercar and offered it at a relatively reasonable price. Toyota’s Supra offered a similar aesthetic with a larger front-mounted engine. Similarly, the SA and FB generation Mazda RX7s offered the slantnose look at a relatively low price.
Picture of first gen MR2
The Italians (and Lotus) continued to iterate and produce cars using this same aesthetic through the 80’s, albeit with some minor changes. While initial mid-engined wedge cars introduced in the early 70’s remained fairly clean, the 80’s saw rise to heavy accessorization with features such as: large rear wings, splitters, side skirts, extra intakes, strakes, and louvers. These iconic additional design features can be best illustrated by later iterations of the Countach (the 25th anniversary especially), or the iconic Ferrari Testarossa.
1984 Ferrari Testarossa, Designed by Fioravanti
The rise of retro-modernist automotive design in recent years has brought the aggressive design language of the 70’s and 80’s back into the public eye. Cars such as the Ferrari F80, Tesla Cybertruck, Hyundai N Vision 74, and the modernized return of the Lamborghini Countach employ sharp creases and aggressive silhouettes that evoke feelings of nostalgia while somehow still capturing the same futuristic aesthetic they had in the 70’s.
Citations
Csaba Csere. “What to Buy: 1983—1991 Porsche 944.” Car and Driver, Car and Driver, 24 Nov. 2024, www.caranddriver.com/features/a62894336/what-to-buy-1983-1991-porsche-944/. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
D, Nick. “Lotus Esprit S1 – Ultimate Guide.” Supercars.net, 22 Apr. 2016, www.supercars.net/blog/1976%E2%86%921980-lotus-esprit-s1/. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Lorio, Joe. “1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 Periscopio Is Today’s BaT Auction Pick.” Car and Driver, 27 May 2022, www.caranddriver.com/news/a40108154/1975-lamborghini-countach-lp400-auction/. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Motorcar Classics. “Motorcar Classics.” Motorcarclassics.com, 2019, www.motorcarclassics.com/1988-ferrari-testarossa-c-497.htm. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Perez, Jeff. “BMW M1 with 8,400 Miles Features an Eye-Watering Price Tag.” Motor1, Motor1.com, 28 July 2017, www.motor1.com/news/175176/1980-bmw-m1-for-sale/. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Tyer, Ben. “Supercar Nostalgia.” Supercar Nostalgia, 14 Nov. 2021, supercarnostalgia.com/blog/toyota-mr2-w10. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
4 Comments. Leave new
I greatly enjoyed reading this post and found the history of this design aesthetic very interesting. I really enjoyed how you discussed the origin of the aesthetic starting with two Italian inventors which eventually blended into other markets such as JDM.
As I read through this post and learned about the extended production of cars that followed this aesthetic for decades, I became curious of the reasons that this design aesthetic went away with later vehicle production. What are the reasons that this design aesthetic is no longer seen in modern day vehicle production? Are there some modern vehicles that still have this design aesthetic? I found this topic very interesting. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks David, general consensus is that the introduction of computer modeling and a heavy emphasis on aerodynamics allowed for more optimal shapes to be produced. I personally believe that this design language also became dated in the public eye, so car manufacturers moved to a more rounded design language in the late 90s’ / early 2000’s. Also, I believe pop up headlights became rare after projector headlights became widely available, as well as some restrictions due pedestrian safety laws in Europe. Someone made a great post on this as well.
Vox has a great article about why this aesthetic eventually fell out of favor if you’re interested.
Hello Jacob,
I think this post provides a comprehensive overview of sports car design from the 70s and 80s, particularly focusing on Italian, European, and Japanese cars while highlighting key figures in design, such as Marcello Gandini and Giorgetto Giugiaro. The visual representation of the car clearly illustrates what you mean by the wedge shape that characterized the design they were pursuing.
One thing I am certainly curious about is your opinion on the design trends happening in America at the time, particularly the boxy and squared-off shapes seen in cars like the late 1960s Mustang or the 1970s Camaro and Firebird. Were these aesthetics appealing to other markets, or was the design language of Italian cars far more desirable? What led to the phasing out of this type of design language, and why? Additionally, why is there a desire to bring back aspects of these designs in the context of retro-modernism?
Thanks Daniel! I really wanted to talk about American car design, and the impact this aesthetic had on consumer vehicles, but didn’t include it due to length. I personally love the aesthetic of these cars, particularly the fox body mustang, and the longevity of this generation indicates that these cars were fairly well received in the American market. This design language was phased out due to the advent of computer modeling, public fatigue, the death of the pop up headlight, and an emphasis on aerodynamics. I believe that there’s a desire to bring this aesthetic back in IC vehicles due to nostalgia, as the aesthetic has become so dated that it’s now novel. In the case of EV’s, I think that there’s a combination of the desire to look futuristic and capitalize on the nostalgia of the past.