Contents

Introduction

Ford Model T 1908

GN Cyclecar 1910

Austin Seven c.1922–28

Bugatti Type 35B 1924

Salmson San Sebastian 1925

Tracta 1927

Dymaxion 1933

Citroën Traction Avant 1934

Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic 1936

Tatra T87 1936

BMW 328 1937

Alfa Romeo 8c 2900B Le Mans special 1938

Cisitalia Berlinetta 1946

Original Volkswagen 1946

Ferrari 125S 1947

Land Rover 1948

Piaggio Ape 1948

Citroën 2CV 1949

Buick LeSabre concept car 1951

Bertone BAT 1953

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint 1954

Fiat Turbina 1954

Panhard Dyna 1954

Citroën DS 1955

Fiat 600 1955

Austin FX4 taxi 1956

Lotus Elite 1957

Trabant 1957

Mini 1959

Saab 96 1960

Citroën Ami 1961

Jaguar E-Type 1961

Lamborghini 350 GTV 1963

Ford GT40 1964

Chevrolet Corvair 1965

Lamborghini Miura 1965

NSU Ro 80 1967

Bertone Carabo show car 1968

Range Rover 1970

Alfasud 1971

Austin Allegro 1973

VW Golf 1974

BMW 3 Series 1975

Lancia Megagamma 1978

Mazda RX7 1978

Audi 100 1983

Toyota Prius 1997

Fiat Multipla 1998

Nissan Cube 1998

Smart 1998

Index

Picture Credits

Credits

FIFTY
CARS

The car, as we know it, may well be facing oblivion in a world trying to convince itself that it is committed to reducing carbon-dioxide emissions, and rescuing its cities from the endless sprawl that comes from suburbs at densities that can survive only with car commuting. Yet for a century, the car has been a remarkably powerful catalyst for change, whose influence can be compared easily with that of the aeroplane or microchip.

From its earliest incarnations on, the car has demanded consideration – and indeed attracted veneration – on multiple levels: as sculptural object, as the product of avant-garde industrialism, and as a remarkable piece of engineering. Thus early cars borrowed their formal expression from their nearest relatives, the horse-drawn carriages; Ford famously modelled the first car production line on the techniques of the Chicago meatpackers; and the first steps towards self-propelled mechanical motion can be found in the eighteenth century. Equally, the car has been used as a measure of national prestige – hence the successive attempts of Iran, Malaysia, Turkey, Brazil, India and China to establish themselves as global carmakers.

At the Design Museum we believe it is important to take these wider contexts into account, and not simply to focus on formal issues, no matter how seductive the stylistics can be. Our collection includes, for example, a wooden prototype of the car designed by Le Corbusier in 1928 and a Nissan S Cargo from 1987, one of the first examples of a car made by a mainstream carmaker that acknowledges the playful, emotional aspects of car design.

Deyan Sudjic, Director, Design Museum

The Jaguar E-type – a British icon in car design.