Sleek and elegant, powerful and fast: the Museum Kunstpalast shows classic sports cars from the 1950s to the 1970s. Curator Barbara Til explains why they are part of the history of European design.
Image: Oliver Sold
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5 cult cars
The exhibition at the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf shows that cars are part of the history of European design. Here are five of the classic models on show.
Image: Oliver Sold
Porsche 911 (1967)
The classic Porsche model is a dream car for many, even if it's extremely difficult to shift gears and is stiff on the road — back pain sufferers also soon realize that its deep seats are bad news. Yet the model introduced in 1963 remains a favorite, with the millionth 911 rolling off the assembly line in 2017. A blue 911 like the one pictured is very rare these days.
Image: Oliver Sold
Lamborghini Miura P400 (1968)
This expensive sports car might look like a toy car from afar, but it features sophisticated technology. Its V12 engine producing 350 horsepower made it one of the fastest cars of its time — indeed, when first released in 1966 it was the quickest production road car ever produced. Meanwhile, its entire body was handmade.
Image: Oliver Sold
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale (1957)
The elegant Alfa Romeo Giulietta was the antithesis of high-performance race cars. The car was particularly popular in Italy and in Germany as well, as much for its space-age aesthetics than its 1300cc engine. Its white lines and wheel discs added to its special chic. The model pictured above was only a prototype.
Image: CARRSTUDIO/Collezione Lopresto
Jaguar E Coupé (1961)
A cult object among elegant sports cars, this high performance Jaguar with 24 Hours of Le Man racing roots also made it into film history. In the movie "Harold and Maude" from 1971, the coupe with a top speed of around 250 kilometers-an-hour played a central role: Harold modifies a Jaguar E into a hearse.
Image: Michel Zumbrunn
Bizzarrini GT Strada 5300 (1968)
Color still strongly influences the image of a sports car. In the 1950s, pastels hues were often chosen for modish cars, such as "gazelle beige" and "dolphin blue," as the colors were described at the time. Later in the 1970s, brighter hues came into play. While color trends come and go, red never went out of fashion — especially when it came to Italian sports cars.
Image: Oliver Sold
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Düsseldorf's Museum Kunstpalast's exhibition "CARS – Driven by Design. Sports Cars from the 1950s to the 1970s" runs from September 27, 2018 through February 10, 2019.
DW spoke to Barbara Til, head of the museum's sculpture and design department and the show's curator, about classy cars of that era.
DW: Thirty cars mounted on pedestals, showcased like sculptures — are these sports cars works of art?
Barbara Til: Yes, sports cars are art because they have this very sculpted look and because the desire for aesthetic design was a key argument, in particular concerning luxury sports cars.
What were your criteria for choosing the cars that eventually made it to the show?
It wasn't just their beauty, many of the cars included in the exhibition actually polarize. Take the Lamborghini Countach: It's angular, geometric and aggressively martial. Some people like that and others don't. But it is a car that has definite sculptural contours. Such cars set the style for automobiles to come.
Classic style: Sergio Pininfarina observes a Ferrari model in TurinImage: AP
Are the cars presented chronologically?
The show starts off with a 1946 Cisitalia Berlinetta created by Italian automobile designer Battista Pinin Farina himself. That car really is exemplary for the 1950s. a sports car with integrated fenders and headlights. Before WWII, fenders were almost always bolted on.
But the cars in the exhibition weren't just influential concerning style, they also boasted extraordinary design details.
Were Italian designers like Battista "Pinin" Farina, who designed famous sports cars for Ferrari and Alfa Romeo, always a step ahead in international car design the 1950s and 1960s?
Yes, they were. Turin, Bologna, and Maranello in northern Italy are the classic strongholds of first-rate automobile design — that's also true for fashion, furniture and interior design. So yes, the Italians set the tone. They also worked for German automakers. Giorgio Giugiaro for instance designed the VW Golf compact car.
How did these designers work? Did they create sculpture-like models to get a feel for the contours?
That varied. Some designers, including Franco Scalione, worked entirely without models, others drafted their plans and then built wooden models. Whatever the approach, it was always very hands-on and sculptural.
Why did you restrict the exhibits to the 1950s through the 1970s?
That was the Golden Age of automobile manufacturing, in particular for sports cars. Then the oil crisis forced German and Italian manufacturers to put on hold production of powerful gas-guzzling sports cars, followed by a focus on security aspects, also in sports car manufacturing. For a long time, everything was possible design-wise and no one ever asked, is that safe? Many of the cars in the exhibition are anything but roadworthy, and they are hard to drive.
A legendary design: the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLImage: Daimler AG
The early sports cars were not very luxurious or comfortable, unlike today. Does your show trace the history of sports car design?
The cars were still bulky and angular in the 1960s through the early 1970s, just look at the AC Shelby Cobra, a real race car and powerhouse, but economical. We also have a Ferrari California — it looked like a race car but it has a luxurious interior. Just take one look at the dashboard.
How important were colors? Are some colors typical for the era?
That's an important aspect of the show. There's no doubt, in the 1950s, the trend ran to muted pastel colors. Cheerful, light colors, but muted. We've got a lovely sky blue Alfa Romeo on display, a typical color for the '50s.
Colors were more vibrant in the 1960s and 1970s. The sports cars were wider, more aggressive-looking, painted orange or bright green. They drew attention back then, and they draw the visitors to the exhibition today, too.
Ferrari, big picture star
The cult car has starred in different films and TV series. In some cases, the valuable Ferrari even needs a double, just like a top actor.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Universal Studios
'Magnum, P.I.': Ferrari 308 GTS
Private investigator Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) lives on the estate of a rich author in Hawaii. His employer provides room and board — and a Ferrari, in which Magnum chases criminals. Originally, it was supposed to be a Porsche 928, but Porsche rejected the request. Ferrari, however, grabbed the opportunity to advertise its models. And that's how the 308 GTS became known as the "Magnum Ferrari."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Universal Studios
'Miami Vice': the Testarossa
Don Johnson became THE fashion trendsetter of the 1980s by embodying policeman Sonny Crockett in the "Miami Vice" series. His white Ferrari certainly contributed to the cult. The model's name, "Testarossa," means "red head," which refers to the red valve caps of the 12-cylinder motor.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Photoreporters
'Miami Vice,' the film : Ferrari 430 Spider
Tubbs and Crockett reloaded: In 2006, the cult series was adapted into a film, starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell in the role of the detectives. They work undercover, chasing gangsters in a silver F 430. One of the special features of the model is that it emits blue flames from the exhausts when given full throttle.
Driving a Ferrari 355 GTS, Russian agent Xenia Onatopp races against James Bond's famous Aston Martin DB5. While agent 007 enjoys the speed during the car chase, it freaks out the person riding with him, as well as a bunch of cyclists they meet on a road that's obviously narrow, steep and curvy. The race ends with Bond letting the Russian agent drive away.
Image: picture-alliance/United Archives
'Rush': Ferrari 312 T
Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) is believed to be a far better driver than his rival James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth). They meet in a particularly dangerous race on Germany's notorious Nürburgring track, often dubbed the "green hell." Prior to the race, Lauda becomes the victim of a disastrous accident, suffering heavy burns. The 2013 film is based on true events during the Formula 1 season in 1976.
Image: Jaap Buitendijk/Universum Film
'Le Mans': Ferrari 512 S
The mother of all car racing films feels like a thrilling documentary. Starring as racing driver Michael Delaney, Steve McQueen faces his rival, Ferrari pilot Erich Stahler (Siegfried Rauch) in a Porsche 917. During the 24-hour race of Le Mans, the two of them get involved in a very tough battle. There isn't much dialogue in this film from 1971, but that's compensated by spectacular racing scenes.
The two inspectors, Lowrey (Will Smith) and Burnett (Martin Lawrence), are tracing a gang of drug dealers. The climax of this 2003 film is a four-minute car race during which quite a few cars end up exploding, burning, or flying around in the air. But the tough Ferrari survives the carnage with just a few little wounds and a broken spotlight.
In this action comedy from 2011, an extremely rare exemplar of a GT Lusso gets smashed. The car is the property of a crooked stock market mogul who embezzles his clients. He used the Ferrari to hide his money in plain view: Underneath its paint, the car parts are made of gold.
'Ferris Bueller's Day Off': 250 GT Spyder California
In this high school comedy from 1986, Ferris convinces his best friend to borrow his dad's prized Ferrari for a little joy ride. The car is left in a parking garage for a few hours, and the guards there also "borrow" the car, driving it over such a distance that it becomes obvious on the odometer. The boys try to cover up the situation, but that doesn't work out well...
Image: picture-alliance/United Archives/IFTN
'Overdrive': 250 GTO
In this French film from 2017, two car thieves are hired to steal the extremely costly 1937 Bugatti Type 57 from their gangster boss Morier. Their attempt miserably fails, and they are caught by Morier. However, instead of having them killed, Morier grants them another chance: They are to steal the much beloved 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO of Morier's rival, Max Klemp.
