QOTD: The Best Upscale Car Design of the 2010s?
We’ve had two prior posts discussing the highs and lows of automotive design from the decade most recently closed. Both those times we kept our choices in the affordable category, where starting prices were under $100,000 when new. Today we double that limit, and consider upscale designs.
Oh look, here’s one!
It’s the Mercedes-AMG GT. You’ll note there’s no Benz in its name, and that’s because it was developed entirely by AMG. A challenger to Porsche’s 911, AMG hired Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton to assist with the design. The all-new car debuted in 2015 as a coupe and convertible. There are several different versions on sale, including one called the 4-Door Coupe (which is ugly). I’m focused on the coupe version.
On offer at the lower end of today’s budget, the coupe starts at $113,500 and heads up to a reasonable $158,000 for the sportiest R version. A 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 is standard, and all versions are rear-wheel drive. Also standard is the sleek coupe shape with a properly long hood, enormous Silver Arrow in the grille, and excellent surface tension across the entire exterior. In person they have quite a presence, appearing graceful and upscale. I think the AMG GT will go down as a design classic.
But maybe I’m wrong. Do you have a different premium design winner from the 2010s?
[Images: Porsche, Mercedes-Benz]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
More by Corey Lewis
Comments
Join the conversation
No argument with the Mercedes AMG GT, but it is the BMW i8 that floats my boat.
Fisker Karma. Much better looking in person than in pictures.