Tag: Things of beauty

Art, music, whatever

One Step Better

Drive Time

I remember that back in the late 1960s, Ford (Europe) came out with a little gem of a car which was, quite frankly, the coolest car on the block.  It was meant to be the European version of the Mustang, and to be honest, I actually preferred the Capri’s shape and styling:

Of course, most of the car reviewers sniffed and called it “Cortina’s cousin” (Cortina being Ford’s top-selling brand everywhere outside the U.S.), but the hell with them, because they knew nothing.

A buddy had one and I loved going out with him and our girlfriends of a weekend night, because the Capri not only looked cool, it was a joy to drive, with handling which rivaled the Fiats and Alfa Romeos of the time.  Even its little 1600cc four-banger had excellent performance, and was only constrained by its silly 4-speed gearbox (which was still silky-smooth, and its tiny stick-shift made gear changes quicker than any Alfa).  The Capri was, I think, the best-looking compact car of its class during the 1970s, bar none, and I wept bitter tears when Ford stopped making them.  (Hell, I wouldn’t mind one today.)

I don’t know if GM (Europe) copied the Capri or it was just coincidence, but in 1970 they released a similar model called the Manta under their Opel brand.  Here’s its first incarnation, the Manta A:

Of course, it never sold anything like the numbers of the Capri (over 1.9 million Capris, vs. fewer than 500,000 of the Manta A), but that’s not what I want to talk about here.

While the Capri was progressively “souped up” over its lifetime, the Manta wasn’t (except in the United States, where the imported models were often modified).  But what Opel did (and which Ford never did for the Capri) was to make a sporty GT version of the Manta.  Here it is:

Apart from the headlights, this is one seriously-pretty little car*.  I saw several of them back in South Africa, and let me tell you, they were crowd-stoppers.  (Many people scoffed at them, of course, calling them the “poor man’s Dino” but hell:  I was poor, couldn’t afford a Dino, and I would have bought a Manta GT in a flash if given the opportunity.)

Okay, this is yet another in the series of “Stuff That Kim Thinks Looked Better Back Then”, but I challenge you to find any modern-day GM (or Ford, for that matter) car that can compare with the Manta GT.  The front looks a lot like the Corvette Stingray of the the 1960s, of course, but in terms of size the Manta was a midget by comparison.

*Yes, I also know that the Manta GT looks something like the Renault Alpine A110 (also of the 1960s), but then again I think the Renault’s gorgeous too:

Total Gorgeousity

Beauty, Drive Time

Last weekend, fiend Reader Mr. Lion jogged my memory about a certain car that I’ve always loved simply because it is so beautiful.  (Forget actually driving one:  they cost well over a million dollars, if  you could find someone willing to part with theirs.  Good luck.)

Anyway, here it is, the Ferrari 250 California Spyder, from 1958. 

Ferrari made several variations of the 250 over the years.  One of my favorites is the rather more conservative GTL Lusso:

Then there’s the (much) racier GTO:

I could go on, but there’s only so much one can stand, really.  Your favorite 250 models in Comments, if you like.

Wet

Travels

My wallpaper for the past few days (right-click & open in new tab to embiggen):

I know, it would be nice to show a beautiful street scene without graffiti.  Good luck finding one anywhere in Europe these days.

Regardless:  I need to get back to Paris, and soon.

Wanton Poses

Beauty

From Reader David S comes this observation in email:  “I can’t get that pic you recently posted of Sophia Loren out of my mind.  Why is that?”

It’s a simple answer, and while Sophia is undoubtedly gorgeous, it’s her unladylike pose which does it.  Those carelessly-sprawled legs… the pose is an age-old aphrodisiac to men, and so powerful is its effect that it was only in the modern era that artists could even begin to portray it, e.g. Henri Matisse’s Odalisque Couchée:

…and Egon Schiele’s Reclining Woman:

Now understand me well:  I’m not talking about the typical pornographic splayed-leg shots, which remind me of nothing less than a gynecological view of the female anatomy (and Schiele is perilously close to it in the above).  But there is something sexy — maybe frighteningly-sexy — when the pose is done properly.  And of course, what I’m saying is useless without pictorial evidence, so here we go:

Téa Leoni:

Anthea Turner:

Amanda Righetti:

Amy Adams:

…and of course, there’s Marilyn:

But when it comes to truly erotic, you need a recumbent pose to get the full effect:

Jean Carmen:

Catherine Deneuve:

Kirsten Dunst:

Claire Goose:

Anita Ekberg:
…and finally, in a pose which mimics Matisse’s Odalisque, Charlotte Rampling:

Some people find these poses too overtly sexual — “slutty”, as my Mom might have put it — but there’s no denying their attraction.  I report, you decide.