The 12 Best Looking Single Seater Race Cars Ever Made

While the chase for speed and performance may result in some odd looking cars, we’ve also seen many stunning open-wheel machines hit the race track!

Jack Leslie

26 Aug 2016

The 12 Best Looking Single Seater Race Cars Ever Made

1. McLaren MP4/4

The MP4/4 used from 1988 remains one of the most dominant F1 cars in the series’ history. It also had beautiful looks to match, helped by the famous Marlboro red and white livery.

2. Jordan 191

This beauty wasn’t the quickest car, but it did look incredible (especially in green) and was driven by an all-time great; Michael Schumacher made his F1 debut for Jordan driving the car at the 1991 Belgian GP.

3. Mercedes-Benz W196

In either its ‘Type Monza’ or standard configuration, the W196 was a treat to look at and was also insanely fast. It won nine of the 12 F1 races it entered in 1954 and 1955!

4. Maserati 250F

The striking 250F was driven in 46 F1 rounds between 1954 and 1960. It won eight races with legends like Juan Manuel Fangio at the wheel and has retained its beauty over the decades.

5. Reynard 96I

The Reynard 96I was driven in the 1996 CART single-seater series. It looked especially good in the Target Chip Ganassi livery and spawned a number of beautiful successors too.

6. Super Formula Dallara SF14

One of the lesser-known cars on this list and the most recent too, the Dallara SF14 is raced in the Japanese Super Formula series. The F1-esque exterior and performance, smart nose design and sleek bodywork makes this one good looking race car.

7. Ferrari 156

It’s no surprise the shark-nose version has become so famous. The F1 car raced between 1961 and 1963 stood out from the crowd and looked incredibly striking. Greats like Phil Hill, Wolfgang von Trips and John Surtees all won in this elegant single-seater.

8. Lotus 49

Compared to current F1 cars, the 49 looks gloriously simple and slick. The original car raced in the famous green and yellow Lotus livery and coupled with a Cosworth DFV engine, it was incredibly quick.

9. Dallara GP2/08

The GP2/08 was made by Dallara and raced in three GP2 seasons. The F1 feeder championship race car featured the more aggressive, cooler looking skinny front wing and lower, wider rear wing. It looked great and produced some exciting racing too.

10. Ferrari F2004

The car proved to be one of the most successful in F1 history, with Michael Schumacher and Ferrari easily taking the 2004 F1 titles. The clean lines, bright red livery and incredible success has made the car a classic, even if the season itself wasn’t particularly exciting.

11. Mygale M12-SJ (2013)

A slightly unusual addition to this list, the 2013 Mygale M12-SJ used in the 2013 British Formula Ford Championship brought wings and aerodynamics to Formula Ford for the first time. It was a drastic change but the aero package suited the car’s small dimensions, making it a cute but fast-looking little racer.

12. Eagle Mk1

A stunner from the 60s, the Eagle Mk1 (sometimes known as the T1G) was a pointy-nosed, aggressive-looking single-seater racing machine which perfectly suited its dark blue and white livery. It claimed just one F1 win, thanks to Dan Gurney.

Agree or disagree with our choices? Let us know in the comments below!

Comments

Honestly, I disagree with pretty much all of the list asides from 6, 9, and 10
Yes, that means I’m calling the Jordan ugly, which is akin to sacrilege , but it’s not all that attractive nor good enough to negate that fact to me.
Hell, compared to this list, I’d think that most of the 2015 F1 field was more attractive, and any high-level open wheeler (basically, F3 and above) was more attractive.
Then again, open-wheelers aren’t too attractive to me in the first place and I think we should stop bitching about how “pretty” a car looks and instead on how well it performs. Too much of a concern on looks is in part why we have F1 regulations that quite frankly don’t work for providing good racing.