What car designs have aged the best?

Ford Mustang

P3PPY said:

As always with these kinds of questions you end up with a variety of interpretations of the original question, as has been pointed out. I'm gonna say it needs to be a design at least 20 years old to qualify. 
 

If "timeless" = you can't tell when it was made, or it looks like someone might sell it even today then I can't think of many besides maybe some exotic or something, maybe the NSX with the right wheels 

This.

People are confusing "timeless" with "classic".

The Mustang is classic.

The M1 is timeless.

so_slow said:

Hard to believe it was designed 60 years ago.

re: timelessness, this could have come out in the 1990s with little modification. Pop-up lights were still a thing and at that time car design trended toward overly round, bubbly shapes.

In reply to ShawnG :

I think the Citroen DS qualifies as timeless. You'd blow a lot of minds when you tell them when it was first made.

Appleseed said:

In reply to ShawnG :

I think the Citroen DS qualifies as timeless. You'd blow a lot of minds when you tell them when it was first made.

I've never owned a French car, but have  a certain fascination with some of them. As for the DS, has any major manufacturer taken such a large step all at once? Look at these two cars. One immediately followed the other:

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

Really?

WOW!!

In reply to Indy - Guy :

Yeah, it's kinda like they jumped 25 years.

ShawnG said:

P3PPY said:

As always with these kinds of questions you end up with a variety of interpretations of the original question, as has been pointed out. I'm gonna say it needs to be a design at least 20 years old to qualify. 
 

If "timeless" = you can't tell when it was made, or it looks like someone might sell it even today then I can't think of many besides maybe some exotic or something, maybe the NSX with the right wheels 

This.

People are confusing "timeless" with "classic".

The Mustang is classic.

The M1 is timeless.

The criteria was mentioned in the first post, and it was fairly clear that it be introduced in your lifetime. I guess I blew it when I mentioned the Beetle, I was born well after the 1930's.

But timeless wasn't and, really, I can't recall seeing a car here that doesn't look at least somewhat dated. The NSX being a great example. It still looks good, but it's definitely a dated design that looks somewhat awkward by modern standards.

seeker589 said:

In reply to Driven5 :

I agree with all cars pictured but one - the Viper. From my viewpoint, which is reapeatedly wrong, it aged like Milk. It looks dated.

You may think you don't like it now, but wait til you drive one!  

The engine doesn't accelerate so much as force the car to go faster when you upshift because the car has less inertia than the engine.  And reaching for the clutch feels like you're sticking your foot out onto one of those doorless Jeep foot pegs.  Like you want to make sure there's nobody in the oncoming lane in case they tag your shoe 

Definitely a throwback car, on multiple levels, but it seems to have done well enough sales wise to justify its existence.

JG Pasterjak said:

Was watching a show that featured one of these this weekend:

That E24 6-Series looks every bit as gorgeous and perfectly proportioned today as it did when it dropped in the mid-1970s. That its original run continued for nearly 15 years was a testament to how right they got it in the first place, and it just looks as good today as it ever has. It's the Marisa Tomei of sports coupes.

Honourable mentions:

NB Miata

Late pre-facelift C4 (17" wheels, kamm tail, round taillights)

Audi 5000

85.5+ Porsche 944

What's your pick? I guess my criteria here is something introduced new in your lifetime that still holds up. 

Just what ages a car the most over the years? I would think that it is the tires and wheels. The above Mustang looks pretty aged with those skinny wheels and tires. How about the claimed most beautiful car in the world, the Jaguar XKE? Find me a photo of one with modern tires and wheels that fit without flares and I would call it ageless.

But not this one...

If we define aged well as meaning "still looks good today" I'd have to agree with pretty much every car mentioned in this thread.

If we define it as meaning "could still be new or looks much newer than it looks" I'll second the BMW Z8. I saw one a couple of years ago and it was shocking. Looked like it could be brand new, even though it's well over 20 years old. I think some of Golf R32s look pretty new depending on wheel choice. Same with Audi TTs. I think the second gen MR2 looks newer than it is, even if it doesn't look new. Same with the FD. I think the second gen Lexus RX looks newer than it is, too. 

^ It's no beauty by any standards, but CyberEric's post makes me think of the Pontiac Aztek...its styling was before its time.  When it came out, it was universally panned and rightfully so, but if it had come out ten years later I don't think people would have taken much notice.  By then, other SUVs more or less looked like it anyway.