The ultimate driving machines

Nothing has shaped the modern world more than the motor car. For good and bad (and there’s a lot of both), it’s still the car’s world – we just live in it.

Away from the politics of the car – something that’s almost impossible these days – the car has been a vehicle(!) for the latest breakthroughs in art, engineering and technology. Now, a new book, The Atlas of Car Design, takes a deep dive into the history of the automobile.

Organised into seven regions – North America, Central and South America, Europe West, Europe East, Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australasia – the book features 650 of the world’s most loved (and occasionally hated) motor cars.

All motorised life is here, from 1893’s Duryea Motor Wagon to the 1953 Chevrolet Corvette and up to 1970s and ’80s classics like the Volkswagen Golf, Mazda RX8 and Fiat 850m Spider.

This isn’t just a beautiful book but an insightful one, too

As you’d expect, the most generous plaudits go to icons like the Jaguar E-Type, only the third car displayed in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. At the same time, the Aston Martin V8 finds itself sharing a page with the cubist Aston Martin Lagonda.

If you’re looking for inspiration on your next car (and you’ve had some luck on the lottery), you can read about the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘Uhlenhaut’ coupé, which recently sold at auction for $140mn.

This isn’t just a beautiful book but an insightful one, too. It’s written by journalist Jason Barlow and editor Guy Bird, with additional contributions from New York automotive writer Bret Berk. In all, more than 100 leading automotive designers, writers, and collectors advised on the selection of cars featured.

While the internal combustion engine’s days are numbered, the car isn’t going anywhere, so in another 20 years, we can look forward to volume two of The Atlas of Car Design.