Driving Through the '60s: Automotive Evolution
The car industry in the 1960s took a turn for the best. Cars with more than decent performances were available for almost everyone and the design of cars developed tremendously. The influence the decade had towards car design can still be seen today, even in the most modern models. It was a time of change as cars which had been viewed as ways of transportation started to gain meaning past that point, they became an extension of one’s personality.
American muscle cars
While they already existed in the 1950s, the ’’muscle car’’ term is mostly used to refer to cars in the 1960s. The particularity of a muscle car is to have a really powerful engine – usually V8 – inside a regular car frame. The cornerstone can be found with the Dodge Dart, first imagined to replace the Plymouth in the standard, low priced car segment. In 1964 Pontiac released the Tempest GTO a car eligible for races available to anyone, aimed at younger audiences. This was a huge hit as Pontiac sold over 6 times what they had predicted. It was also the year the Ford Mustang was released, and even though most people usually associate it to muscle cars it is not one. Due to some frame and engine performance differences, this is the birth of what are called ‘’pony cars’’. Muscle cars are in a way Pony cars pushed to their limits to attain better road performances.
Luxury race in Europe
The European car industry also started to build more accessible cars with different objectives in mind, such as the Renault 4L which was a simple and practical car for small families.
Yet for european cars, this decade is probably the one that saw the emergence of some of the most iconic sport and luxury cars from their creators.
Ferrari released its 250 GTO in 1962 a model considered by many as the pinnacle of Ferrari craftsmanship that still inspires car designers of today. In 1963 Porsche unveiled the famous 911 that became the face of Porsche, this model still serve as a base to all the Porsche generations that followed. We couldn’t write a piece on the 1960s cars without mentioning the Aston Martin DB5, one of the most iconic model of the brand. In production between 1963 and 1965 this car is a great association of simple elegance and mechanical prowess, to top that it became a movie star thanks to being the first car of James Bond...
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