VOTE: Final! Best Looking 1970s F1 Car

[Liquid]

1978-1979 Lotus 79 vs 1975 Brabham BT44B

Both of these cars secured semi-final victories by about 8-10 votes or so. Not much in it. But now, in the final of this distinct decade, will it be the airbox and big tyres or the ground effect machine to take the best looker crown?

1978-1979 Lotus 79

Engine: 3.0L Ford-Cosworth V8
Noted Drivers: Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson

Brabham BT44B

Engine: 3.0L Ford-Cosworth V8
Drivers: Carlos Pace, Carlos Reutemann

 

[Roger the Horse]

The Brabham works because of its livery. Perfectly matches the lines of the car and as a result is basically as good looking as a 70s F1 car can be. Admittedly that doesn't say much, but regardless...

The Lotus, on the other hand, is pretty ugly. Just a load of black and gold rectangles with some awkward pointy bits.

 

[Nessy]

The Brabham works because of its livery. Perfectly matches the lines of the car and as a result is basically as good looking as a 70s F1 car can be.

This ^

It's the kind of thing/car, that works superbly as an illustration for 70's F1 memorabilia. It just has that certain iconic look about it.

I think the Lotus is a great looking car, but between the two (success and performance aside), the Brabham just does it better.

 

[Jimlaad43]

The wrong Lotus won.

 

[MisterWaffles]

I know the giant scoop on the Brabham gives it some quirkiness, but it just looks quite stupid to be honest.

 

[ButtKick]

So far in every Decade I've been completely surprised by at least one of the cars that make it to the finals.

This time it's the love for the Brabham. It really blows me away, I was shocked it even got nominated and now it's in the finals.
In my opinion it's one of the uglier cars Nominated, It's got goofy looking body lines and I don't understand why everyone is so hot about its livery. To me it just looks silly, especially the stripes on the rear wing.

As for the Lotus 79, It was one of my Nominations, But truth be told, it was my least favorite of my Nominations. Yet shockingly enough it made the Finals, So obviously that's my Vote.

However I truthfully thought the Mclaren M14A was going to be the favorite for the 70's and my favorite of all decades and it didn't even make the semi finals.
It only got 2 Nominations.

I find it very interesting reading what you all think makes these cars beautiful, in the case of the Brabham though. I'm just confused. Hahahah

 

[Wiegert]

I think as an embodiment of the '70s, the Brabham covered so many bases visually without losing composure like other F1 cars did around the middle part of the decade.

Tall airboxes often looked as intriguing as they were abominable. Whereas here it complimented the clean, angled side skirts and the equally clean and minimalist livery to the point where it probably wouldn't have looked complete without it. That smooth bodywork would have been difficult to achieve if Murray hadn't plumped for the bulkier front aero/cooling, and even that managed to look better than most simple wing designs.

The only car that could carry that basic shape over into the latter half the decade without looking so much like a truck (Lotus 79) was the BT46 I nominated instead of the BT44B. A shame it didn't make the final, because a Grandfather Vs Grandson Brabham battle would have been very interesting.

 

[Dotini]

Murray's best cars were yet to come, Piquet drove them, and I will nominate them. I don't think he was too proud of the BT44. The livery made schoolboys get a woody, now and back then, too.

100 years from now the only car of the 70's worth remembering will be the M23, IMO.

 

[Wiegert]

Without the orange gilded nose, it still would have looked fetching with the lea & Perrins Goldie Hexagon livery. Again, relatively few sponsors:

 

[Dotini]

When it was new, BT44 was a slow, dangerous anachronism with its front radiators and side saddle fuel tanks. Only occasionally could the moody genius Reutemann wrest a good result from it. A dog with a well-brushed coat.

The boxy look of the Lotus 79 was totally a requirement driven by the rules permitting venturi tunnel side pods. In ways it was a poorly designed and built car. Its great virtues were the livery and its revolutionary side pods. It left every other car on the track way, way behind.

 

[ButtKick]

100 years from now the only car of the 70's worth remembering will be the M23, IMO.

Beauty wise I strongly disagree, But based on the construction of the car and thing's it achieved I have to agree. Though it really wasn't the most technological car or the fastest, It was by far one of the best built machines in the 70's.
Such a solid car that when it's successor the M26 was tested in 1976 and showed teething problems Jochen Mass and James Hunt continued driving the M23 and continued putting up solid finishes with James Hunt even Winning the 1976 Drivers Championship in the M23. They both also began 1977 in the M23 even though it was already 4 years old and the car was still competitive all the way up until mid year 1977 when the M26 was finally ready.

 

[Dotini]

Beauty wise I strongly disagree, But based on the construction of the car and thing's it achieved I have to agree. Though it really wasn't the most technological car or the fastest, It was by far one of the best built machines in the 70's.
Such a solid car that when it's successor the M26 was tested in 1976 and showed teething problems Jochen Mass and James Hunt continued driving the M23 and continued putting up solid finishes with James Hunt even Winning the 1976 Drivers Championship in the M23. They both also began 1977 in the M23 even though it was already 4 years old and the car was still competitive all the way up until mid year 1977 when the M26 was finally ready.

The one truly fabulous technological feature pioneered by the M23 was its central fuel tank. It's still here today on every F1 car on the grid.

And yeah, you didn't need to be a genius to get a good ride out of the M23. The drivers all loved it.

 

[ButtKick]

And yeah, you didn't need to be a genius to get a good ride out of the M23. The drivers all loved it.

Proof of that is Jochen Mass' only ever F1 win in the M23, Along with 7 of his 8 podiums. Mass was by no mean's a genius but the M23 was a good car.

(His 8th and last Championship Race Podium came in the Mclaren M26)

 

[Liquid]

The Brabham reminds me of the factory Lamborghini effort from 1991; really odd, flat sidepods compared to what we now know and expect. On the Brabham at least there's a reason for it. The radiators were on the front wing whereas on the Lambo the radiators were still on the sides just in oddly sculpted houses.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Brabham vote from me. Iconic car from an era when you could try almost anything, each car was unique and its designer was named.

 

[Pupik]

100 years from now the only car of the 70's worth remembering will be the M23, IMO.

Sorry...people still lust for Ferraris of any type, are amazed by the BT46B 'fan car', and will probably recall Williams' FW08 for being the car that propelled Williams to the front. Along with the M23, Lotus 72 + 78, and the BT42/44, that's probably the bunch that will be remembered.

Still, it's fun to see the occasional Eifelland, Ensign, Token, and Shadow thrown into the mix...

 

[Dotini]

Shadow

black pornography on wheels!!

 

[Pete05]

Sorry...people still lust for Ferraris of any type, are amazed by the BT46B 'fan car', and will probably recall Williams' FW08 for being the car that propelled Williams to the front. Along with the M23, Lotus 72 + 78, and the BT42/44, that's probably the bunch that will be remembered.

Still, it's fun to see the occasional Eifelland, Ensign, Token, and Shadow thrown into the mix...

I agree with everything you said except for the FW08. I think you'll find you meant to say the FW07.
FW07 came out in 1979,
FW07B the update that won the title,
FW08 debuted in 1982 & won the Swiss GP to help K.Rosberg to the title despite winning only that single race. Consistency took care of the rest as faster cars fell around him.

 

[Ryk]

Nice, but they are no Kojima KE007.

 

[Liquid]

And with all the votes tallied up, the big-wheeled, big-airbox Brabham from the pen of Gordon Murray is GTP's best looking 1970s F1 car. Thanks for voting. 👍

 

[TeamCZRRacing]

If I'd known about this thread before, I would have picked the Lotus, but there's really no going wrong here.

 

[Pete05]

And with all the votes tallied up, the big-wheeled, big-airbox Brabham from the pen of Gordon Murray is GTP's best looking 1970s F1 car. Thanks for voting. 👍

It screams 70's Formula 1 - it had to win.