
Wob / Bring a Trailer
In past questions of nan time we've gotten reasonably granular astir car design, asking you to talk astir things for illustration your favorite wings, steering wheels and exhausts. Today, though, I'm gonna attraction connected a much often overlooked but highly important constituent of car design: side-view mirrors. The first rear-view reflector was implemented by Indy 500 title car driver Ray Harroun successful 1911, and they became popularized aft nan Federal Highway Act of 1956. These days national regulations require an interior rear-view reflector and astatine slightest a drivers-side outer mirror, though each car connected waste has a rider reflector arsenic well. The U.S. hasn't yet evolved to let cameras alternatively of broadside mirrors for illustration successful different countries.
Despite side-view mirrors being connected each azygous car from nan past half-century astatine least, they are chiefly an afterthought erstwhile it comes to a car's creation — fundamentally each car designer won't see them connected their sketches, usually. But conscionable because these typically ample and kinda clunky information features are usually beautiful boring doesn't mean they each are. Some cars person awesome side-view reflector designs, and I want to cognize which ones are your favorites.
My choice
I person a emotion that galore of your picks will beryllium supercars, arsenic their outrageous designs and bad outward visibility typically lend themselves to much absorbing reflector designs, and that's wherever my mind went too. But I'm not reasoning of evident answers for illustration nan LaFerrari aliases Pagani Huayra, aliases nan single-mirror versions of nan Ferrari Testarossa and McLaren F1. No, my encephalon instantly thought of nan Spyker C8. These spectacular Dutch supercars person sculptural single-piece helping mirrors made from aluminum. As nan C8's designers described them successful period:
Designing is astir manipulating volumes to create lines, not creating lines that dress up volumes. Take, for instance, nan mirrors of nan Spyker. Rather than shaping a artifact of clay successful which immoderate statement could beryllium nan line, we took a bent conduit of aluminium. One broadside was squashed to create an oval wherever it is attached to nan doorway skin. The different extremity was sliced astatine an perspective which resulted successful different oval: this became nan reflector side. The lines resulting from moving pinch bespoke worldly for illustration these are a earthy consequence.
They really do look beautiful, and fresh Spyker's wide creation connection highly well. If I had to prime an honorable mention, I deliberation it would beryllium nan Mercedes-McLaren SLR. Or possibly nan Toyota 2000GT's fender-mounted mirrors. OK, I gotta extremity giving you free suggestions. Head down to nan comments to fto maine cognize what your favourite side-view reflector creation is, and I'll information up nan champion answers later this week.