“You don’t see that every day,” every enthusiast utters at one time or another.
Unless you’re privileged to live somewhere supercars and customs are a mundane sight, you’ve likely experienced the power of cars to make you stop in your tracks, crane your neck, and gawk. It might be the car’s arresting stance or sun-catching chrome, but often that first magnetic attraction comes courtesy of an unusual color scheme.
Mechanical artisans in the ranks of companies like Singer, Emory, or ICON work on the cutting edge of vehicle aesthetics. These designers and engineers pour time and sweat into “reimaginations” of production cars that far surpass conventional aesthetic norms. They’re bespoke operations, armed to the teeth with talent. Their final products are often just as captivating in an image as they are in the wild, and color theory can help us unpack that phenomenon. Read the full article on Hagerty.com:
Yawn. Well executed builds, but the colors leave a great deal to be desired. It feels a lot like the colors were chosen simply for the purpose of showing how bad color choices interact with one another.
Great and illuminating article, thanks ! As I've said before, I find the Singer 911s to be the most desirable cars out there. Combine a consummate artist and an iconic vehicle and you get magic.
In a world of black, white, red and silver. Having people know a builder by the color scheme makes then unique.
Good article about the difficult field of color theory! Love all the cars except the pea soup green one.
What no Guards Red? Mr. Singer hit a sour note.
Some colors seem to “fit” certain cars....
red ‘62 Chevy bubbletop
Coral/Grey ‘55 Bel Air
Marina Blue/Parchment interior 69 Chevelle
Turquoise or Black ‘57 Bel Air
Why ?
Color choices on anything are subjective. Everyone has different tastes. Some of the colors on these cars are not very attractive and others are. Some do no justice to the design lines of the car. I am an artist who was trained in Italy. If you really want to see the master of color, I suggest you view the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel. Micelangelo was a color genius.
This plays into the fact that certain colors are not suited to certain styles of car. Like a tan Corvette, or a bright yellow Lincoln Town Car. It just doesn't work.
I think the pea green Porsche is stunning, and really shows off the lines of the car. But I have friends that would rather see it in flat black, with flaming skulls. ... Gary
Great article. I spent 20+ years in the oriental carpet business, both new production in
India and antique Persian buy, sell, trade. It was great fun and very interesting to learn the craft of pairing colors/designs to create aesthetic appeal. Singer does a great job of
color choice in their recreations. Darker blues are my favorite for vintage sports cars.
JD