The 5 Most Beautiful Cars on Sale Today

Car and Driver listed its top 10, but I thought only five made the cut. They're not cheap, to be sure, but a man can dream, can't he? Unless Obama created a Bureau of Dream Management and is now regulating that too.

Audi R8

The aging, soon-to-be-replaced R8 among today’s most beautiful cars? Probably controversial. But the R8 remains every bit the design icon it was when it debuted nearly a decade ago. It’s telling that the car still looks like nothing else out there, with a semi-rounded surface theme that would probably look ridiculous on anything else. Paired with Audi’s delicate headlights and taillights, simple grillework, and that roofline, though, it makes for a gorgeous retiree.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Wheels pushed to the absolute corners; classic long-hood, short-deck proportions; and clean, graceful sheetmetal: We can only be talking about Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage, a proper sports car through and through. This fifth-place showing comes as Aston continues to introduce special-edition models, which typically signify a car’s impending doom. But as with Jennifer Aniston, this hot car shows age is just a number.

Mercedes-Benz S-class Coupe

In the ultra-luxury realm, size matters—and it’s one of the reasons why the 2015 S-class coupe places so highly in our beauty rankings. This plus-size pinup’s use of proportion and its pervasive tapering arc design theme accentuate both its size and grace. The hood seems unbelievably long (a neat visual trick, courtesy of the upright and forward grille), and the three body-side lines add length and catch light like Tinker Bell scooping fairy dust. Did Germans really design this thing?

Ferrari 458 Italia

We like the 458 Italia because it’s everything a Ferrari should be: Race-car tech wrapped in stunning sheetmetal. In this case, the Pininfarina-penned mid-engine sports car’s aggressive and almost brutally low body suits its knife-edged personality perfectly. We could spend hours poring over the 458’s numerous and carefully designed details—and we have.

Jaguar F-type Coupe

Whether you begin with the Jaguar F-type coupe’s proportions, its muscular shape, or its amazingly purposeful stance, it is a seriously pretty kitty. What about the roadster, you say? It, too, is gorgeous, but the coupe’s plunging roofline and more-defined rear haunches give it the edge. And the experience isn’t merely visual—the F-type R Coupe’s supercharged V-8 soundtrack is pure aural ecstasy.

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