Lancia Delta Integrale (EVO II, HF...)

I get to see some lovely cars and what often strikes me is their design. That's always the first thing. It's interesting to me whether or not car manufacturers follow how they are perceived in a nationalist sense.

For example, we expect German car makers to favour a very solid, defined, functional look for much of their output. Mercedes always used to appear as if they were built and engineered to last. Forever. Now Audi has that standard, bauhaus feel and engineering integrity. You meet someone in a bar. You ask what they do. They say they're an architect. You think, 'Bet they drive an Audi...'

Even VW with their 6th generation of Golf don't do anything revolutionary.
Evolution. Evolution. Evolution. Nothing crazy, just a distinct, clear focus on producing well thought out, capable cars. Porsche eschew the great change and believe that ornament is a crime.......

The French. Well they like quirkiness, don't they! All oblique angles and obtuse curves. Oddities that the more you take in, actually make sense. No other manufacturers apart from Citroën, Renault and Peugeot, make cars that require multiple viewings to make conclusive sense. You see your first Dali, and it can throw you. A DS also takes a number of revisits before you 'get' it. Then it's one of the most beautiful machines ever made.

And then there are the Italians. When we think, 'Italian', we often think of the sensuous flowing lines of a GTO or a Daytona. Blood red, elegant, thoroughbreds and wild 'COUNTACH' statement exercises.

Of course they can do sober, like an ISO or functional like a Delta. But this is where you have to look closer. Italian design I think is often thought of as extravagant. But this isn't always the case. More times than not, the best work is the subtle stuff. More infinitesimally kinked suit lapel, rather than full on carnival flair of Vatican guard dress. We all know that an Enzo is an 'Italian' car. But a Guilia Super is even more readily identifiable as such. The dip in the centre of the boot-lid is more Latin than anything Ferrari or Lamborghini do. The simple elegance of a 50's Riva speedboat or a Francesco Moser bicycle says more about the Italian cool and understated sense of styling drama.

Clean, creased lines, with just a hint of Latin curve.