Automotive design is a hot topic no matter the segment or country of origin. Cars often get lots of attention when they fall on either end of the aesthetic spectrum. The British isles are often associated with beautiful designs but we wonder what the ugliest cars to come from Great Britain are.
Our recent question of the day about the prettiest cars from the UK garnered a great many responses. Aston Martin, Jaguar, and TVR all ended up in the comments with stunning designs. Not everything from even these great brands ended up looking so hot though. Sure, the Lotus Europa S2 in our lead image is bad but we think we have at least two worse-looking cars.
The TVR Vixen for example is a bit hideous in terms of proportion and cohesiveness. The way it presents itself is somewhat brutal but in a truly bad way. The front corners are further ahead than the rest of the bumper. In fact, they’re so far forward that they, along with the rear corners, have the only chrome guards on the car.
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It’s a drastic departure from the sleek stylish British cars that we’re all familiar with. For example, it doesn’t use the Golden Ratio that we’ve seen some brands lean on. Instead, it seems to be completely inconsistent from nose to tail and that’s a theme when it comes to ugly.
Cars like the Marcos Mantis M70 highlight that issue too. When the front half of a car looks like it’s been grafted onto the back end of a totally different car, there’s a problem. Perhaps there’s an even more extreme version of this that qualifies for the ugliest British car of all time.
Enter the Reliant Robin. Add a fourth wheel and this little car might be completely lost to history but with just three it’s simply weird – both in terms of how it handles and how it looks. Is it the ugliest British car in history though? We bet you have some ideas.
