Why is it sometimes we love a car just because of the hood?
Is it the manly power bulge? An air-sucking scoop? The seamless skin? All the
above. Hell, sometimes it's just for the curves. Here's your ten sexiest hoods.
10.) Shaker Hood
Why It's So Cool: What's cooler than cutting a hole in the
hood of a muscle car and sticking the engine's air intake right up through it?
Watching it move when you blip the throttle, that's what. In fact, it was so
cool that variations on the shaker theme showed up on muscle cars from each of
the Big Three at one point or another. The shaker may not be directly attached
to the hood, but it does make up an integral design element, and looks awesome
doing it.
9.) De Tomaso Mangusta
Why It's So Cool: The Mangusta's butterfly engine cover
isn't in the front, but that's ok. It's too good not to include here. Covering
a Ford 302 here in the USA, the dual-hinged Guigiaro doors allow for access
to the spare tire and a small amount of storage space, but not much else.
8.) 1968 Pontiac
GTO
Why It's So Cool: Stylish and useful, the second-generation
GTO hood incorporated a tachometer for reading engine RPMs. Supposedly more in
line with the driver's field of view, the actual benefit of having a
hood-mounted tach is mostly just added awesomeness.
7.) Jaguar E-Type
Why It's So Cool: One of the longest and sexiest hoods ever
made graces the nose of the E-Type. It's legendary at this point, having
inspired and been copied by many cars since its introduction in 1961. Long,
low, wide and curvy, it bulges in all the right places and is everything we
want to see on a vintage sports car.
6.) 1977 Pontiac
Firebird Trans Am
Why It's So Cool: Made famous in the movie Smokey & The
Bandit, the Screaming Chicken hood is one of the best ever. Normally just your
basic Firebird hood, sometimes offered with a shaker, the addition of
avian-inspired art is what pushes this piece of sheetmetal into today's Top
Ten.
5.) 1996 Dodge Viper
Why It's So Cool: I'll just step aside and let GasGuzzler
take it from here: "The one piece molded design from the top of the fascia
to cowl and spilling down to the rockers is just gorgeous. One black,
functional vent for the climate control blower, another added for symmetry.
Hinged from the front, raising this rare, one-piece engine cover/fender
apparatus reveals the power of god beneath a red manifold a a pair of red valve
covers with 'Viper' proudly emblazoned."
4.) AMC Hurst
SC/Rambler
Why It's So Cool: Just in case there was any confusion, the
SC/Rambler makes it nice and easy for the air to figure out where to go. This
hood showcases a great example of late 1960's pop art, while still beating a
number of contemporary muscle cars down the quarter mile.
3.) TVR Sagaris
Why It's So Cool: I can hear the design team now,
"Let's make it look like a cheese grater! Great idea, chaps!" The
Sagaris' hood (actually, more like a small service entrance) looks like it could
take off your whole hand if you run it the wrong way over a fender. During the
transition from prototype to production trim however, the scoops cut into the
front fenders were sealed off to prevent rocks from getting thrown up at the
windshield. The cutouts remain because, as commenter pinkshinyalan adds,
"TVR is insane."
2.) 1970
Plymouth Road Runner
Why It's So Cool: Activated by a switch hidden under the
dashboard, the vacuum-operated Air Grabber snags a spot on the Top Ten today
for the Road Runner. Combining increased air intake size with a truly
frightening cartoon deployable at stoplight drag races, the Road Runner was an
intimidating car with a killer hood.
1.) 1960 Ferrari 250 TR60
Why It's So Cool: What better way to show off your pride and
joy of an engine? Cover it in persplex and run it around France for 24
hours. The six two-barrel Weber carburetors that sit atop Ferrari's 250 engine
were on prominent display under their viewing window on several models around
this time, including the 256 Formula 1 car of 1958, Phil Hill's Formula 1 World
Championship winning 156 Sharknose in 1961, the 1962 330 sports car, and of
course the 1962 250 GT Drogo, or as it's more commonly known, the Breadvan.
Source : http://jalopnik.com
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