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May Event Roundup
With summer just around the corner, May ramped things up with a great selection of driving and social events, as well as two UK tours.
June 1, 2025
Join us for a journey through supercar styling over the years, from wedges and chrome bumpers to 22-inch wheels and carbon fibre.
If you look back over the past 50 years of the supercar, just as with clothing, architecture or even technology, each decade has its defining designs and colours that reflect the social trends and technology of the time. Curves and chrome trim? ‘70s. Brown paint, beige interior and plastic bumpers? ‘80s baby. You get where we’re going with this. Let’s take a drive through the decades to explore the colours, interiors and design features that defined each era of the supercar.
The early 1970s mostly featured the leftovers of the ‘60s, with curvy designs like the Porsche 911 and 246 Dino wearing chrome bumpers and bug-eyed headlights. But that would soon flip on its head with the rise of the wedge. The curves became sharp angles, the bug-eyes became pop-ups, and the chrome became plastic with iconic designs like the Ferrari 365 GT4 BB, Lotus Esprit, and of course, the quintessential poster car of the ‘70s and the car which inspired supercar design for the next few decades, the Lamborghini Countach.
Earthy tones like mustard yellow, olive green, and burnt orange were all the rage, reflecting the decade’s love for bright but natural hues towards the end of the hippie era. Metallic finishes also started gaining popularity, giving cars a futuristic edge at the time.
Interiors were simple but effective, with a focus on analogue dials and switches. Vinyl and leather were commonly used, and the colours were most commonly kept to the exterior, with black being the most popular interior colour and minimal customisation. Deviated stitching wasn’t on the tick boxes back then, although we did see wacky patterns such as Porsche’s Pascha, and the iconic Pepita, which has come heavily back into fashion in recent years.
Wheel sizes were tiny by today’s standards, typically 14 or 15 inches, typically with five chunky spokes like Porsche’s Fuchs wheels.
The 1980s were all about excess, and cars were no exception. Aerodynamic shapes took centre stage, with pop-up headlights becoming ever more prevalent and wide-body kits making their mark alongside strikes and louvres. The Lamborghini Countach marched on and is as big an icon of the ‘80s as it was the ‘70s, but its design became more extreme, with wider arches, big spoilers and more intricate details throughout.
Bright reds, whites, and blacks dominated showrooms. Look for an ‘80s 911, Countach or Ferrari, and you’ll see that theme strongly remains on the used market. Chrome trim was truly a thing of the past in favour of plastic, though this plastic was often now colour coded to the body of the car in pricier models. We also saw more decals, because you’re a high-flying stockbroker in a pinstripe Armani suit, and the world needs to know your 911 is a Turbo.
Digital dashboards began to appear in many cars, reflecting the era’s fascination with technology. Later models of the Aston Martin Lagonda actually used CRT screens as dials! That said, Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari kept things basic and analogue. Heavy use of suede and velour joined leather to add a touch of ‘80s opulence.
Wheels grew slightly in size, with 16-inch rims becoming more common, but designs stayed pretty simple, with five spokes still in favour, alongside slotted designs and polished finishes for that final bit of ‘80s flash.
The 1990s saw a shift towards more rounded and refined shapes. The recession of the early ‘90s meant that the brash looks of the ‘80s fell out of favour, and blending in was the way. Rather than being all about shouting look at me, supercars began blending performance with elegance like we saw in the ‘60s — think Porsche 993 Turbo and Ferrari 550 Maranello.
Bold colours were gone, with silver and black being most common as well as dark metallic blues. If you were lucky, you might see a nice emerald green or ruby red, but bright yellows were few and far between in this more subdued decade.
Driver-focused cockpits emerged to replace the slab-sided cockpits we’d seen previously. Leather continued to prevail, and velour was well and truly out.
Wheels increased again to 17 or 18 inches, mostly retaining simple, five-spoke designs but smoother and more aerodynamic, like those on the Porsche 993 Turbo. Machined finishes gained popularity, as well as three-piece rims.
The new millennium brought sharper edges and aggressive styling cues, mirroring the technological optimism of the time. If we have gearboxes that change like a racing car, we want our cars to look like a racing car too, and so came the famously striped Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, and big-winged, stickered-up Porsche 996 GT3 RS.
Metallics ruled the roost, from gunmetal grey to pearl white, particularly in the late 2000s, where it seemed like most of the new cars on the road were white. Colours were coming back into favour though, and bright yellows and reds became the norm again for Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche.
Luxurious materials like nappa leather covered the interiors, more stylish and supportive seats replaced plain old chairs, and the tiny single-DIN matrix display radios of old were replaced with trick new screens with satellite navigation. Colours were mostly still black, apart from the Crema we’ve always seen on Ferraris.
Wheels pushed to the 19-inch mark, with more bold and complex designs like the intricate wheels of the Lamborghini Gallardo, and we finally moved away from five spokes with aggressive designs on the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale and BMW M3 CSL. Black wheels also massively rose in popularity, something we’ll debate another day!
The 2010s were an era of contrast, with some cars embracing sleek, minimalist designs (think McLaren 12C) while others went for dramatic, attention-grabbing looks (think Lamborghini Aventador). Aerodynamics played a pivotal role, with active aero becoming ever more popular, particularly on the McLaren P1 with its extreme Race Mode.
Exteriors were covered in carbon fibre, and the options list for exterior customisation grew and grew. Matte finishes, especially in grey and black, became a hallmark of the decade, especially on Lamborghinis, but bright, bespoke colours also surged thanks to advanced paint technologies. The rise of PTS, Tailor Made, Ad Personam and MSO towards the end of the decade meant we started to see far more unique hues, and stripes were gaining popularity as well.
Interiors became tech-centric, with digital displays replacing traditional gauges in many cases. Lightweight bucket seats became a popular feature, and the carbon fibre of the exterior often covered the interior as well. Most notably, though, if the 2000s were all about plain black leather, the 2010s brought heavy use of deviated stitching and two-tone options, with the Porsche 991 GT3 RS having a black and Lava Orange combination available as a factory option.
Wheel sizes grew to 20 inches and beyond with ever more intricate designs like those on the Lamborghini Huracan Performante, and more wheel options were generally offered on each model. Multi-material designs combined carbon fibre with traditional metals on cars like the Jaguar F-Type, and Ferrari even offered a full carbon fibre wheel option on the Ferrari 488 Pista — taxi to the kerb springs to mind.
So far, the 2020s have built on the 2010s with even more bold designs and wild specifications. These days, we want everything now, and to our exacting desires, so Tailor Made, Ad Personam, MSO, PTS (or even Exclusive Manufaktur) programs have become increasingly popular to differentiate your car from the next guy’s. Designs have become more ‘futuristic’, with light bars being a major theme at the rear and ever more extreme styling like the wild Lamborghini Revuelto.
We’ve had a great mix of colours so far in the 2020s, and it depends who you are. The more reserved type will happily have an Agate Grey Porsche GT3, but the more bold individual will shell out £10,000 to have it in an eye-widening shade like Birch Green. In fact, green as a whole, particularly darker shades have grown in popularity greatly over the past few years, and the @makegreengreatagain Instagram page has certainly had its way!
Analogue dials really are a thing of the past now, even with Porsche who clung onto their traditional rev counter for so long, and massive screens are now the standard. We’re talking aesthetics here, so I’ll not get into a 15-minute rant about going into a touch screen to change my suspension mode! As with the exterior, those same manufacturer programs are offering more interior customisation than ever, offering the wildest combinations you can think of, and the ability to tweak every detail down to the colour of the prancing horse on your headrest.
Surprise, surprise, wheels have grown even larger, with 21 to 22 inches becoming standard for supercars. Styles are becoming more and more unique to each brand, and aerodynamic covers are increasingly common on hybrid/electric cars as well as the likes of Manthey Racing Porsches.
The evolution of car styling would be incomplete without mentioning the booming customisation scene. From bespoke paint jobs to tailored interiors, wheels and body kits, owners are now more involved in the design process than ever and can make their car truly unique to them without the limitations of a manufacturer’s spec sheet or the wild pricing of their exclusive design programs. People are even increasingly customising their daily drivers, with brands like our friends at Apache Automotive turning everyday luxury SUVs into something much more aggressive and unique.
So, what’s next? Will the curves of the ‘60s, the wedges of the ‘70s or the sheer excess of the ‘80s make a return? Maybe some wild new brake technology will allow 15-inch wheels to come back! It’s funny to think that, in 20 years' time, we might be looking back on all the exposed carbon fibre of today and laughing about how tacky it was, or say “What were we thinking with those ridiculous light bars?” as a Lamborghini Revuelto looks like an old relic, being overtaken by the newly released 1,200hp electric Audi RS3. Design in all aspects of life does seem to go full circle, so who knows, though I can’t see plastic impact bumpers of an ‘80s 911 making a return any more than the giant mobile phone its owner had to his ear while driving it, and that, at least, is a good thing.
