The sports cars of the 1950s to the 1970s are fast, beautiful, eccentric and innovative. In recent decades these automobiles not only became coveted collector's items; they also enjoy cult status. In an exciting journey through time the volume presents 25 outstanding sports cars as design icons and illuminates their presentation in film and photography. As a design object beyond its practical purpose, the automobile has left an indelible mark on the world we live in. There is scarcely another everyday item which has been designed in a more sophisticated and inventive manner and which offers a larger projection area. This can be seen with particular clarity in the sports car. The volume pays homag e to a selection of exclusive sports cars by legendary manufacturers, from Porsche to Ferrari to Jaguar, as artworks in their own right and as a unity of form, technology, design and emotions. Essays, selected texts and biographies shed light on the multi - layered development of automobile design and introduce the vehicles and their designers .