It's Valentine's Day today, in case you're too busy to notice. It's the day of hearts. And one color that's normally associated with it is red. To mark the occasion, we're giving you our list of the "10 best cars that look good in red." Here they are in alphabetical order...
1. Alfa Romeo Spider
All Alfa Romeos look good in red. We're certain it's because that happens to be Italy's racing color. But the one Alfa Romeo model that, in a way, became the flag bearer for the carmaker was the Series 1 Spider which had a significant role in the 1967 movie The Graduate. Of course, it was finished in red in the movie.
2. Chevrolet Corvette
The Corvette always looks good in red, no matter the generation model. Didn't Prince sing about a certain 'Little Red Corvette'? That could very well be the reason why the all-new model that debuted a month ago was finished in that paint job. However, if we were to pick a specific Corvette iteration that looks exquisite in red, it would be the updated variant of the first-generation model. With the white-wall tires and the red-and-white exterior, it's just absolutely gorgeous.
3. Dodge Viper
The Viper is another American muscle car that looks good in red. And what the Lamborghini Countach was to the teenage boys of the 1980s, the Viper was to their 1990s counterparts. Proof of the car's popularity was a TV series built around it and which even used the car's name as its title. The car's color in the TV series when it wasn't in its assault vehicle mode? Red, of course.
4. Ferrari F40
The F40 has a significant place in the Italian carmaker's history. Not only was it the first production car to break the 200mph (320kph) barrier, it also briefly held the speed record for the world's fastest production car with a top speed of 201.4mph (322.2kph). The most important milestone, however, is that it was the last production car to be signed off by Enzo Ferrari as the car went into production in 1987, a year before il Commendatore died. We imagine he would've been livid if the car had been launched in anything but rosso corsa or Italian racing red.
5. Ford Mustang
Whatever the generation, the Mustang is a looker in red. The current one drew inspiration from the original model, which looked best in red. The Chief should know: He insisted that the car--resplendent in red, just like the one he drove for a feature article in the magazine months ago--be included on this list.
6. Honda NSX
Japanese supercars are few and far between. If it weren't for the NSX's arrival in 1990 until its demise in 2005, the only other Japanese supercars would've been the Toyota 2000GT of the late 1960s and the Lexus LFA. A big thank-you to Honda for coming up with the NSX and filling in what would have been a nearly 50-year gap between Japanese supercars. As to why a red NSX is better than any other NSX color? Ayrton Senna had one.
7. Lamborghini Countach
A Countach poster adorned the bedroom walls of every car-loving, testosterone-spilling teenage boy in the 1980s. And what color was the Countach painted in? Very often red.
8. Mazda MX-5
All three generation of the MX-5 were offered in red. However, it's the first-generation model that deserves much recognition for starting the trend of small, agile and modern roadsters. You know how iconic the first-gen MX-5 is when practically every pop-culture rendition of it is in red--from the animated movie Cars to the main car in the film Looper.
9. Nissan GT-R
The GT-R looks good in any color, of course. It's not hard to notice, however, that a huge number of GT-Rs running around right now in different motor racing series--from Japan Super GT to Targa Tasmania--are done in red. Sure, it may purely be because of a sponsor's requirement, but when specialist aftermarket brands like Switzer start coming out with red-colored GT-R specials, you know it's not merely coincidental.
10. Toyota 86
Jeremy Clarkson may love how the 86 handles, but looks-wise he doesn't find it "particularly interesting." Well, since he lives in Europe where Ferrari 458s and Lamborghini Aventadors are probably as common as Hyundai Genesis Coupes, we're not surprised by his observation. However, in the Philippines where the 86 is still a rarity, we'd say otherwise. And the 86 that graced our exclusive July 2012 cover? It was finished in red.
