If You Love Fonts And Graphic Design, Go To A Classic Car Show

It can be hard to convince the non-car enthusiasts in your life to spend a few weekend hours at a car show, especially if it’s one that starts before 9 a.m. (even I have trouble with that). As enticing as the boozy brunch with friends afterwards might be, the thought of spending even 30 minutes surrounded by cars you don’t care about and nerds being super annoying about them isn’t exactly appealing.

There is one way to get a friend or significant other to join you for a car show, especially if they are a fan of graphic design or art in general. Vintage cars are rich with incredible badges, fonts and logo designs, with every era and country of origin typically easy to deduce just by reading the nameplates. Tons of different cars even have special fonts specific to that model, and wonderful graphics can be found even on more modern vehicles.

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One of the most iconic supercars of all time has one of the most iconic badge designs of all time. Nearly every car in Lamborghini’s history has a name and/or design that’s inspired by bull fighting, so the Miura’s nameplate script got a pair of horns on the M and a curling tail at the end of the badge. It’s perfect.

Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato

I love a badge that has a signature-like flourish to the font, like the one on this Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato.

Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato

The hubcap on the Flaminia is also fantastic.

Alfa Romeo Giulia

This Giulia has a nice upright sans-serif font, and I like the way the metal bars holding the letters together are an integral part of the design, making up sections of letters like the F and E.

Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada

Sometimes the best badges are the hardest to read, like the B-pillar script on this Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada. The words aren’t even technically in order, but that’s okay because it looks so cool. (Pillar badges in general are cool.)

Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada

The Bizzarrini’s rear badge is one of the greatest of all time. Just look at those Z’s!

Ferrari 348

Jumping forward a few decades is the oh-so-’90s Ferrari 348. This is my favorite era of Ferrari design and fonts, exemplified by this cool badge.

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale

Everyone knows that gold badges are just better, and this Alfa Giulietta Sprint Speciale is another great example of a cursive font. The G is incredible, and the Bertone crest is always wonderful to see.

Maserati Quattroporte

The first-gen Maserati Quattroporte also has a great cursive script.