There has been a cross-fertilisation between cars and boat styling which carries on until today. Pre-war as we've seen it was the boat-tails. Post-war there were the Italian barchetta's or
little boats, of which the most famous (and original) was probably the Le Mans winning Ferrari 166MM. The name came from a famous Italian journalist on first sighting the car!
Basically, it was an open 2-seater sports car that was built for racing by Touring. Weight and wind-resistance were kept to a minimum, and any unnecessary equipment or decoration was sacrificed to performance. Some barchetta's have no windscreen; others, a shallow racing-type screen or aero screens.
The classic barchetta quite often had no doors, in which case entry and egress is made by stepping over the side of the car, or very small doors without exterior handles.
The AC Ace, the forerunner of the AC Cobra was supposed to have been inspired by the Ferrari Barchetta, when it was designed in the early 50's. I think that it certainly has a similar 'feel' to it.
Ferrari resurrected the Barchetta name for the Ferrari 550, but this was just a convertible without a proper hood. I guess the modern car with the most boat feel to it must be the RR Phantom Convertible with optional teak rear-deck.
You must feel as much the captain of a custom-built motor yacht as the driver of a uniquely crafted motorcar ...
P.S. 'Scuse the poor photos, Photobucket is playing up!
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