--- description: In August 1947 LIFE magazine shared with its readers a whole new world of car design taking shape in postwar Europe. title: Postwar European Auto Design: In Praise of Cars With Real Curves image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0938fd538eae2fca/69877a92cd6848a83c0992e6/140826-paris-car-show-09.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [photography](/tag/photography/) ## photography Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Postwar European Auto Design: In Praise of Cars With Real Curves by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 23, 2014 6:00 PM CUT  Maserati, 1947. Maserati, 1947.Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 23, 2014 6:00 PM CUT In August 1947, LIFE magazine shared with its readers a whole new world of car design taking shape in postwar Europe. “It is exciting in Europe,” LIFE wrote of the creative ferment on display at car shows in places like Paris and Rome, “but only promising in the States.” The magazine then went on to discuss the ways in which European designers were outpacing their American cousins—a state of affairs largely unfamiliar to carmakers and consumers, alike: --- > “” --- Here, in this gallery, we present a number of the “lavish, beautiful and original” creations that greeted the curious and the covetous eight decades ago.  Maserati, 1947. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A new Bugatti, 1947. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The interior steering panel and steering wheel of the Italian Isotta Fraschini, 1947. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE Magazine December 8, 1947 LIFE Magazine  Caption from LIFE. A French woman smiles proudly on an orange Delahaye with natural leather upholstery whose fenders would command the respect of any truck driver. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The Czechoslavakian Tatra features a third headlight, 1947. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A view of the Italian Isotta Fraschini's engine, 1947. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Isotta Fraschini, 1947. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE magazine, December 8, 1947. LIFE Magazine  A French Talbot, 1947. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Maserati, 1947. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Custom-bodied French Talbot, poised elegantly in Place de la Concorde, has sweeping, chrome-accented lines, was priced at $21,000 at the Paris Auto Show. Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3672931/postwar-european-auto-design/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3672931/postwar-european-auto-design/"},"headline":"Postwar European Auto Design: In Praise of Cars With Real Curves","datePublished":"2014-09-23T18:00:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:09.406Z","description":"After the war years, when the auto industry came to a halt, Americans looked to Europe for the latest in car design","url":"https://time.com/3672931/postwar-european-auto-design/","keywords":["photography","LIFE Magazine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0938fd538eae2fca/69877a92cd6848a83c0992e6/140826-paris-car-show-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0938fd538eae2fca/69877a92cd6848a83c0992e6/140826-paris-car-show-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paris Car Show 1947","caption":"Maserati, 1947.","creditText":"Tony Linck—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/photography/","name":"photography"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3672931/postwar-european-auto-design/","name":"Postwar European Auto Design: In Praise of Cars With Real Curves"}}]}] ```