We are forever told we live in grim times. This probably explains the monotone nature of most cars on the road. Henry Ford once said we could have any colour we wanted, as long as it was black.
Henry’s long understeered into the great beyond, but the power of a black car is still strong – for many it’s still the coolest option on the palette, a brooding display of evil intent and devil-may-care attitudes.
Back in the 1980s, though, black cars really came into their own with ever-more tasty performance models across manufacturer ranges. However, at least in the 1980s product marketers saw the benefits in ‘highlighting’ – or more accurately, a little bead of colour around the car to indicate it was, you know, just a little bit special.
The masters of this were Ford (as we’ll see), though its use would find its way from BMW to Peugeot, and far beyond. Of course, it was red that was the colour du jour – though not the only one.
Monotone greys and black with red highlights soon became the must-have thing from toasters to entire bedroom furnishings. It mirrored that most visible sign of yuppie success – red braces. Now you could get them for your car and your bedroom linen.
Sadly, the trend died off in the 1990s as bodykits and trim options were rationalised, and smooth aerodynamic efficiency won the day. More recently, Aston Martin and Lamborghini in particular have offered ‘pinstripe’ highlighting to their supercars, though the award for most awkward use has to go to the BMW XM Label Red Edition. We can perhaps live with the A-Team–inspired rear quarters, but those big nostrils shrouded in red highlights just look like something that needs a bit of ointment.
I digress. Instead, let’s look back to the 1980s and ’90s glory days of black with red highlights, and which cars wore it best.
Ford Escort XR3i
The Blue Oval knew how to create that little extra zing of desirability with the careful endowment of tasty trim, whether it be stickers, a set of wheels or even a badge. We could have picked any sporty Ford from the Fiesta XR2 to the Sierra XR4i, but the XR3i shows off the power of such ‘highlighting’.
In the case of the XR3i, it didn’t even denote the most high-powered MkIV Escort – that was the RS Turbo, which had black pinstriping. However, unless you had wads of cash or a very understanding insurer, the XR3i offered all the high street style you could muster, and all it took was a little red line around the car. The XR3i MkIV may not have been the hottest of hot hatchbacks, but a little dash of red certainly helped it along.
Peugeot 205 GTI
Peugeot didn’t hold back from liberally dosing the interior in red in the GTI – inside it looks like someone’s exploded ketchup bottle in there (in a good way). In the case of the 205, the little hatchback could have looked a bit too delicate to be a hot hatch, had it not been for the red stripe along the beltline. It just added that little touch of toughness, helped no end by the car’s steroidal Group B homologation cousin, the 205 T16, also employing a similar red highlighting technique.
BMW M3 Sport Evolution E30
The BMW M3 has become an icon of ’80s motoring – it was designed with circuit glory in mind, which meant that BMW had to build at least 5000 of them for road use. The sheer number of bespoke parts compared to a normal 3 Series boggles the mind, but even for a special car as the E30 M3, there are some that are even more special.
The Sport Evolution arrived in late 1989 and early 1990 as the ultimate version, with a bigger 2.5-litre engine, more power (238bhp), weight-saving parts, and adjustable aero to give it the edge on track. Just 600 were built in either red or black. The black ones are unmistakably cooler though – look at how the red bumper stripes ping out against the Jet Black paint.
Citroën BX 16v
Marcello Gandini’s exercise in sci-fi brutalism made for a family saloon that looked like nothing else. As much as it was a breath of fresh air compared to most other designs around at the time, it wasn’t inherently sporty – more brusquely elegant, like the Pompidou theatre in Paris. A chunky bodykit helps the BX 16v look a little tougher, but in black and with a little dash of red the BX is transformed into something all the more sinister. No more Mr Charming French oddity, this 160bhp screamer means business.
VW Golf GTI Mk2
The great thing about the Golf GTI Mk2 was that, to the uninitiated, it just looked like a normal Golf. Sure, it sat a little squatter, and the alloy wheels were shiny, but there was little clue that one of the most adored hot hatches of the era was on your tail. That was until you looked closer – the red piping around the grille was the only hint that the dub haring up behind you was not to be messed with. It also meant that those who knew, knew – which is always good when you get a nod of approval. However, should one with blue piping loom up behind you; well, not even a 16v GTI can keep up with the ultra-rare G60 Limited.
