Most car designs these days can be described as aggressive, with glaring headlights, sharp angles, and grilles that look locked in an angry scream. This is actually done purposely, meant to evoke feelings of power and domination for drivers. Studies show that cars evoke facial recognition patterns in human brains, and that most of those humans want the cars to evoke power. Knowing that most consumers want angry-looking cars, designers are putting out more and more models with death stares and looks of disdain.
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While many modern-day cars look like they want to run you over, there are still some cars that seem like they’re excited to go driving through a winding canyon or accompany you while you do errands. These are cars that may not inspire anger and power, but drivers can’t help but smile and say “yippee” when they see the car waiting for them in the Target parking lot. Here are the five happiest looking cars ever made, triggering your cuteness response with their pop-up headlights and grilles that resemble goofy smiles.
Porsche 911
With its wide, circular, deep-set headlights and astonished expression, the Porsche 911 appears ever-curious and extremely innocent despite the power that lies behind its childlike face. Each Porsche 911 model is extremely speedy, with the Turbo being one of the fastest Porsche to ever be made, at top speeds of around 200 miles per hour. This is due to the engine in its rear axle, lighter weight, launch control capabilities, and incredible downforce. Each subsequent year comes with its own list of improvements.
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But one thing that never changes is the Porsche 911’s absent-minded, Dory-like expression. This car doesn’t look angry at all. Instead, it seems like a cartoon character transfixed on a pretty lady, adorable kitten, or even just something shiny. The Porsche 911 has a glistening-eyed, transfixed, gaping-mouthed expression that appears like it might ask any second: “Can I touch that?” The Porsche 911 doesn’t know its own power and might not even know it’s on the road at all.
Speaking of adorable, have you seen the Project 1 – AO No. 56 Porsche 911 RSR at Le Mans, known as Rexy? With its green color and toothy grin, this was the fan-favorite of the event due to its aggressive yet silly, cute design.
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Ora Funky Cat
The Ora Funky Cat is a Chinese-made EV that’s low in price but high in cuteness. The credited designer is Emanuel Derta, who used to work for Porsche, which is why the “eyes” may look familiar. They are widened and round, with a large pupil shape reminiscent of the feline it’s named after. The logo is where the kitty’s nose would be. With a tiny grille, the face is quite simplistic, like that of a Japanese cat plush or anime. The body of the car is small and round, evoking even more wholesomeness not often found in modern cars. The Funky Cat can come with a wide range of colors for its interior, making it a quite whimsical drive.
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Many compare the Ora Funky Cat to the Volkswagen Beetle, which could have made this list if it didn’t look like it was grimacing. While its eyes are wide and round, its mouth is in a straight line, and we can’t help but feel as if it’s judging us. The Funky Cat doesn’t have the capacity to judge. It knows no judgement, only cat.
Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite
Also known as the Bugeye or simply “the Frogeye,” the Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite was a British car manufactured from 1958 to 1961. It was originally designed for the younger generation of car lovers that wanted to go fast without spending too much cash. For this reason, the Bugeye is lacking in features but makes up for it by being tons of fun — and for looking super, super happy while fulfilling that purpose.
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The Bugeye’s face includes two headlights placed on the top of the hood, a logo where its nose would be, and an extremely wide grin that shows all its teeth-like grille. It even has dimples on both cheeks if you look hard enough. It’s this permanently wholesome and happy expression that has made the Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite popular with younger consumers. Hagerty reports that Millennial and Gen Z Frogeye owners have grown in recent years, unable to resist this cheerful bloke’s enthusiasm on the road.
Lotus Elise
It was honestly painfully difficult to choose which image to use to represent the Lotus Elise, since each generation has a totally different expression (all of them happy, of course). The Lotus Elise — another British car made for fun, fast driving — looks like a mischievous little alien that can’t help but let out a “hehe” when it takes an impressively sharp turn or launches to 60 miles per hour in around five seconds. The Lotus Elise looks like it’s really getting enjoyment out of leaving other cars in the dust on the track when a turn approaches.
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This extremely lightweight line of Lotus has undergone some subliminal changes over the years, all of which create a bit of a different personality. With its double set of elongated eyes, grille within a grille, and aggressive stance, the Lotus Elise looks like it came to earth to cause some cruising chaos. It may look friendly, but the Lotus Elise is smiling because it gets joy out of outmaneuvering supercars in the canyons.
Mazda Miata MX5 MK1
The 90s Miata knows it’s cute, but that hasn’t made it cocky at all. In fact, it’s the Miata’s childlike innocence, goofy grin, Pikachu-like rosy cheeks, and semi-concerned stare that has captured the hearts of basically anyone who sees a Miata wink on the road. You can instantly brighten someone’s day just by making the Miata blink its iconic popup headlights up and down, then watch them giggle and blush, no matter their gender or age.
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The Miata has inspired a ton of memes due to its adorable face, with Miata owners knowing just how silly, wholesome, and overwhelmingly cute their car is. While the Miata community jokes that the car reaches 0-60 in 10 business days, they know the real fun is the Miata’s impressive handling and its surprised and vacant expression while carving canyons. Some popular memes include using the fish-eye camera to get an exaggerated shot of the Miata’s wide smile, getting a bunch of Miot (a loving nickname bestowed on the car by fans) to circle another car in a Miata ritual, or shouting “Yippee” as it does an impressive drift.
There are other JDM cars of yore with popup headlights, but they often look sad, exhausted, and afraid. They have their own charm, for sure, but the Miata reigns supreme when it comes to the happiest-looking cars ever made.
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