Some kids adorned their childhood walls with Monets and Renoirs. The same kids who probably grew up to drive Toyota Camry Hybrids. Our readers were cooler. Here are the ten best car posters from our collective youth.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our Jalopnik summer feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Cargurus.com
10.) Acura NSX
Suggested By: SennaMP4
Why It Was On Your Wall: Tuned from the factory by Ayrton Senna and Bobby Rahal, the NSX was a no-holds-barred supercar that you could live with and drive every day. With this in mind, I had a poster up of an NSX in my room, but it was mostly to remind my mom to sell her Integra and get an NSX instead every time she walked in. For many other kids, this may have been the car that started a lifelong love of imported cars from the land of the rising sun. That's cool too.
Find It Here: IcePoster.com
9.) Tyrrell P34 Cutaway
Suggested By: claiborne
Why It Was On Your Wall: Of course, as you'd expect, there were a ton of folks who said Countach, F40, McLaren F1, and any number of Porsches. There was only one (as far as I could tell) that brought up designer Derek Gardiner's 1976 six-wheeled creation. Claiborne, well done. And a cutaway, no less! Though it may be hard to get a copy of this poster, if you attend the right historic racing events, you may catch a glimpse of one of the cars in the sheet metal. A collector raced his example in the FIA's Thoroughbred Grand Prix for historic Formula 1 cars, and P34s have made numerous appearances climbing the hill at Goodwood.
Photo credit: Autosport Forums
8.) Peugeot 205
Suggested By: Vavon
Why It Was On Your Wall: The comparison of the regular everyday 205 to its balls out counterpart on this poster is excellent. It's as if it is telling the (probably French) kid upon whose wall it hangs that one day, if you try really hard, you can take the training wheels off of your hand-me-down 205 and step up to the 205 T16 rally car. Start practicing your Scandinavian Flicks on your bike, kid.
7.) Pontiac Fiero
Suggested By: Joel Lingenfelter
Why It Was On Your Wall: It's good to have something to shoot for. Something attainable, a reasonable goal. Some of us will never even see most of the other cars on today's list, much less have the opportunity to own them. Hanging them on our walls is a reasonable facsimile, but why not make it a jumping-off point? The Fiero might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're into it, it's something most folks' bank accounts can swing. Shoot for the moon, as they say, because even if you miss, you'll be among the Fieros.
Or maybe you just really dug Hall & Oates.
Find It Here, With Hall & Oates: Vintage Ad Browser
6.) "Poverty Sucks" Bentley
Suggested By: alan505
Why It Was On Your Wall: Sure does. Kids, stay in school. Buy a Bentley. Drink champagne off the front fender.
Photo credit: Poverty Sucks
5.) Porsche 959
Suggested By: mkbruin
Why It Was On Your Wall: For a brief while from 1986 until the F40 arrived on the scene a year later, the 959 was the world's fastest car. It had one of the world's first four-wheel drive systems on a high-performance car. Originally created for Group B rallying, it could theoretically be taken off road. These are all the facts, and while you can't hang facts on your wall, you can take them into account when deciding between putting up a 959 or a Lamborghini Diablo poster up above your bed. The Diablo was probably purple and had flames coming out the back or something, but the 959 was just cooler.
(Ed note: I totally had this poster on my wall - MH)
Find It Here: Allposters.com
4.) Dodge Viper
Suggested By: Mat Dubord
Why It Was On Your Wall: As the biggest and baddest and bestest American supercar of the mid-1990's, the Viper was not just something pretty to hang on your wall, it was a patriotic statement. It was a vote in confidence of bald eagles, baseball, malls, engine displacement, and stomping on little Porsches that tried to get in your way. A red-blooded battle cry, the Viper was awesome. And a little awesome belongs on everyone's wall.
Photo credit: AMCar Guide
3.) McLaren F1 LM
Suggested By: royeraf3
Why It Was On Your Wall: Bright orange with a big wing, screaming down a racetrack or sitting in a picturesque locale- however you took it, the F1 LM was an eye-catcher and attention-grabber on anyone's wall. The world's fastest could literally hang out in your room and inspire you to either A) Go back and play more Need For Speed, B) Go bug Dad to sign you up for Skip Barber classes and start a racing career or C) Start a hedge fund. Either way, you got to play with the McLaren.
Find It Here: Allposters.com
2.) "Justification for Higher Education"
Suggested By: TonyLukes3
Why It Was On Your Wall: Why settle for just one jewel in your crown? The "Higher Education" poster, whether in light-up or analog form, was like a paper buffet of automotive delights. Redone a couple of times so far in its lifespan, it could feature any number and combination of exotic or domestic wheels, but all were pretty damn special. And I know it's not as important, but the house was usually pretty cool too.
Find It Here: Amazon.com
1.) Lamborghini Countach
Suggested By: Shane Elliott
Why It Was On Your Wall: Of course, the literal 1980's poster child for excesses and occasional drug abuse had to find a slightly more innocent spot as an actual poster on kids' walls. What 12 year old could resist the allure of all those scoops and wings? It combined dual loves: race cars and spaceships. All of these modern Koenigseggs and Enzos and Bugattis may be faster, more aerodynamic and better to drive, but they just don't look crazy enough to get kids excited.
Photo credit: Club Awesome