There are two schools of instrument cluster thought in this world. The first, which is wrong, is that the cluster is simply a place to convey the most important and relevant information to the driver. The second, which is correct, is that they are a thing of beauty.
The cluster, in the second and wisest school of thought, is still there to convey the most important information to the driver. But the most important thing, of course, is to constantly remind the driver of what kind of car they’re driving, and its level of class and style.
That instrument cluster up to is from a 1993 Lancia Delta Integrale HF Evo 2, which is a splendid name for a car, and which was up for sale on Bring A Trailer not too long ago.
It’s perfect in every way.
My boss, one “Patrick George,” disagreed, saying it was too busy, too complicated. “Unreadable,” he declared it. But he’s wrong, because I can read it perfectly. It tells me that the machine I’m firing up is more complicated and slightly less reliable than a Saturn V rocket. It tells me that where I’m going, I’m going to need a ton of gauges and warning lights and MASTER ALARMs. It tells me I’m going on an adventure.
The Apollo program was sadly cut short in the 1970s, but if it kept going into the 1980s, this is the instrument cluster that would take us to Venus.
But is it the best instrument cluster in the world? Show us what you think is the best one in the comments below.