Form and function meet perhaps most elegantly on the racetrack.

If you’re a fan of motorsport, you’ll see cars which are designed in almost every way to be fast – nothing is there for no reason.

This is why we decided to lay down our opinions (and likely start some arguments) about what we think are the most beautiful race cars ever.

So, down the rabbit hole we go.

McLaren MP4/4 – Dylan Campbell, Editor

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Function can dictate form and still be beautiful – and, of course, crazy effective.

The simply-styled MP4/4 won 15 of 16 grands prix in 1988 making it one of the most dominant cars in F1 history, and was also the car in which Ayrton Senna won his first world championship.

While not conventionally beautiful, a minimalist and unmistakeable livery contributed to what is now the classic image of a 1980s grand prix machine.

Jaguar XJR-14 – Scott Newman,Associate Editor

There are exceptions, but single seaters don’t have enough bodywork, rally cars are too boxy and touring cars too upright. My nomination? The Jaguar XJR-14. Iconic livery, sleek bodywork and also successful, dominating the 1991 World Sportscar Championship.

Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 Sports Racer – Louis Cordony, Staff Journalist

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I love the Toyota GT-One. It’s symmetrical from multiple angles. And that wind-swept silhouette was as fast as it looked. How fast? Good for 350km/h plus at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1999, pole position, and the fastest lap of the race.

Whenever I look at the model TS020 on my desk, I remember Andre De Cortenze’s (its designer) insistence everything should perform as looks. But I can’t cop that cabin. It would be complete as an open-top.

Which is why the most beautiful race car in my eyes is the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 Sports Racer. It’s a Can-Am car with curves in all the right places. It delivered on Cortenze’s maxim too, winning the Watkins Glen six hours in 1971.

Porsche 917K – Chris Thompson, Digital Journalist

So instead I turned to a car that once frequented Le Mans. The Porsche 917K.

Aside from being made into a film star by Steve McQueen in the film Le Mans, the 917K is a legend in its own right. It gave Porsche its first outright 24 Hours of Le Mans win, likely because the next car in this list was no longer competing.

A flat-12 under the metal helps, but we’re not concerned with that here. It’s on this list because it’s gorgeous.

Its flowing lines lead up to a short tail (or Kurzheck, thus the ‘K’), and adorned in almost any livery (though Gulf is clearly the pick) it looks alert and ready to snatch victory out from Ferrari’s hands.

Ford GT40 –Trent Giunco, Sub-editor

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It’s a somewhat obvious choice, but it doesn’t make it any less of a triumph of form and function. The Ford GT40, the racecar born out of Henry Ford II’s spite, went on to dominate Le Mans in the mid-to-late ’60s. In doing so, relegating old adversary Enzo Ferrari to the minor placings. The iconic Gulf livery is arguably the best looking.

With a multimillion-dollar budget, Detroit created an aesthetically beautiful racecar in the GT40 with flowing lines uncluttered by the endless aero bits we see today. The mid-mounted 7.0-litre V8 produced a great sound and seeing old footage of it dance around Le Mans makes for great late-night YouTube fodder.

Honda NSX – Damien Pelletier, Art Director

Classic race liveries such as the Castrol Supra, wild Escudo Pikes peak Suzuki and Calsonic Nissan R390 further fuelled my obsession, but the jewel in the virtual crown was the perfectly proportioned Arta NSX-GT, as once driven by ‘Drift King’ Keiichi Tsuchiya.

The NSX represents the zenith of 90s Japanese automotive design to my eye, with the standard NSX-Rs sleek lines complemented beautifully by an agro GT bodykit and iconic red and white war paint.

Definitely the most gorgeous race car ever.

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Sauber Mercedes C9 – Daniel Wong, Digital Content Manager