Sharp of line and bluff of jaw, cars from the 1980s were hardly buxom beauties. But they do boast a certain geometric design purity, an unapologetic synergy of form and function you might say.
But what about 1980s car interiors? Now that’s a whole different ballgame. In-car technology and materials have progressed massively in the intervening period.
With the advent of ubiquitous soft-touch plastics, touchscreens and airbags, it seems more like centuries rather than a few decades that separates 1980s car cabins from today’s auto interiors.
Or does it? Here’s our round up of the very best 1980s interiors, including a few that teach even the fanciest current car cabins a few things about the finer points of design.
01 Mercedes-Benz W124 or E-Class
Let’s begin with what some might argue is one of the finest car cabins of all time, the Mercedes W124. Also known as the first Mercedes E-Class, ‘W124’ is the internal Mercedes codename for the mid-sized saloon launched in late 1984.
While some of its plastics feel overly firm under thumb by today’s standards, the elegance and simplicity of the dash and instrument design makes for a remarkably timeless appeal.
Indeed, with the neat centre console bisecting the clean sweep of the main dash and punctuated with a restrained splash of wood veneer, there’s an almost Greco-Roman purity to its uncluttered lines and proportions. It makes modern Merc interiors look positively poncey.
02 Porsche 928
While we’re talking 1980s car cabins that have stood the test of time, get a load of the Porsche 928. Strictly speaking, the 928 was launched in 1978. However, the 928 survived in production into the early 1990s and the bulk of its life cycle was spent in the 1980s.
In any case, its late 70s origins only make its ongoing freshness more impressive. In many ways, it set the template for modern cabin design courtesy of its tight integration, raised centre console and a dash that wraps seamlessly around into the door cards.
Porsche’s signature ‘tombstone’ bucket seats also appear and in a form that is little changed to this day. Tweak a few details, throw in a touchscreen and the 928’s interior would look pretty plausible in a new car today.
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03 Citroën BX
Boxy, busy and brittle, the 1982 Citroën BX’s interior is surely the mind’s eye epitome of 1980s car cabins. Back then the sharp lines, hard edges and pod-based layout would have seemed positively spacey.
Even today, there’s retro-futurism to the design that gives the BX’s cabin an air of period sci-fi flair. It looks like a refugee from an old episode of Battlestar Galactica. With its refusal to use steering column stalks and the single-spoke wheel, the BX was also absolutely oddball in the best Citroën tradition.
Indeed, with the possible exception of the C4 Cactus, the BX is a reminder of just how generic modern Citroëns have become.
04 Fiat Panda
At the opposite end of the scale to the usual German suspects comes the bare bones Fiat Panda of 1980. The very earliest Pandas are the most intriguing with fabric covering the full width of the dash. The utterly unashamed frills-free design is startling in an age where even superminis lay on luxury pretensions.
By sidestepping any attempt at an upscale ambiance, Fiat created a fantastic sense of purity and functionality that’s quite unlike anything seen on cars sold today.
Of course, with modern safety regs and the requirement for multiple airbags and other active and passive features, the Panda’s interior probably isn’t possible. But as a reminder that less can be more, even in a car cabin, the Panda deserves significant props.
05 BMW 8 Series
Just squeaking in by virtue of its 1989 launch date, the BMW 8 Series (also known by its E31 BMW codename) is another upscale German that still looks great. Like the Porsche 928, the level of integration is high.
Similar to the Mercedes W124, there’s a simplicity to the design that stands out compared to today’s busy interiors. The upshot is a premium car cabin that utterly eschews lashings of wood and chrome.
It doesn’t even need tarting up with brushed aluminium or modish fads like lacquered carbon fibre and leather stitching in a contrast colour. It just looks effortlessly expensive and sophisticated, while also being sporting and yet luxurious.
The swoopy, highly stylised cabins of current BMWs are certainly dramatic. But they seem to be trying awfully hard to relatively little effect compared to the minimalist cool of this period 8 Series.
