Although it is true to say that any piece of art which depicts as its main subject a car qualifies for the niche, there are definite favorites in the world of car art, marques which appear time and again and are enduringly popular. The ones that pop up at regular intervals are not hard to pick out. They are the Ferraris, the Maseratis and the Bugattis. Sports cars, again and again, appear in the best car art paintings. These are the cars that move people enough for them to be worth depicting in oils, watercolors, posters or charcoal. And this is why you will rarely see a four door family saloon in a car art exhibition.

Of course, it is as much about the setting and the situation of the car as it is about the look of the thing itself. A highly popular setting for car art paintings is the race track, usually at a bend as one car attempts a daring overtaking manoeuver, getting the crowd on their feet and catching the eyes of all those watching. The cars involved in a race are likely by definition to be sports cars.

Additionally, the nature of art is that it should provoke a strong reaction. Sports cars, being aspirational items, do just that. A car does not need to be Italian, fast and classy to be a worthwhile subject for car art. It does help, though.