In 1947 the first sports car to wear a Ferrari badge rolled through the gates of the historic factory in Maranello. Every car Ferrari built for the next 26 years could best be described as art. They were beautiful and known for their sculpted curves and elegance as much as they were for their power and performance. But beauty in design wasn’t exclusive to Ferrari, many cars of the time were just as beautiful, if not more. Car makers like Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Fiat, and later Lamborghini were making stunning cars. Even non-Italian manufacturers made cars that were sculpted elegance like Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar and Aston Martin amongst many others. While all these cars were unique in looks and performance, they all shared a common trait: Beauty.

Certainly there were ugly and unattractive cars in this time period too, and what some may call ‘beautiful’ may absolutely disgust others, so it’s really all subjective no matter how you look at it. Undeniably, design was important, and most of the high-end auto makers strived to create beautiful cars. But in the late 1960s, something truly unique started happening in the world of automotive design. Something that broke all the rules of traditional design at the time.

At the 1968 Paris Motor Show, the Alfa Romeo Carabo concept car made its world debut. While the Carabo may not have been the very first wedge car ever made, it was undoubtedly the one that made the biggest impact—people took notice. Not too long after that came the Lancia Stratos Zero, Ferrari Modulo, Maserati Boomerang, and many others. These cars all had a similar design language that was completely different than anything that had ever been seen on the road prior. Sculpted, rounded curves were now replaced by chiseled, sharpened edges. It was hard to call some of these cars “beautiful” but they were, to say the least, striking. Mesmerizing. Perhaps, even, out-of-this-world.

This design trend caught on with the manufacturers of sports and performance cars, you just didn’t (and wouldn’t) see cars like this on the street every day. I’m not certain what’s considered the first full wedge-shaped production car, but it was at the Geneva Motor Show in March, 1971, when the Lamborghini Countach made its debut… and it stole the show (though it wouldn’t go into production until three years later in 1974). The press and spectators were left dumbfounded. From that moment on, the Countach defined “exotic.”

For me, the Countach was the beginning of “exotic” cars, it completely shaped my view of what an exotic car is and should be. When it went into production in 1974, it took the wedge shape mainstream. When other wedge shaped cars started going into production, such as the Lotus Esprit, the Dino 308 GT4, and even the cars that were slightly before the Countach like the Lancia Stratos and Maserati Merak, they all stood out from the crowd, and somehow even amongst each other. They shared a common design language (and often a common designer), but somehow were completely different.

It wasn’t just looks either, there was more to it than just a single element of design that made these cars special. The materials that were used to build these cars were new and different, the motors that powered these cars were raw and unbridled, and the creature comforts and fine accouterments were scarce, unneeded, and unwanted. These cars were raw and powerful, delightfully cumbersome, and insanely absurd. They attracted a crowd wherever they may have turned up—even people who normally wouldn’t notice cars, noticed these.

This is why the 308 GT4 is a true exotic, and quite frankly, the first truly exotic car Ferrari ever made. What defines an exotic car is different for everyone, but a lot of the same ideals are shared amongst most enthusiasts; things like hand built, small production numbers, unusual materials, impracticality, and the list goes on. While those elements (amongst others) are important in defining an exotic car, for me it always goes back to design. And the wedge shape was the design that defined “exotic.”