Dazzle painted cars

'Dazzle painting' is a camouflage technique used by allied forces during World war I. They painted their ships in large geometrical patterns and contrasting colors in an attempt to confuse the German navy. Most important function of this camouflage was to disguise the front of the ship and its sailing direction to enemy submarines. Although visually very effective, sadly this kind of painting did not prove to be a major advantage in battle.
There's a good article about art & camouflage (featuring one of my cars) on the Tate Museum site. An excellent source of info is the book 'Dazzle painting' by Albert Roskam (ISBN 90 71893 02 2). It's written in Dutch but it has lots of images.

The French cruiser 'Gloire'.

Drawing of the intended effect of Dazzle painting. On the left a view of the original ship and on the right the camouflaged version.

My Opel Kadett in a black and white pattern.

I used a colored pattern on my Fiat Ritmo.

Tartan painted Fiat Panda

My boxy little Panda was just the right car for an intricate tartan pattern. It took some careful planning and a couple of days of concentrated painting but in the end all my efforts payed off..... the car looked like a shopping bag on wheels!

Holiday in Budapest, Hungary 1991. We crossed many borders all over Europe with the Tartan Panda without being stopped by customs once. This is the ideal design for smuggling purposes!

Flower power Citroen Visa

This visually distractive pattern is based on the use of opposite colors. The organic patterns in 2 different colors make it really hard for your eyes to focus. Fortunately the Citroen was red to start with so that made painting a bit easier. It still was a lot of work creating the sharp edges needed to maximize the effect.

Candy Lincoln Continental MkIII

All the above cars have eventually met their sad faith at the junk yard. On top of the pile, in the front of the yard, grabbing attention till the last moment....
Not so for my 1969 Lincoln which I still have and drive. It is decorated rather shy compared to the others but the car itself demands enough attention already.