Flair (pronounced flair)
(1) A
natural or innate talent, aptitude, or ability, a bent or knack for something;
instinctive discernment or perceptiveness.
(2) Smartness
of style, manner, etc; stylishness or elegance.
(3) In
hunting, scent; olfaction, the sense of smell (now rare).
(4) In
Scots, a word for floor.
1350–1400: From the Middle English flayre, from the Old English flōr, from the Old French flaire (scent; odour (literally “sense of smell”) which endures in Modern French as flarier), a noun derivative of flairier (to reek; to give off a smell), ultimately from unattested Vulgar Latin flāgrāre, a dissimilated variant of the Classical Latin frāgrāre (to smell sweet), source also of fragrant in Modern English). The related Latin form was flāgrō, a dissimilated variation of the verb frāgrō (emit a sweet smell). In modern use, the original sense (scent, sense of smell etc) is rare and restricted to niches such as hunting and historical fiction. The sense of "special aptitude" is an invention of American English, dating from 1925, probably from hunting and the notion of a hound's innate and extraordinary ability to track scent. Flair is a noun & verb, flairing & flaired are verbs and flairish & flairless are adjectives; the noun plural is flairs.
The popular uses now refer to (1) matters of style or (2) a particular talent or aptitude: “He has a flair for the business”. That was Winston Churchill's (1875-1965; UK prime-minister 1940-1945 & 1951-1955) grudging assessment in 1944 of Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke (later Lord Alanbrooke; 1883-1963, Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) 1941-1946) as a general. It was about as close to praise as the CIGS received from his chief; the prime-minister liked his soldiers dashing and daring rather than cautious and conscientious. The most common synonyms now (depending on context) include chic, dash, élan, grace, verve, oomph, ability, aptitude, elegance, genius, gift, glamour, knack, mastery, taste, bent, faculty, feeling, head, panache & pizzazz.
Flares worn with flair: Lindsay Lohan (left) in peach colored flared trousers with lampasse (the "general staff" side-stripe), Los Angeles, 2012 and (right) out shopping in flared jeans, Milan, 2015.
Flare (pronounced flair)
(1) To burn with an unsteady, swaying flame, as a torch
or candle in the wind; the flame of this type.
(2) To blaze with a sudden burst of flame (often followed
by up); the flame of this type.
(3) To start up or burst out in sudden, fierce intensity
or activity (often followed by up).
(4) To become suddenly enraged; express sudden, fierce
anger or passion (usually followed by up or out).
(5) To shine or glow.
(6) To spread gradually outward, as the end of a trumpet,
the bottom of a wide skirt, or the sides of a ship.
(7) To display conspicuously or ostentatiously to display.
(8) To signal by flares of fire or light.
(9) To cause (something) to spread gradually outward in
form.
(10) In metallurgy, to heat a high-zinc brass to such a
high temperature that the zinc vapors begin to burn; to increase the
temperature of (a molten metal or alloy) until a gaseous constituent of the
melt burns with a characteristic flame or (of a molten metal or alloy) to show
such a flame.
(11) In hydrocarbon extraction, to discharge and burn
(excess gas) at a well or refinery.
(12) A bright blaze of fire or light used as a signal, a
means of illumination or guidance etc; the device or substance used to produce
such a blaze of fire or light.
(13) In fashion, a gradual spread outward in form; as in
a skirt or trousers (known also as bell-bottoms).
(14) In engineering, an outward extension, usually as a curvature.
(15) In automotive design, an extension at the wheel arch
of the fender (mudguard) to ensure tyres don’t extend beyond the bodywork.
(16) Something that spreads out.
(17) In optics, light, often unwanted or extraneous,
reaching the image plane of an optical instrument, as a camera, resulting from
reflections, scattering by lenses, and the like.
(18) In photography, a fogged appearance given to an
image by reflection within a camera lens or within the camera itself.
(19) In astronomy (commonly as solar flare), a sudden and
brief brightening of the solar atmosphere in the vicinity of a sunspot that
results from an explosive release of particles and radiation.
(20) In US football (NFL), a short pass thrown to a back
who is running toward a sideline and is not beyond the line of scrimmage.
(21) In television, a dark area on a CRT picture tube
caused by variations in light intensity (mostly archaic).
(22) In aviation, the final transition phase of an
aircraft landing, from the steady descent path to touchdown; to operate an
aircraft to transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.
(23) In pathology, an area of redness on the skin
surrounding the primary site of infection or irritation.
(24) In engineering, as flare tube fitting, a flare nut being
used to secure the flared tubing’s tapered end to the also tapered fitting,
producing a pressure-resistant, leak-tight seal.
(25) In baseball (also as blooper or Texas leaguer), a
low-fly ball that is hit in the region between the infielders and the
outfielders.
(26) An inflammation such as of tendons (tendonitis) or
joints (osteoarthritis).
(27) In pyrotechnics (also as Bengal light or fusee) a colored flare used as a warning
on a railroad. In US use, a parachute
flare or Very light.
1540-1550: Of uncertain origin, the verb not appearing in
English until the mid-sixteenth century, most etymologists thinking it probably
related to the Latin flagrō (I burn) and
may be from a Scandinavian source or the Dutch vlederen. The Norwegian flara (to blaze; to flaunt in gaudy
attire) has a similar meaning, but the English word predates it so it’s
presumed derivative. There may be some
relationship with the Middle High German vlederen
(to flutter (and represented in modern German by flattern)) but the evidence is scant. In English, the original meaning was “spread
out” (as applied to hair (and later structures such as the sides of ships))
leading to a comparison with the Old English flǣre (either of the spreading
sides at the end of the nose). The meaning
"shine out with a sudden light" dates from the 1630s while the notion
of "spreading out in display" emerged in the 1640s and is the source
of the modern association with things which "spread gradually
outward".
The noun flare (a giving off of a bright, unsteady light) dates from 1814 and was derived from the verb; from this followed (by 1883) the sense of "signal fire" (1883). Astronomical use dates from 1937. The general meaning "a gradual widening or spreading" is emerged circa 1910, the best known modern example probably the “flares” (flared trousers), first noted in 1964, actually an adaptation of earlier forms of design but a fashion trend which is associated with the hippie era and lasting until the mid 1970s. Flares then became suddenly unfashionable but revivals since have been frequent and they now enjoy a standardized niche in the industry. In idiomatic use, the flare-up (a sudden burst) applied by 1827 to an argument and by 1858 to light, derived from the verbal phrase and contemporary publications noted the vogue flare-up enjoyed as a street expression in 1830s London. The 1660s noun flatus (wind in the bowels) was a direct borrowing from the Latin flatus (a blowing, breathing, snorting; a breaking wind), past participle of flare (to blow, puff) from the primitive Indo-European root bhle- (to blow). From this came the 1590s adjective flatulent (affected by digestive gas), from the sixteenth century French flatulent, from the Modern Latin flatulentus, from Latin flatus. Synonyms, depending on context, include flame, erupt, explode, flash, blaze, blaze, boil over, break out, burn, explode, flare up, flash, flicker, glow, seethe, widen, burst, dart, dazzle, flutter, fume, glare, rant, shimmer & broaden. Flare is a noun & verb, flared is a verb & adjective and flaring is a verb; the noun plural is flares.
1968 Porsche 911S (left), 1978 Porsche 911 Turbo (930, centre), the flared wheel arches meaning the style came to be called the “wide-body”, a term later applied to machines in this style from other manufacturers and a modified 1979 Porsche 930 (right) with the even wider flares often seen on such cars.
1963 AC Shelby Cobra 289 (left) and 1967 AC Shelby Cobra 427 S/C (right) with flared wheel arches. Aspects of the bulge-bodied 427 had actually already been seen on competition versions of the 289 and it has for decades been the most popular style of body (regardless of the engine installed) used by producers of replicas, there now being in excess of 50,000 of these, dwarfing the production of the thousand-odd originals. One way to upset the Cobra purists is to refer to genuine Shelby American AC Cobras in the original body-style (1963-1965) as the "slab-side", a term created to distinguish between the two designs used by the replica Cobra ecosystem.
For many years, most cars have used slightly flared wheel arches but more exaggerated extensions often are added to high-performance models to enable wider wheels and tyres to be fitted. If the high-performance version is to be a regular-production model, the usual practice is the integrate the flares into the fender. Limited production models however often have flares added which are obviously “tacked-on” and that can be part of the attraction, giving the things the appearance of something obviously intended for competition, emphasizing too their “limited production” status. Holden's Torana L34 (1974) & A9X (1977) were produced to homologate various pieces of equipment for competition including the fibreglass flares and part of their appeal lies in them being so clearly "tacked on", the securing bolts attaching them to the fenders left exposed, thus generating an alluring "race car" vibe.
2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 Jailbreak in Panther Pink with two-piece "underwires". Some versions of the Dodge Challenger (2008-2023 and a revival of the style of the 1970-1974 range) were fitted with wheel-arch flares and whether a pair appeared only at the rear or at all four corners depended on specification, the former optimized for straight-line performance (ie drag-racing), the latter as all-purpose, high performance variants.
The “Panther Pink” Challenger was one of a small build in the "Demon 170 Jailbreak program" which included 40 exclusive paint colors, access to these by manufacturer’s invitation only. The option was documented as providing a “one of one” finish (a US$29,995 option) and the color range included a number of the “heritage shades” on the charts for the 1970 Challenger which in many ways was the season of "peak craziness". Only one was finished in Panther Pink (M3) and its unique “one-of-one” status saw it in February, 2025 realize US$450,000 when auctioned on Bring-a-Trailer, an impressive capital gain against the original invoiced cost of US$195,946, the option a good investment. The 1970 color chart is remembered not only for the lurid hues which grabbed the psychedelic moment of the era but also the imaginative names which included Plum Crazy, In-Violet, Tor Red, Sub Lime, Sassy Grass, Panther Pink, Moulin Rouge, Top Banana, Lemon Twist & Citron Yella. Although it may be an industry myth, the story told is that Plum Crazy & In-Violet (shades of purple) were late additions because the killjoy board refused to sign-off on Statutory Grape. That all this weirdness happened during the administration of Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US president 1969-1974) & Spiro Agnew (1918–1996; US vice president 1969-1973) is one of the footnotes in cultural history.
2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock in White Knuckle with satin black accents over black Laguna leather.
Unexpectedly, during the 2010s, "underwire" entered the lexicon of automotive slang when it was used to describe a plastic part fitted temporarily as a protective piece. The yellow plastic fitting (pictured above on the leading edge of the Challenger's splitter) was called a "splitter guard" which was unimaginative but the factory didn't envisage them as consumer items and the term was merely explanatory for the information of those preparing cars for sale. Installed to prevent damage during shipping, it was part of dealer preparation instructions to remove the pieces but leaving them attached became a cult and some cars were even retro-fitted. Dealers cautioned against the trend, noting the pieces weren't specifically molded to ensure a perfect fit so dirt and moisture were prone to being trapped in the gaps and this could scuff the paint. They were known also as "damage guards" and "scuff guards" but more imaginative souls dubbed them the "underwire" while serious students of such things suggested a better simile might have been "pastie", while acknowledging Chrysler followed the lead of the underwear manufacturers in having available both single and two-piece "underwires" although this was coincidental and deterministic, dictated by the splitter design. Women have been known to remove from bras especially intrusive underwires (a "comfort thing") but whether on splitters they were kept or discarded might have seemed an improbable subject for dispute but with cars, men always find a reason to argue about something. Although probably it would have preferred to discuss horsepower, superchargers and such, Chrysler noted the cultural phenomenon and, while obviously reluctant to upset either faction, did issue a statement to a magazine which had requested comment:
"The splitter guards on Dodge Charger and Challenger have taken on a life of their own. They originally made their debut in the 2015 model year to protect the performance fascias on SRT models during shipment from the manufacturing facility to the dealer, and, yes, they are designed to be removed before delivery. But today, they have their own Facebook page, and many of our performance enthusiasts have active debates on whether to keep or remove them. Some owners say they are even selling them in the aftermarket. Obviously, they weren't part of the original design, so we started with yellow guards and shifted to pink, but they are still so popular that we may shift them yet again to black. Wherever we land, this is another example of how our customers are passionate about every part of their Dodge muscle cars."
In Australia, what became the “sports sedans” began in the mid-1960s as a distinctly amateur form of racing called “Sports Racing Closed” which was closer to Formula Libre than any of the rule-bound categories in the mainstream. What rules there were initially demanded little more than the use of some sort of saloon car (loosely interpreted) with certain safety fittings such as a roll-cage but beyond that builders were limited only by their budget and imagination. As a non-professional, semi-official category, budgets tended to be tight but deeply imaginations (along with wrecking yards) were mined to compensate and Peter Brock’s (1945-2006) Austin A30 (1951-1956) was illustrative of the approach taken by many, the body shell coming from one wrecking yard while the 179 cubic inch (2.9 litre) straight-six came from a written-off Holden HD (1965-1966 and the “highly dangerous” in the local slang) in another. The theory was to find the smallest and lightest car and install the biggest, most powerful engine one could afford and Brock’s A30 was thus transformed from a small, economy car (one originally fitted with a 803 cm3 (49 cubic inch) engine) from the 1950s into a genuinely fast (if somewhat unstable) race car. Under the skin was a frame constructed from the square-section tubing of a Triumph Herald (another find at a wrecker) and because, in a quest for stability, the front and rear tracks significantly were widened, the protruding tyres had to be covered and that was done in the most simple way known: square flares, fibre glass extensions extending at right angles from the sides, neatly integrated in this case with the front spoiler. Very powerful and on a short wheelbase, stability was never more than marginal but Brock won over a hundred races with the thing before going on to bigger and better things. The racing establishment looked (down) upon the Sports Racing Closed category disapprovingly and would liked it to have gone away but, fast and loud, the crowds loved it so race organizers were anxious to invite the little hot rods to compete, knowing they’d draw a large (paying) audience. By 1969, things had developed to the point where rather than just stage stand-alone races, what was planned was the “Australian Sports Sedan Championship” but CAMS (the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, then the sport’s national regulatory body) refused to grant these upstarts the dignity of a “championship” and would concede only that they may contest a “trophy”. The dam had however been breached and from that beginning, the sports sedans entered the mainstream, becoming one of the most popular categories of the 1970s.
Harry Lefoe in Hillman Imp-Ford. Still with small square flares, trying to find traction, Oran Park 1970 (left), be-winged in an attempt to stay on the track, Hume Weir, 1971 (centre) and in final (wing plucked and flares added) form, Hume Weir 1974 (right).
That drew in television coverage, sponsorship and the involvement of factories, a new professionalism which doomed the era of hybrid machines built with parts salvaged from wrecking yards. In the last days of amateurism however there were still a few old-school machines fielded and there was one even wilder than Brock’s A30. The Hillman Imp's (1963-1976) light weight and diminutive dimensions held great appeal for Australian earth-moving contractor Harry Lefoe (1936-2000) who had a spare 302 cubic inch (4.9 litre) Ford (Windsor) V8 sitting in his workshop. By 1969 the Imp was a Chrysler product and the recently formed Australian Sports Sedan Association (ASSA) had published guidelines which included restricting engines to those from cars built by the manufacturer of the body-shell but because the Windsor V8 had earlier been used in the Sunbeam (a corporate companion to Hillman) Tiger (1964-1967) the mix qualified. So the big lump of an iron V8 replaced the Imp's 875 cm3 (53 cubic inch) aluminium four and such was the difference in size that Lefoe insisted his Imp had become "mid-engined" although it seems not to have imparted the handling characteristics associated with the configuration, the stubby hybrid infamous for its tendency to travel sideways. It was never especially successful but even more than most at the time it was loud, fast, spectacular and always a crowd favourite. Again the prodigious power and short wheelbase made the thing “twitchy” and in an attempt to improve traction and keep the rear wheels in contact with the road Lefoe fitted an elevated wing in the style which had been briefly popular in Formula One and the Can Am until being banned following a number of accidents caused by component failure. In Australia a similar ban was soon imposed so Lefoe’s only obvious path to grip was to fit wider tyres which necessitated the fashioning of enveloping flares. The approach brought some success but it was the end of an era as the fields increasingly were filled by highly developed (and expensive) machines, created often with factory support and the use of chassis not far removed from open-wheel racing cars. Lefoe’s Imp was most influential because the car which in the mid 1970s was the dominant sports sedan was a (much modified) Chevrolet Corvair, another rear-engine machine transformed into something mid-engined. So dominant was it the rules were changed limiting how far an engine could be moved from the original location.
1974 Ford Cologne Capri. Factories with bigger budgets used wind-tunnels (these days computer modelling handles much of this) to optimize the shape of flares, often using them to direct airflow to radiators or brakes as well as permit the fitment of wider tyres. Even in the early 1970s the flares were being shaped to contribute to downforce as well as provide the mandated coverage of the tyres.
1987 Mercedes-Benz 300 E (left) and 1991 Mercedes-Benz 500 E; note the modest flared wheel arches on the 500E which added about two inches to the width of the car, something which proved surprisingly significant.
In 1991, Mercedes-Benz finally gave the W124 (1984-1995
(body-styles other than the four-door sedan would remain in production until
1997 and 46 500 Es were actually built in 1990)) an engine with the power to
exploit the fine underpinnings. The 500 E
(later E 500 when the naming system was updated) was a response to demand from
those who hankered after something like the old 300 SEL 6.3 (W109 1968-1972) as
well as a long-overdue model to compete with BMW’s M5 but, with development of
the new S-Class (W140 1991-1998) over-budget and behind schedule, the production
work on the 500 E project was out-sourced to Porsche. Porsche’s engineers did a good job mating the
5.0 litre (303 cubic inch) V8 to the chassis, a task which included some
modifications to the suspension and a flaring of the wheel arches to
accommodate the wider track. So subtle
were the flares that they’re almost imperceptible to the casual viewer and
without a standard W124 with which to compare, probably few notice. That’s not surprising given the 500 E was a modest
56 mm (2.2 inches) wider than the more prosaic models (1,796 mm (70.7 in) vs 1,740
mm (68.5 in)).
However, those two-odd inches of additional width created
by the wheel arch flares proved an unanticipated obstacle to volume
production, the prototype found to be too wide to proceed at several points where the W124
production line turned corners. As a glitch (in communication
and systems management rather than engineering), it recalled an incident which
afflicted the somewhat more ambitious Hubble Space Telescope (HST) which, upon
deployment, was found to have one incorrectly ground mirror, blurring the images. In software and
hardware, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) found a solution, a part of which was effected during a celebrated
(and anyway scheduled) servicing mission.
On Earth, things were simpler for Mercedes-Benz which contracted with
Porsche to handle part of the production process, the cars shuttled by truck
between the two factories, located a few miles apart in Stuttgart. That was inconvenient for Mercedes-Benz but fortuitous for Porsche, which, hard-hit
by the recession-induced downturn in the sports car market, needed something to with which to make use of their now substantially idle facilities. The well-publicized arrangement meant it took
eighteen days to complete every 500 E but it added to the allure of the car and
even at a very high price, 10,479 were sold and they were in many ways the
blueprint for the AMG range which followed.
Encouraged by the success, the factory released the 400 E (1991-1995 and
later renamed E 420) which, with a 4.2 litre (256 cubic inch) V8, didn’t demand
the fitment of the five litre car’s wider track and flared wheel arches. Being thus able to use
the standard W124 production line, it was built at a much lower cost and
22,802 were sold. The W124 line is regarded still as "peak E-Class" and nothing since has matched its build-quality or integrity of design.
Built by Ferrari: 1973 Dino 246 GTS with "chairs & flares" options. These days, no longer dismissed as "Fiats", the Dinos are an accepted part of the family, the embrace doubtless partly induced by the high prices they command in the collector market despite being produced in a relatively high volume.
The rhyming colloquialism “chairs and flares” (C&F to the Ferrari cognoscenti) is a reference to a pair of (separately available) options available on later production Dino 246s. The options were (1) seats with inserts (the latter sometimes in a contrasting color) in the style used on the 365 GTB/4 (Daytona) & (2) wider Campagnolo Elektron wheels (which the factory only ever referred to by size) which necessitated flared wheel-arches. In the early 1970s the factory wasn’t too punctilious in the keeping of records so it’s not known how many cars were originally built equipped with the wider (7½ x 14” vs 6½ x 14”) wheels but some privately maintained registers exist and on the basis of these it’s believed production was probably between 200-250 cars from a total run of 3569 (2,295 GT coupés & 1,274 GTS spyders (targa)). They appear to have been most commonly ordered on UK & US market cars (although the numbers for Europe are described as “dubious” and thought an under-estimate; there are also an unknown number in other countries), the breakdown of verified production being:
246 GT: UK=22, Europe=5, US=5.
246 GTS: UK=21, Europe=2, US=91.
The “chairs and flares” cars are those which have both the Elektron option and the Daytona-style seats but because they were available separately, some were built with only one of the two, hence the existence of other slang terms in the Dino world including “Daytona package”, “Sebring spyder” (a strange concoction given Ferrari only ever used the spelling "spyder" for the 250 GT California Spyder (1957-1963) and otherwise used "spider") and, in the UK, the brutish “big arches”. In 1974, the Dino's option list (in US$) comprised:
Power windows: $270.00
Metallic paint: $270.00
Leather upholstery: $450.00
Daytona type central seat panels: $115.00
Air-conditioning: $770.00
14 x 7½ wheels & fender flares: $680.00
AM/FM/SW radio: $315.00
Electric antenna & speakers: $100.00
At a combined US$795.00, the C&F combination has proved a good investment, now adding significantly to the price of the anyway highly collectable 246 and while it's hard in every instance to estimate the added value because so many other factors influence calculation, all else being equal, the premium is well over US$100,000. Because it involves only wheels, upholstery and metal, the modifications can be emulated and while the price of a modified vehicle will not match that of an original, unlike some of the more radical modifications to Ferraris (such as conversions from berlinettas (coupés) to spiders (convertibles of some sort)), creating a C&F out of a standard 246 seems not to lower its value. These things are always relative; in 1974 the C&F option added 5.2% to the Dino GTS's MRP (manufacturer's recommended price) or just under a third the cost of a new small car such as the Ford Pinto (then pre fuel-tankgate). The Dino GTS's MRP (for the US east coast) was US$15,225 while comparable MRPs for cars without options were at the time US$8475.00 for a Jaguar E-Type roadster, US$15,455 for a Mercedes-Benz 450 SL, US$10,800 for a Porsche 911 Targa and US$5,499 for a Chevrolet Corvette Convertible with the 454 cubic inch (7.4 litre) engine. By 2024, at auction, exceptional 246 C&F cars were selling for over US$800,000 although that was still less than the earlier and visually similar 206 GT (152 examples produced between 1967-1969) which can command a million.
Gas flaring on off-shore oil-rig.
It’s surprising gas flaring isn’t more controversial even than it is. A practice which dates from the earliest days of oil extraction, it was originally merely a safety procedure, disposing of the surplus and unwanted gas unavoidably associated with oil production but has long been recognized as wasteful of a valuable natural resource which, if harvested, could be used to generate energy now produced by more polluting sources such as coal; the volume of gas flared annually (ie burned off in the atmosphere) is sufficient to satisfy the energy needs of all sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, the flaring process, which annually burns some 144 billion m3 of gas, is estimated to contribute to the atmosphere about 2.8 kilograms of CO2 equivalent emissions for each m3, resulting in over 400 million tons of CO2 annually and, the methane emissions resulting from the inefficiency of the flare combustion contribute significantly to global warming. This is especially acute in the medium term because methane is over 80 times more powerful than CO2 as a greenhouse gas so on a 20-year timeframe, the multiplier effect means the annual CO2 equivalent emissions are increased by nearly 100 million tons. There are technical solutions to this which would remove the need for most flaring as well as providing a valuable energy source less polluting than coal or diesel but, for the oil industry, the economics are not compelling. Nor, given the relationships between the fossil-fuel industry and politicians, does there seem to be any hint of political will to pursue the issue.
