bruddah_man_matt
02-10-2006, 06:21 PM
Question, is anyone else besides me as stunned as I am at how ugly the latest crop of Ferraris are? I mean ok, there will always be the classics like the infamous 250 GTO, the stylish but somewhat unloved 246 Dino, the sharp looking awesomely straight 80s built for Group B Rallying 288 GTO and the beautiful F40 often considered the greatest of the Ferrari supercars. But classics and ubercar specials aside, Ferrari design has taken a header over the last few years IMO. I'm beginning to wonder if function is taking full precedence over form these days over in Maranello.
First things first. Now in my opinion, the super Ferraris are sort of exempt from my argument because they're built strictly to go fast and tend to incorporate either designs that are familiar, or what's functional. Nonetheless, it's interesting to see how the design of the last few Ferrari supercars have progressed (or regressed depending on how you look at it) over the years. Yes the Enzo is one functional machine, but it is fucking ugly. The 250 GTO will always be a beaut and a classic so we'll let that one be. The 288 GTO built to go rallying was based off of the 308 GTB in terms of design. A good looking car to begin with in it's own right. The came the awesome looking and straight 80s F40 and then the F50 and F50GT. Both of which were sort of evolutions of the F40 in terms of design. But then almost a decade later we get the purely functional Enzo and FXX. Now this to me was a sign that Ferrari may perhaps be thinking that form no longer plays a part in terms of design. But again, the Enzo is their supercar, what about the lesser more streetable Ferraris I thought?
Lets look at the last 15 years or so of Ferrari design. Starting at the bottom there's the F430. Now the F430 is much more agressive looking then the bland 360 Modena. I'm sorry, but the 360 Modena barely looked sexy unless it was in Challenge Stradale trim. I guess it's tough to follow an act as great as the 355 and even the baby Testarossa 348 that came before it in terms of exterior design. Both the 348 and 355 were great looking small Ferraris. From the 348s baby Testarossa look to the 355s sleek "pop up headlights are still a fad" and "it's time to bring exposed round tailights back to the small Ferrari" design cues. I loved the look of both cars and found the 360 a bit to bland for my tastes. The F430 is an improvement, but those intakes at the front are a bit too huge and pronounced. I wish they'd tone them down because the Enzoesque rear is some hot shit.
Moving up to 2+2s... well 2+2s have never been Ferrari's area of expertise in my opinion. When the 456GT entered production in '92 as a successor to the front engined 412 which was discontinued after '89 it would also end up replacing the Mondial T which would later disappear in '93. Since the departure of the Mondial, Ferrari hasn't offered a mid engined 2+2 leaving only the front engined 456 and now the 612 as their only 4 seat offerings. In terms of design, the 456 was a good looking in my opinion. A bit bulbous but hey, it was a 4 seater afterall. For a 2+2 it was a beautiful looking car and I was sad to see it go when it was finally replaced. Especially when it was replaced by the obnoxious looking 612 Scaglietti. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT ANYWAY? What an UGLY UGLY car the 612 is. This to me was the second mistep by Ferrari in terms of design. Ok so the 360 was bland looking but not ugly, and the Enzo was ugly but highly functional which I guess I could forgive. But the 612. What a disgrace to Ferrari design that thing is. From the clean smooth lines of the 456M to this thing. WOW, just WOW. From the long ass hood to the long wheelbase which was stretched simply so that one could fit two 6 footers in the back. Yet again, more function over form which results in a disaster of a design.
Finally we come to Ferrari's GT line of cars. With the demise of the F512M we'd also see the demise of the mid engined F12 Ferrari GTs. What we'd gain is the first front engined 2 seat GT Ferrari since the Daytona which ended production in the mid 70s, with an all new V12 replacing the infamous F12 motors made famous from the time it first appeared in the 365BB during the 70s up until the F512M which ended production in '96. That front engined GT was the 550 Maranello. And what a beautiful car it was. From the Viperesque hood scoop to it's sleek glass hatch. Lets face it, while the Berlinetta Boxer series of cars weren't the greatest of designs, the Testarossa was a hottie. What a looker that thing was. Design cues even carried over to the baby 348. Replacing it would be no easy task, especially since Ferrari would be returning to it's FR roots with it's successor, but the 550 succeeded. It was a great design which even looked good without a roof (550 Barchetta) and with a flip top (575M Superamerica). So of course Ferrari would make sure that the successor to the car which resurrected the front engined Ferrari GT would be beautiful right? WRONG. The 599 GTB is shaping up to be a 612 minus 2 seats and pentastar wheels from the 80s. Frankly I am disappointed and find the thing to be just plain and pure ugly. The 599 for me marks the nail in the coffin for what I think is the downfall of Ferrari design over the last 3 or 4 years or so.
Somewhere along the way I think Ferrari forgot that when 7 year old boys dream about their cars, they don't quite yet know what a 6.0L V12 is. They dream about their cars because they're beautiful works of art. Form and function must work hand in hand when it comes to performance cars. One cannot supercede the other IMO. Personally I feel Ferrari has forgotten that beauty is not found through a .29 drag coefficent.
First things first. Now in my opinion, the super Ferraris are sort of exempt from my argument because they're built strictly to go fast and tend to incorporate either designs that are familiar, or what's functional. Nonetheless, it's interesting to see how the design of the last few Ferrari supercars have progressed (or regressed depending on how you look at it) over the years. Yes the Enzo is one functional machine, but it is fucking ugly. The 250 GTO will always be a beaut and a classic so we'll let that one be. The 288 GTO built to go rallying was based off of the 308 GTB in terms of design. A good looking car to begin with in it's own right. The came the awesome looking and straight 80s F40 and then the F50 and F50GT. Both of which were sort of evolutions of the F40 in terms of design. But then almost a decade later we get the purely functional Enzo and FXX. Now this to me was a sign that Ferrari may perhaps be thinking that form no longer plays a part in terms of design. But again, the Enzo is their supercar, what about the lesser more streetable Ferraris I thought?
Lets look at the last 15 years or so of Ferrari design. Starting at the bottom there's the F430. Now the F430 is much more agressive looking then the bland 360 Modena. I'm sorry, but the 360 Modena barely looked sexy unless it was in Challenge Stradale trim. I guess it's tough to follow an act as great as the 355 and even the baby Testarossa 348 that came before it in terms of exterior design. Both the 348 and 355 were great looking small Ferraris. From the 348s baby Testarossa look to the 355s sleek "pop up headlights are still a fad" and "it's time to bring exposed round tailights back to the small Ferrari" design cues. I loved the look of both cars and found the 360 a bit to bland for my tastes. The F430 is an improvement, but those intakes at the front are a bit too huge and pronounced. I wish they'd tone them down because the Enzoesque rear is some hot shit.
Moving up to 2+2s... well 2+2s have never been Ferrari's area of expertise in my opinion. When the 456GT entered production in '92 as a successor to the front engined 412 which was discontinued after '89 it would also end up replacing the Mondial T which would later disappear in '93. Since the departure of the Mondial, Ferrari hasn't offered a mid engined 2+2 leaving only the front engined 456 and now the 612 as their only 4 seat offerings. In terms of design, the 456 was a good looking in my opinion. A bit bulbous but hey, it was a 4 seater afterall. For a 2+2 it was a beautiful looking car and I was sad to see it go when it was finally replaced. Especially when it was replaced by the obnoxious looking 612 Scaglietti. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT ANYWAY? What an UGLY UGLY car the 612 is. This to me was the second mistep by Ferrari in terms of design. Ok so the 360 was bland looking but not ugly, and the Enzo was ugly but highly functional which I guess I could forgive. But the 612. What a disgrace to Ferrari design that thing is. From the clean smooth lines of the 456M to this thing. WOW, just WOW. From the long ass hood to the long wheelbase which was stretched simply so that one could fit two 6 footers in the back. Yet again, more function over form which results in a disaster of a design.
Finally we come to Ferrari's GT line of cars. With the demise of the F512M we'd also see the demise of the mid engined F12 Ferrari GTs. What we'd gain is the first front engined 2 seat GT Ferrari since the Daytona which ended production in the mid 70s, with an all new V12 replacing the infamous F12 motors made famous from the time it first appeared in the 365BB during the 70s up until the F512M which ended production in '96. That front engined GT was the 550 Maranello. And what a beautiful car it was. From the Viperesque hood scoop to it's sleek glass hatch. Lets face it, while the Berlinetta Boxer series of cars weren't the greatest of designs, the Testarossa was a hottie. What a looker that thing was. Design cues even carried over to the baby 348. Replacing it would be no easy task, especially since Ferrari would be returning to it's FR roots with it's successor, but the 550 succeeded. It was a great design which even looked good without a roof (550 Barchetta) and with a flip top (575M Superamerica). So of course Ferrari would make sure that the successor to the car which resurrected the front engined Ferrari GT would be beautiful right? WRONG. The 599 GTB is shaping up to be a 612 minus 2 seats and pentastar wheels from the 80s. Frankly I am disappointed and find the thing to be just plain and pure ugly. The 599 for me marks the nail in the coffin for what I think is the downfall of Ferrari design over the last 3 or 4 years or so.
Somewhere along the way I think Ferrari forgot that when 7 year old boys dream about their cars, they don't quite yet know what a 6.0L V12 is. They dream about their cars because they're beautiful works of art. Form and function must work hand in hand when it comes to performance cars. One cannot supercede the other IMO. Personally I feel Ferrari has forgotten that beauty is not found through a .29 drag coefficent.