| Author | Message | ||
| Ken (Allyn)
Intermediate Member Username: Allyn Post Number: 1096 Registered: 10-2001 |
I'm going to chime in here and want owners to know that I respect their opinions if they differ, and I do like all Ferraris anyway. I agree with the article. When I first saw the 348, I was shocked how it was so less beautiful (not ugly however) than the 328. That started a downward spiral for Ferrari as far as looks went. Only the 355, F40, F50 and Enzo even look exotic and the latter 3 are not exactly available to most of us. The Testarossa/512 screamed Ferrari even if the design seems dated today. The 360, 456 and 550 don't exactly stop traffic like a 308, 288, Boxer, or 246. As has been stated, they look like they were designed by a computer and a wind tunnel. I would like to see Ferrari return to more innovative designs for their road cars. Look at the Bull; they continue to try to be original even if the Diablo "paste on the plastic do-dads, damn the function for form" style never looked too elegant and is a little silly. Perhaps Ferrari will take some chances when new models come out. | ||
| Manu (Manu)
Member Username: Manu Post Number: 796 Registered: 2-2002 |
No friggin journalist is going to tell ME what car does and doesn't look good. IDIOTS. To quote Maranelloman ... they should just "SHUT THE •••• UP" | ||
| GThomas (Ferrariartist)
Junior Member Username: Ferrariartist Post Number: 178 Registered: 2-2003 |
My own reason-opinion on the matter is that during the 70-80s magor manufacturers where hampered by what could be produced in large numbers cheaply... sure... a designer could reinvent the Pontiac Sunbird back in 198x... but the re-tooling and production methods required to make such a beast would require the car to have a price tag of 50,000 not 12000. Nowadays with CAD coming such a long ways sooo much more can be accomplished at a much less cost.. probably why we so many present-day cars - Sunfire, New Beetle, PT Cruiser, Pacifica, Mini looking much more like their concept cars that people drool over.. and therefore causing lineups when they are released a couple of years later. We used to see these fantastic designer wet-dream show-cars and say WOOOOOW.. and never see anything in real life looking anything like it - 2 or 20 years later... all it did was get us in their display to see (and hopefully buy) their boxes-on-wheels. Ferrari was (but no longer are) in an entirely different boat... they could live with - and be happy - selling 3500 cars a year and continue building by hand (the only way financially possible) these wonderful designs we drooled (and still drool) over. However... as designers for GM and such are given more and more freedom in their designs that gap is closing... albeit slowly... but closing nonetheless... soon, all Chev has to do it make a hit with a right designer and the Vette (i'm gonna get it for this) just might give us Ferrari looks as well as power at a quarter of the price... Probably why Ferrari got its technology in its cars brought up to their F1 level.. (FI tranny, diffusers etc) they could see that they couldnt rely on the pure drop-dead beautiful designs alone forever... the now-4500 cars a year is becoming a less-viable excuse. Ferrari ... well... Pininfarina to be more accurate... (Ferrari has F1 to keep the technology and engines one step ahead) has its work cut out for them to keep their designs standing out at a level we have been accustomed to... personnally... i have every faith that they will do that... meanwhile i'm still keeping my fingers crossed for the 456 replacement... GT | ||
| Drstranglove (Drstranglove)
Member Username: Drstranglove Post Number: 753 Registered: 4-2003 |
IMO The 348 is the greatest car ever designed as far as looks go. (And in the opinion of the BRCC Valet, it is good enough to go to jail for!!!)  | ||
| William Henderson (Billh)
Junior Member Username: Billh Post Number: 78 Registered: 5-2002 |
Thats because there was a HUGE gap between the average auto and a Ferrari. Ferrari was lower, wider, sleeker than anything else on the road. Now that gap is essentially reduced to zero and every Tiburon, eclipse, Mister two has styling cues from italy. | ||
| James Angle (Jimangle)
Junior Member Username: Jimangle Post Number: 56 Registered: 9-2002 |
The problem with ALL new cars is that they've gone to the "smoothe" aerodynamic look. So the cars that made a living off of lines and curves back in the day have suffered. I feel the only car manufactures that have benefitted from the newer designs are the manufacturers whose cars had been ugly from the start, and could only benefit from change, i.e. BMW and Mercedes, and also some porsches. I always thought that the early (70's-80's) Beemers, Mercs and Porshes were the ugliest things on the road, and why would anyone want one. Now I think they're the only car manufactures that have benefited from the new aerodynamic designs. Especially, Merc's and Beemers, who have some of the better looking cars on the road today. They were GODAWFUL in the 70's and 80's. The new smoothe design really hasn't done much for Ferrari. Ferrari's have lost a lot of their looks (though I think the enzo looks great, and has some style to it) from the new aerodynamic designs, but it's what ferrari needs to do to stay competitive in the functionality aspect of it. The 456, 550 and 575 to an everyday person look no different than anyother car on the road. Ferrari's used to make people stop and say, "What the hell is that?" nowadays if you point a ferrari out to a person that doesn't realize that it's a ferrari, people say, "Oh, what happened? It doesn't look like a ferrari, what did they do?" | ||
| PSk (Psk)
Member Username: Psk Post Number: 842 Registered: 11-2002 |
456 is the best looking modern Ferrari by far. The 360 IMO is better looking than the 550/575, but nether are as elegant as the 456. No design is perfect but the Enzo is definately the ugly duckling Pete | ||
| Fayyaz Vellani (Fvellani)
Junior Member Username: Fvellani Post Number: 114 Registered: 8-2002 |
I totally disagree with the article...I feel that the current Ferraris are the most beautiful, most gorgeous cars ever... 575-I agree, a step back from the 550, but still almost as gorgeous (the headlamps and front fascia ruin it for me) 550- one of the most beautiful Ferraris ever 456-beautiful, like poetry in motion 360-love it, I like it better than the 355 | ||
| Ron Vallejo (Ron328)
Junior Member Username: Ron328 Post Number: 244 Registered: 3-2003 |
All Ferrari's are beautiful but the most pleasing and appealing to me are the designs of the 1970-80's, ie., the 365/512 Boxer, 308-328 series, 288 GTO, and the Testarossa line. With all due respect, those who think the F40, F50, or Enzo (or other Ferrari's for that matter) is ugly should withold judgment until they actually see one in real life. These cars are 100x better "in person" than in pictures. Seeing them really makes a difference. | ||
| Andy Barre (Abarre)
New member Username: Abarre Post Number: 18 Registered: 7-2003 |
550/575- absolutely gorgous 456 - Slightly more gorgeous than the 550/575 Enzo - my jury is still out, haven't seen one live 308 - timeless beauty 328 - improvement over the 308 348 - I don't care for it at all (sorry) 355 - Up there with the 308/328 360 - beautiful in its own way Daytona - a little understated for my tastes 288 GTO - The most beautiful car ever!!! Just one guy's opinions.... | ||
| Lee Hamner (Tennlee)
Junior Member Username: Tennlee Post Number: 116 Registered: 2-2002 |
I can understand the argument that the Enzo focuses on performance... its numbers would be hard to believe for anything other than a race car. However, I'm on the 550/575 cars are stunningly beautiful bandwagon. | ||
| peter brinzey (Ferraripete)
Junior Member Username: Ferraripete Post Number: 92 Registered: 11-2002 |
i find myself often agreeing w/ frank on the subject of ferraris. the boxer in the flesh is stunning! pictures do not do it justice. the 308, daytona, 246 dino, and f-40 are all spectacular and are classic ferrari. the new cars do not have the same appeal to me. the same can be said of the new porsches. i will always tell people that the new 996's do not hold a candle to my old 89 930. seems in the pursuit of the perfect coefficient of drag...all cars will end up w/o real charm | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 5473 Registered: 8-2002 |
Whoa... i see high numbers for this thread...
i couldn't agree with you more, John; but definitely not as far as Ferraris... Every new DESign/concept i see looks a lot like another one i just saw... One day, everything will look the same... The wind tunnel nazis need to get a grip. As far as newer-model Ferraris are concerned, i don't see a loss of beauty 'Voluptuous' is an excellent adjective for the 360, but conflicting crease lines...? Where...? The car seems very sexy and uninterrupted from any angle - and believe me, i frequent the Bentley dealership just to look at them...! Just yesterday, in speaking with a friend, i admitted i'd take a 360 over a Daytona; i know, i know, hate me if you will, but the shape does it for me... i guess i'd need to drive both to really know for sure, though. Show me a Toyota that even remotely resembles a 550/575 and i'll concede that Ferrari is slacking off in the DESign department. All i hear is crickets... As mild as the looks of the 456 are, i prefer the current DESign to the new pictures various posters have given us; again, with the wind tunnel... Ok, here's something we can agree on: The F40, in no way, denotes beauty. Find someone who doesn't even know what a Ferrari is and have him look at the F40; first thing to come to mind will be 'sports car'. Then take someone who knows all about the F40 and the first thing to come to his/her mind will be 'raw, awesome, powerful, beast-like king of the jungle'. Neither of those two people, however, will think beauty. Not a guarantee, but definitely a safe bet. The Enzo, ugly...? Ugh... i guess everyone is entitled to an opinion (UGH!). Function well before form...? i'm not so sure about that; i'd think that the form is just about equal to the function... Granted, the lines on the Enzo are sharper than the curvacious bodies of those before her, but some of the lines and shapes are in direct relation to the car's functionality. It would take pure magic to get a 308 or a Daytona to do the things the Enzo can do - even with an Enzo engine...! Sure, i'm biased; i think the Enzo is the most beautiful car ever made - but then there's that whole opinion thing again, which is just what that article was. | ||
| Al Johnson (Bigal)
Junior Member Username: Bigal Post Number: 126 Registered: 3-2002 |
LOL, good one Luke. | ||
| Lucas Taratus (Karmavore)
Member Username: Karmavore Post Number: 348 Registered: 12-2002 |
I love the F40. I love my great Aunt Helen. Its just that neiher are *pretty*. | ||
| Al Johnson (Bigal)
Junior Member Username: Bigal Post Number: 124 Registered: 3-2002 |
Kind of like a**holes, everyone has one. I love the way the F40 looks and HATE the looks of the F50, but the F40 doesn't do anythig for Luke. All totally subjective. | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member Username: Doody Post Number: 1497 Registered: 11-2001 |
interesting perspective. the 550 is just gorgeous. the lines scream sex. it is an incredibly sensous design. you can dislike the interior. you can dislike the engine being up front. and on and on. but if that curve on the back wheel well doesn't raise, among other things, your heart-rate every time you look at it, well, there's something wrong with you :-) :-) :-) doody. | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Advanced Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 2793 Registered: 9-2001 |
I may be a little biased, but I think the lines of the Boxer are as good as Pininfarina has ever designed. | ||
| Bart Duesler (The_bart)
Junior Member Username: The_bart Post Number: 242 Registered: 1-2003 |
My 550 is the most beautiful car ever made. You may argue about it but that is my opinon. The Daytona was nice but the 550 is better. I do admit the 575 is a step backwards. | ||
| Lucas Taratus (Karmavore)
Member Username: Karmavore Post Number: 346 Registered: 12-2002 |
Good grief. I know all this is subjective, but one thing is fact as far as I am concerned, and that is that the F40 is NOT a pretty car. Call it mean, aggressive, whatever, but do not call it beautiful. Luke. | ||
| John (Johno)
New member Username: Johno Post Number: 38 Registered: 2-2002 |
Controversial stuff from this weeks Autocar magazine! (30th July): It includes a very interesting 4-page article (thesis?) arguing that the 456 replacement "heralds a welcome return to beauty for its own sake". "There was a time when all Ferraris were beautiful. But as 550M replaced Daytona, and Enzo superseded F40, grace was overcome by function and the gorgeous Ferrari became a thing of the past" - Wow! To support its thesis, the designs of the 360, 550/575, and Enzo all get criticised in a series of face-offs against the 308, Daytona, and F40 respectively: 308: acknowledged masterpiece..., simple elegance 360: voluptuous shape..., hurt by the number of conflicting crease lines.... Daytona: pure creativity... 550/575: unhappy collection of assorted design themes ..., looks like a big Toyota... F40: combined beauty and function... Enzo: function well before form... Very strong stuff indeed! I don't agree with most of the comments (attacks?), but I can see where they are coming from. The wind tunnel and constant drive for performance do have a lot to answer for. I think aggression has replaced beauty in the design of modern supercars. |