Exactly. My 993RS feels so compact compared with the 997GT3RS. I am thinking that a 355 sized car with 2010 technology would be perfect.
I think J. Salmon is right at least with regard to the U.S. market. Nearly every car sold here has gotten larger with each redesign. The C6 Corvette was a notable exception. But the current BMW 3 is bigger than some of the older BMW 5 series. Larger cars = status here in the States. And I disagree with the post above that says the extra length is needed for bigger brakes and wheels. In absolute terms, the size difference isn't all that much. And the wheels on the 360/F430/458 look tiny relative to the bodywork (compared to the Boxer/328/348/355). It probably is simply because people have gotten slightly taller and much wider over the years.
And the average American has one breast, one testicle and a three inch penis. Same with Europeans. Nothing is made for the "average." Porsche lengthened their car to cure deadly oversteer. Since then, they have increased their sales four times over (my estimate). Ferrari saw a vast, untapped market in wealthy athletes. They grew with the changes they made. And their cars, because of that growth (in numbers and profit) got better and appealed to more people. That's a chicken/egg situation. Once any one aspect of a design grows, something else is affected and so it goes, on down the line. Bigger this demands bigger that. For looks alone, a Ferrari motor viewed as a work of art, is not crowded and is much more appealing than a crowded Porsche engine compartment where you can't even see the sides or front of the engine. That "white space" is worth a little size increase.
Try taking a Gallardo on a weekend trip or longer with your gal with any luggage larger than a shoebox. They are nice "day sailers" not really for touring or overnighters.
What? Size=status here? Where do you get it from? It is Badge=status. Otherwise all the buicks and escalades would live at the top of the pile.
i have to agree with original poster..why are ferraris getting bigger and bogger with each model line. no need for huge horsespower...lets make the car lighter and smaller! lotus proves it works...no F car handles better on the track than a lotus Scharged exige... for 4 tmes the cash. i would love to see a 350 hp ferrari with a weight in the 2500lb area the size of a 328/348
And the lotus handles not as well as a Caterham/Ariel/Radical etc. And a Ferrari handles much better than a Veyron which costs x times as much. See where this is going? It's difficult to find a good balance but I think Ferrari are doing a decent job considering that Ferrari's are not first and foremost track cars. Sure there could be improvements but all in all they are great road cars (GT and sport) and fun enough on track. Further, anyone really dedicated to tracking will have one of the aforementioned/Challenge/Porsche Cup car or something equivalent. Any road car designed for the track will inherently have some compromises.
Putting things into perspective: F360 L: 176.3 W: 75.7 F430 L: 177.6 W: 75.7 F458 L: 178.2 W: 76.3 I could not care less the size of a Gallardo, but I can not see how anyone can suddenly think the F458 is too big when it is not even one inch larger than its predecessor, the F430. Assuming these measurements are correct. Aerodynamics, style, all add to a cars dimensions, but such fractions are meaningless. The car is beautiful, the car is comfortable, and the car is fast. To make it smaller, means changing most dimensions to keep everything proportionate. So if the car becomes shorter in length, it would probably need to shorter in height to keep the design proportionate. That takes away from headroom, making it narrower would take away from interior comfort. The F458 is as close to perfect for a modern sports car as one can get. And it has Ferrari nameplates and an sound that is only Ferrari. It isn't meant to be competition for any other car, the people that buy Ferraris generally do not buy Lamborghinis. They are two different beasts, so one buys both, it is because they are different.
Because the 430 is also too big. And it is not just in the longitudial direction. What we desire is a car in the 160" range that is less than 70" wide--basically the dimensions of a 308/328. However, a 328 sized car with F355 interrior volume, modern electronics, and modern aerodynamics {You can leave out the alarm.} One can make an absolutely fine car in these dimensions, fit a stiff, sturdy chassis, a big motor, lots of gears, AC, full of leather and comfort, and also drop a couple of hundred pounds at the same time; to make it that much faster.
Can't argue with that -- it is easier to see the engine in a 458 than in a 997. And a bigger Ferrari will accommodate rich jocks. But, both your points seem like poseur-ish compromises. If you're building the ultimate performance car, you wouldn't be thinking about Kobe Bryant's bank balance and height, and putting the engine on display could be taken as a little limp-wristed compared to the 250 GTO, 275 GTB and 365 GTB/4 eras, where somehow the cars managed to look much better with the engine tucked away. +1, but good luck with that ever happening.
Well said. It's kind of the "hey my new jeans are only 1" bigger in the waist than the ones I bought six months ago!" It doesn't sound bad till you say the same thing every six months for a few years...
I have seen the 458 and I don't think it's too large. I feel the same about the 430 and 360 for that matter.
I think there's something of 'perceived' value that comes with the extra size. In many way an Elise is everything a sports car should be, certainly from a driving point of view, yet it does look a little like a 'toy' when it's parked next to an F430.
I went with a friend to look at an Elise. When I "tried it on for size," he laughed and said, "You better get that while you're still young enough to get in and out of it." Needless to say, I bought it on the spot. I'll admit it was a fun car to drive. It handled like a dream and sounded good (stage 2 optional exhaust). It was great on the open road, but in town, in traffic, it got no respect. Anybody and everybody was a danger. Nobody saw it when they changed lanes right in front of me. My biggest fear was getting caught behind a Mazda Miata and not knowing what else was around to look out for. Maybe a little height increase would have solved that. It wasn't nearly as much fun with the top on as it was with it off. The top gave it a claustrophobic feeling and the sound of the exhaust was blocked by it. But taking the top off and putting it back on was a bit of a bother. And there was always the danger with it off that you would need it for rain. Maybe a little more weight would allow a power top. And if that meant a little more length to stow it, well, it's a small car and a little more won't hurt. And this difficulty of getting in and out that could be solved by pushing the interior a little further back from the windshield (making the car longer) and maybe raising the floor up a little (making the car taller). Wait a minute here. I've added length and weight. What's that going to do to the performance, both acceleration and braking? Better up those, a little more than just a tad, because bigger brakes and bigger motors weigh more themselves. You get it? I traded the Elise in on a 360 Spider, a car that had already realized they could fit more people and had adjusted to the market. I don't think Ferrari wants to have a pure sports car anymore. They were a much smaller company with much different leadership when they did (if they ever did). They have factories and facilities to build many more cars now than they used to so their market is more mainstream and really doesn't cater to nor desire to cater to the few that would pull them backwards in their evolution. Some of the changes were dictated by regulations and I believe they have kept the spirit as much as they could and as much as they want to. Compare the sales of Ferrari and Lotus. Even though they cost a lot more and are less "pure," they still outsell the little specialty car. There's a reason or two for that.
Unfortunately, I agree with you. Enzo never did, Chinetti was the road car pusher (puller). There need be absolutely no backwards evolution in order to make a kick ass sports car with smaller dimensions and lower weight.
I have no problem with the EXTRIOR dimensions of the car shrinking, but not if it's done at the expense of shrinking the interior space and making the car undriveable for people over 6 feet tall!
Isn't the MP4-12 about 400 lbs lighter with similar size and performance? I'm even more concerned about F cars weight going up...
A bit smaller then 458 but supposedly very roomy inside,significantly lighter because of Carbon Fiber tub,more power and a lot of torque. Styling not to everyone's liking but I suspect dynamically might blow the 458's doors off.
