How Do You Feel About Ferrari's Recent Designs?

The past couple new Ferraris to come out have had rather.... controversial designs. How do you feel about Ferrari's recent designs and the direction they are going? Do you think the designs still evoke passion or do you feel the designs are trying to emulate something else? Discuss.

 

i personally think its hit or miss. the 296 looks incredible, the SF90 and 12Cilindri look alright, but i'm not a huge fan of the F80s design in all honesty. the Monza SP1/2 and Daytona SP3 all look gorgeous however, so it is a mixed bag.

 

I think they look good especially the 812 comp and the 296

 

Originality is in short supply. Some beautiful cars -- I like the 296 -- but nothing iconic If I had to list the most evocative designs I would still look to the 1960s-80s.

BTW Lamborghini and McLaren are also producing a lot of sameness, and I still can't figure out how they managed to make an ugly Countach to "commemorate" the original.

 

I feel like the 812 and 296 were good looking cars. The SF90 was a mixed bag. The 12C and F80 left a lot to be desired, which is disappointing as they are the 2 cars I was most looking forward to. They seem to have a similar design philosophy and I'm really disappointed in it. As I stated in another thread the 12C and F80 incorporating older designs recently reminds me of the remake movies in the 2010s. Sure, it's the same plot, but the makers forgot to include the magic that made it special in the first place.

I know that their philosophy has always been if you don't like it, go buy a different car. That was Enzo's philosophy and while it brought Ferrari to the point of where I fell in love with it (well about 15 years after he passed) he hasn't been at the helm for a while and it seems like a lot of magic is dissipating.

I would like to think that some of these designs are to appeal to millennials, but I struggle with this. At 34 I'm a millennial and have not been fond of the past 2 designs. Neither are my millennial friends.

 

I haven't seen a design that really gets the heart racing. I learned to love the 296gts but haven't got there with the 812 or 12c. I thought the F80 was a joke but sad to see its real. I also agree with the "sameness" seen in other brands and across the board.

 

Very few good designs ever since Ferrari dropped Pininfarina as its design house. I imagine they wanted total control over the production of the cars, but I don't see many future classics these days.

 

296 looks good
12Cilindri looks good except for the weirdness in the rear
SF90 looks pretty good
SP3 looks good
F80 is okay, nothing great.

 

I’m of the bring back Pininfarina camp.

When I discovered Ferraris in the mid-80s, they were like nothing else on the road, and I don’t get that same thrill from the new(er) cars.

Maybe it’s just where I am in my life (50) and my own history of being into these cars (35+ years), but there’s a certain je ne sais quoi missing in the new designs IMO.

Then again, likely many marque enthusiasts (not just Ferrari people) at this point in their enthusiast-life say the same thing lol.

 

I think the Pista was a solid design effort.

 

Don't care much for the Roma, 296, SF90, 12C, F80 or SP3, I have zero desire to own any of them.

The Purosangue is the worst looking thing Ferrari have ever produced by a long way.

Last cars i have loved were the 812 Comp and the Pista.. The SP1 and 2 are cool, but not really real world designs.

 

Just an FYI, the current Head of Sports Car Exterior Design at Ferrari is a former Pininfarina designer.
Carlo Palazzani
Head of Sports Cars Exterior Design
Maranello
In addition, Ferrari's Design staff is populated with several former Pininfarina designers.
Pininfarina is no longer a single person, but a company made up of a group of designers from around the globe. Depending on who is on the staff at any moment, their designs ebb and flow with the designs of the current design vocabulary.

Yes, Flavio Manzoni is the man in charge, but his team are the one's generating the design solutions.

This constant clamor to bring back Pininfarina puzzles and amuses at the same time. Can't please all the people all the time. Ferrari wouldn't be doing their job if they kept looking in the rear view mirror pining for the past. Mr. Ferrari himself said his favorite Ferrari was the 'next one'. He had it right. Everything changes, and many want to remain in the past. Change is difficult. The Ferraris of the '50's-'00's produced some of the most beautiful automotive sculpture of all time. That was then and this is now. Everyone is entitled to their own personal taste. If one likes or dislikes a particular design, that's great. We're passionate about our cars as we should be.

 

I know, but you should try to please at least 1/2 of your customers I would think.

 

The f80 has a Camaro wing. Pininfarnia has a car the sculpted recently, does not look like most new Ferraris, so I don’t agree that because Ferrari took some employees that it transferred the culture and soul from pininfarnia.

I don’t find any of the new cars past the f8 all that appealing. I realize some of those are post pinin, but things have certainly gone down IMO.

that said, they sell every car they make

 

There’s something still a bit too Apple/Iphone about all the new designs for me. Of course they are cool but there is a synthetic feel to them that is making everything feel off. 296 best of the bunch lately.

 

Ferrari is the Beauty that morphed into The Beast..

 

They’ve been transitioning since the Enzo came out.

 

"Feminine" was a descriptor I almost used in my reply; the cars had a beauty to them that has been superseded by an aggressive vibe. Which is fine, I suppose, but it's what everybody else is doing. Used to be I could tell a Ferrari coming at me from a ways off, now I don't know if it's a Ferrari, a McLaren, or as is often the case these days, a Corvette.

I will say Lamborghinis, much as I don't really care for the new Lambos anymore either, are at least recognizable as Lamborghinis from a ways off.

Yeah, I don't disagree and realize some of the current designers came from Pininfarina. I'm sure part of why I feel the way I do is I'm stuck in the past, but the current crop does lean heavily on the designs of the past as well, and try to capture some of what made those designs special - the 12 Cylindri recalling the Daytona, the 296 drawing from the 250LM, the Daytona SP3 from the P4, etc. - I just think the originals were more successful and had a beauty I find lacking today. Honestly I'd be embarrassed to be seen in a Daytona SP3, that design in particular tries too hard, IMO.

Horses for courses though, and agree there's no right or wrong, it's all personal taste, and I'm glad there are people into the new cars and want to buy them. For sure I know I'm not today's Ferrari's target market!

 

Ferrari cars used to be beautiful. If they were also functionally aerodynamic, that was a bonus.

Today's cars are wind-tunnel-optimized, with just enough styling to differentiate it from the other wind-tunnel-optimized efforts from other brands.

Ferrari needs to stop worrying about the .01/lap improvement on a machine that will NEVER be used at that level on any road. Build beautiful "8 tenths" machinery and regain the spark of design.

IMHO. But I am not the target market for a new Ferrari, certainly not any halo car, so my 2 cents is literally worthless to RACE

 

I agree.

I wish they would go back to a light weight driver focused car that had maybe 500hp. For sure less than 600.

Honestly if it was really light... Id be happy if they made 400hp.

As far as the design language.

It is my belief that Ferraris icona series is what you guys are all looking for. Those cars are more about the art/design/passion and less about the lap time.

It is my belief this is the split. The anniversary cars will push the tech needle forward with race proven tech trickled down into the cars... And icona to support the heritage and design.

 

Ferrari is not alone in having newer sports cars with less desirable design elements. The Countach is terrible looking and the Revuelto plus the Huracan successor are derivative and boring. 750s is old design so doesn’t count. Aston making some nice exteriors esp with Valk and Valhalla.
But the newer Ferraris are significantly worse: Puro is pretty bad despite great driving dynamics but an embarrassment to look at. 812 rear is horribly chunky. 12Cindy? You have to be kidding and out of your mind to buy that (unless only playing the Ferrari game which most do). The new hyper-less F80….wtf. The 296gts is a very clean, familiar and feminine design. If it were a v8, we would be talking about how there are no used ones for sale, or all $200k above msrp.
The lil Lotus Emira is the best looking of the lot esp in person. Bummer the engine and exhaust.

 

If I were to rank my top 5 post pininfarina cars it would be:

1. 812 Comp
2. Pista
3. 296 GTB
4. 812 SF
5. Daytona SP3

 

Those camaro taillights...ugh

 

Total disappointment where the last cars are going. All this tech focus and Tesla style design is too much for me. From st90 and 296 and purosangue it seems totally a different direction and I’m no longer interested like I used to be. No idea why this new model had to keep the 12c Daytona style front. I thought that was supposed to be some meaningful design concept for the recent v12. The design on the brand seems geared to people who do not care about car build under the hood and more which gizmo can you get. Same as other brands like amg focusing on tech and not engine performance. Leaders are out of touch w the fan base of a lot of us but the sad answer is that yes they will still sell these and normalize them as some new normal. Very troubled by it and uninspiring. Car futures are really sad to me.