Ferrari 849 Testarossa Styling

This is not about ****ing cars but about showing some manners.

 

In Ferrari's history, the 849 is the fifth Testa Rossa, although the Ferrari Testa Rossa (1984) is the only one with its name written as a single word instead of the other models' two. Unlike the 849 the Testa Rossa (1984) was born to stupefy, as was clear from the very day of its unveiling, although its extreme body shape was in stark contrast to the Ferrari-Pininfarina cars that had come before. More than 40 years after its launch, the Testa Rossa lines and timeless beauty continue to impress. Although Ferrari claims that the front and rear of the 849 features volumes inspired by the Ferrari geometries of the past, the reality is that when we look at the car, we see absolutely nothing whatsoever that reminds the Testa Rossa, whose most emblematic and immediately recognizable feature is its side gills.

As with its predecessor, the SF 90, the 849 will undoubtedly remain an exceptional supercar in terms of performance, but its design, captive to maximum aerodynamic efficiency, will continue to divide. Will we be able to say in a decade that the lines of the 849 and most recent modern Ferraris are timeless? I don't think so, and as with the F80, Ferrari and its designers have put aerodynamic efficiency and performance before style and beauty.




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Hello everyone, any idea yet what will be included this time in the Assetto Fiorano package? thanks a lot!

 

The issue is that if you have first seen the car in real life, when you see any 28mm iPhone pictures or other wide angle photos (very few are shot without some sort of wide angle lens), you already have a frame of reference because you have seen the real thing. If you haven’t had that, you only have the photos which change the car’s angles and flatten out the surfaces. You’re not seeing the real car. It’s not just a Ferrari thing.

Some cars transcend that but it doesn’t mean they are better or somehow more resolved designs. I’ve never really thought the 275 was as nice as the 250 series. But I recently saw one for the first time at Salon Prive and wow, it was beautiful. Much better than in pictures. Whereas the 250 GTO looks sublime in pictures and the same in real life. Side-by-side the 275 looks more classically beautiful, whereas it looks like a boat in photographs (to my eyes).

 

I feel like this is true of all of Manzoni era cars. The designs just do not photograph well. Also the designs are on purpose executed in a way that really differentiates the product lines. 296 - smooth curvy compact and sporty vs 849 - designed for presence above all else imho. I remember seeing the SF90 in person and the first thought that came to mind was V12 Lambo competitor for road presence, whereas in the pictures it came across as a tame design. You just cannot judge modern Ferraris based on pictures anymore.

 

Yes - SF90 has great presence but also very similar to 458.
People lose perspective - until presented in scale.
Manzoni cars are done much much better than people's eyes / opinions and the only way to define, side by side. SF90 is one of the best / cleanest designs, the AF rear is perfection and the front holds it's own to any exotic. Put a Dino next to a Daytona - not sure anything has changed but for equality on the internet. Not a good thing but a thing.
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You left a long time ago - by choice
Every brand is going in the same direction, nothing to do with Ferrari. They all have to build faster cars - it's how they sell the next generation.
Been going on for 125 years.

 

I agree things may look different in real life. But this notion that something doesn’t photograph well and yet is an amazing design is hard to believe in general. I will wager to say that most great looking designs or objects are going to show pretty damn well in photos. This idea that it is TOTALLY amazing only after seeing is the idealization or persuasion or apologetic style to me. Come on now. Things are a banger or not. this car, after the 12c crazy styling also, is a geometric mess with more horizontal and now vertical panels that continue to make it look like a Lego brick in certain places and also steals from other brands’ styling cues. The car is far from elegant like most beautiful Ferrari design.
saying we cannot judge modern or Ferrari in general now on pictures is truly an amazing concept to suggest. These are objects of visual desire. If Ferrari endorses that their products can not be judged by photos anymore then they truly have lost their minds and are way off the reservation. I can not believe most enthusiasts here would say that we can’t assess how it looks or derive a proper opinion unless we touch it.

 

Really? but you enjoy complaining, I reckon if you leave you will definitely come back

Here you go, my Comp A arrived along with my 12C, this should cheer you up


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This is one of the best angles to capture the design, seriously you can not say this doesn’t look good.
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The darkest the picture, the better it looks

 

Fair enough, we all have different taste.

 

To be fair, we also get the exact same reversed argument often enough "if you don't like this, I like it it's because you're dumb".

 

I am not saying that the something looks terrible in photos and amazing in real life. I am saying that majority of modern Ferraris have complex surfacing that is not easy to capture in pictures. For example, Daytona SP3 was not much loved online but most people do appreciate it more when they see it in person. An exception is SP1/2 where the shape was way more classic and flowing and it pictures really well and in real life looks very nice as well.
I also understand that Mazoni/Ferrari Design's design language is not for everyone and there are a lot of people who don't like most of the modern Ferrari designs in print and in person. I don't work for Ferrari nor do I need to pump the stock, just an enthusiast sharing his opinion and experience with other enthusiasts