GT California. Like/Dislike. | Page 8 | FerrariChat

GT California. Like/Dislike.

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by RussianM3_dude, May 13, 2008.

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GT California styling.

  1. Love it

  2. Hate it

  3. Indifferent

Multiple votes are allowed.
Results are only viewable after voting.
  1. shin

    shin Karting

    Apr 8, 2004
    122
    Full Name:
    Shin
    Top Gear did a comparison between the F599, DBS, LP640. On ICE. Check this out :

    http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/2008/03/stories/04/1.html

    I quote : And even the Ferrari tech guy who helped fit 'our' 599's winter tyres for the ice track work had to admit that the DBS was beautiful. He may have even said that it was better to look at than his beloved Fiorano, though I could never quote him on that. "It is verry bew-tee-full, ziss Ass-tonne-Marr-teen," said the Italian, properly awed.

    Enough said.

    What the DB9/DBS has that the 599 is lacking is sleek, beautiful PROPORTIONS. Not some '3-D dimensional', BMW-Bangle style surface treatments.

    Higher art is the DB9/DBS..
     
  2. DM18

    DM18 F1 Rookie

    Apr 29, 2005
    4,725
    Hong Kong
    I was at the unveiling of the 612 in Shanghai and the car took my breath away. I never had any issues regarding the styling of the 612
     
  3. manya81

    manya81 Formula Junior

    Apr 8, 2008
    365
    Full Name:
    Robert
    I would like to see more photos of the back. Like every time I like most
     
  4. AndyS

    AndyS Karting

    Sep 17, 2005
    97
    New York
    Full Name:
    Andy Santos
    it needs to be offered with a manual transmission option! C'mon Ferrari, how hard would it be to spec a manual tranny from Getrag or ZF??
     
  5. manya81

    manya81 Formula Junior

    Apr 8, 2008
    365
    Full Name:
    Robert
    I think that the gear DSG is a step forward for ferrari like the direct injection
     
  6. RP

    RP F1 World Champ

    Feb 9, 2005
    17,667
    Bocahuahua, Florxico
    Full Name:
    Tone Def
    I read that the geographic center of the greatest number of Ferrari registrations is Ft Lauderdale. That's in Florida. So when is Ferrari going to name a car the Florida??
     
  7. Cavallini

    Cavallini Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,835
    #182 Cavallini, Jun 7, 2008
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2008
    LOL. If you think the Brits wouldn't put words in an Italians mouth you're fooling yourself. Italians know beauty when they see it and have no problem giving credit where it's due. "Properly awed" however is an inflated British journalists ego, nothing more.

    Other than the 3-series, BMW has been atrocious and should never be called 3-D or ever mentioned in the same breath as Ferrari. Clearly, you don't understand what I mean by 3-D nor does it seem you understand what Ferrari has been doing since the 360.

    I call recent Ferraris 3-D because you cannot see all the harmony and integration of line, curve and plane in photos. 2-D cars, like the DB9 are beautiful at first photo-site. Previous Ferraris were the same.

    Ferrarri designed cars like the DB9 in the 60s and 70s. It's old news to them and their designers. The Daytona was the epitome of that style and that was in the late '60s. The 288 GTO, 328, 355, 456 and 575 are also of that clean, yet 2-D beauty.

    That sort of simple beauty, as you call it "sleek", is very easy, very beautiful, but too easy. Ferrari did it for decades over and over. Jaguar hit it once. Aston, maybe twice. Lambo thrice. Porsche, never until very recently. Corvette twice, although their newest is a very good adaptation of Ferrari principals.

    It has been Ferrari's nature to be more challenging and bold, especially under LDMs watch, and particularly with so many competitors these days.

    The DB9, 575, 456 and such are like Duke Ellington, always elegant and beautiful but not daring, not bold at all.

    Ferrari's are more like Hendrix and Coltrane but not so outlandish and asymmetrical as Ornette Coleman.

    Ferrari strikes the mid-point between beautiful and extreme. This is what makes it high art. High art can never be easy.

    At bottom, the DB9 is a cleaned-up, toned DB7. Fisker did an excellent job of cleaning up the design and making it stronger and sharper, thus more beautiful. But it is not a new design. Hence the V8 is a slightly shorter but identical version of the DB9

    But the DB9 is not high art, not in any way. It is too easy too be called high art. Ditto the DBS, which is basically a Ferrari influenced DB9. The interior, however, is superb, truly memorable, almost enough to be the car for that reason alone.

    But I've noticed an anti-Ferrari design trend among British journalists, so this shouldn't surprise. They're always saying it's too bold or too loud or too cheeky or too something. So to me, this is just a reflection of British taste, although it would be interesting to see what the sales figures are for Ferrari in the UK and what actual owners think.

    Overall, it's like the difference between a Frank Lloyd Wright building and one of those easy Georgian revivals. The Georgian revival should never be called art, even though it is handsome. It is simply too easy to be called handsome

    Wright's work, however, is pure genius, even if people don't understand it at first.


    Forza,


    Cavallini
     
  8. Cavallini

    Cavallini Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,835

    Shin, this article begins with the quote, "theses three great marquees...."

    Now, I understand Ferrari is and has been great for more than 50 years but thus far Aston has made perhaps 3 memorable cars.

    Meanwhile Ferrari's last three cars have been automotive masterpiences.

    This is clearly a piece of Brit propaganda/wishful thinking, which is fine since it's their magazine and the DBS is something to shout about, but come now, let's be serious.

    Neither Lambo nor Aston can really be called great like Ferrari. Porsche's much closer to Ferrari than those two.


    Forza,


    Cavallini
     
  9. Cavallini

    Cavallini Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,835
    That's a good question. Probably never because Ferrari has a tradition with the word California and I personally think it rolls off the tongue much better in English and Italian. lol

    Florida is rather inelegant as a word.


    Forza,


    Cavallini
     
  10. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    98,533
    Vegas baby
    What I find funny about a lot of journalists is that they say with every new Ferrari model "well, it's not the prettiest Ferrari ever"... but never seem to get around to telling us what they think the "prettiest" is. When the Daytona came out, the press at the time really disliked it. Ask an auto journalist now what they think of a Daytona. I bet you get a different answer.

    Ask someone knowledgable if they think the McLaren F-1 is a pretty car. It's not. It's actually a bit boring to look at. But the performance and purpose make it an outstanding vehicle and one of the all time greats. It's just not "bedroom poster" material in the looks department.

    I think this is one of the reasons for Ferrari's success over the years. They've been able to generate excitement in their design and create performance that, if not actually the best, is so close that you don't worry about it. The 3 series cars, the TR, the F40, the Enzo, and their current production vehicles have these qualities. You can't have it both ways when trying something new. Ferrari cars seem to shock people and then eventually become icons. 50 years from now, no one will care what the McLaren F-1 looked like. 50 years from now, the Enzo will still be talked about as daring and inventive. That is the true measure of style. The Barcelona chair is not the cheapest to make or the most comfortable to sit in. But, 50 years later, we still love the look and buy them for our homes and businesses. They have been copied and imitated millions of times. The same has done to Ferrari time after time. Even the names have been outright stolen -- aka GTO.

    Is there any more compliment than to be widely imitated and yet have the original design still regarded as the best? I don't think so.
     
  11. DJ4200GT

    DJ4200GT Formula Junior

    Aug 18, 2004
    354
    #186 DJ4200GT, Jun 7, 2008
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2008
    Sorry but if you have to spend post after post trying to "explain" that it is beautiful than the object you are attempting to explain is obviously not universally beautiful. Lets face it be it girls, cars, homes, there is a standard that (among the masses) generally speaking equates to beauty. The California falls far below that standard. There is a seat for every ass so there will always be people who go against the grain like you in this case. The car is not an example of Ferrari's more stellar efforts in the styling department but why should they care, they slapped a horsey on the thing and they know damn well it will sell to all the idiots who don't know any better! Hopefully the world economy will tank and Ferrari will be compelled to start actually putting some thought into their designs resulting in beautiful cars again!
     
  12. Cavallini

    Cavallini Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,835
    #187 Cavallini, Jun 8, 2008
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2008

    For automobiles, please show me what "standard" for "universally beautiful" cars there is that IS NOT Ferrari. Past Ferraris and current Ferraris.

    If you don't see what I'm saying, just say so, or if you don't like the California, say so.

    But my point about Ferraris since the 360 is very clear though little known. Stand next to an Enzo and an Murci and you'll see my point.

    I'm not "explaining" why I like the California. I'm explaining why recent Ferraris have often looked crazy in computer generated photos but look stunning in the flesh. The California in Rosso Corsa looks crazy in computer generated photos. In Azzuro, however, you can see the integration of the lines much more clearly.

    Now if you don't understand that or disagree with it, fine.

    As the Romans used to say, "pulchrum est paucorum."



    Forza,


    Cavallini
     
  13. Cavallini

    Cavallini Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,835
    Very good points, especially about the original reaction to the Daytona. Journalists, like most people, have sour grapes and prefer to dislike what they can not possess, the way some women are so quick to say a beautiful woman is "stupid."

    It's the same phenomenon. The difference is, journalists often change their tune after the car is a stunning success and praised by owners.

    This is the case especially with something bold and daring, like the Daytona, the Enzo etc.


    Forza,


    Cavallini
     
  14. scuderia200

    scuderia200 Rookie

    Jun 8, 2008
    2
    Wonderfull desing I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  15. DeSoto

    DeSoto F1 Veteran

    Nov 26, 2003
    7,481
    There was a Yugo Florida, if someone is interested...
     
  16. DM18

    DM18 F1 Rookie

    Apr 29, 2005
    4,725
    Hong Kong
    Disagree. I think the car is beautiful and I am very much looking forward to my early California. I am not an idiot who does not know any better - I am a multiple Ferrari owner and some of my Ferraris such as the Daytona, 288 GTO and F40 are regarded by a few people as meeting "the standard (among the masses) generally speaking of what equates to beauty". I do not consider myself to be "an idiot who does not know any better". I can buy any car that I want to anytime that I want to and am not particularly loyal to any marque. I had the first 599 in Asia and at the time there was a lot of criticism of the 599's looks. I thought the car was stunning from the moment I set eyes on it in the metal at the Shanghai launch unveiled by Luca di M.
     
  17. shin

    shin Karting

    Apr 8, 2004
    122
    Full Name:
    Shin
    For modern ones, the aston V8 Vantage and the alfa romeo 8C. I never heard a single individual call them ugly. They argue which one is prettier, but never the ugly word.

    I am actually seriously considering the California and I don't dislike it, obviously. But I'm confident Ferrari could have designed it better. Less fussier details will certainly help in the way that less is more, as shown by the simple lines of the aston V8 and the alfa 8C.

    Last Ferrari I think 'complete' in terms of design, was the 360.
     
  18. scuderia200

    scuderia200 Rookie

    Jun 8, 2008
    2
    I think that nobody can judge the california not see it live up
    Is my opinion only
     
  19. manya81

    manya81 Formula Junior

    Apr 8, 2008
    365
    Full Name:
    Robert
    I can not wait until Tuesday to see new photos
     
  20. DM18

    DM18 F1 Rookie

    Apr 29, 2005
    4,725
    Hong Kong
    Disagree with you on the 360 and the V8 Vantage and agree with you 1000% on the 8C. Can hardly wait until mine arrives in September
     
  21. Cavallini

    Cavallini Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,835
  22. PSk

    PSk F1 World Champ

    Nov 20, 2002
    17,673
    Tauranga, NZ
    Full Name:
    Pete
    Should have been a hybrid ... they would have dominated the Hollywood/Rock star, etc. scene and sent a powerful message to the greenies.

    It could have been and still just as fast, luxury, etc. ... and still a Ferrari.
    Pete
     
  23. opus10583

    opus10583 Formula 3

    Dec 3, 2003
    1,779
    Westchester, NY
    Full Name:
    Mark
    Exactly.
     
  24. opus10583

    opus10583 Formula 3

    Dec 3, 2003
    1,779
    Westchester, NY
    Full Name:
    Mark
    Hybrids are worse for the environment than sixties muscle cars and diesel Benzes together.
     

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