Ferrari 849 Testarossa Styling

This may be of interest to some. When we remove ourselves from our little microcosm of Ferrari Fanatics and talk to people outside of this realm about these cars, their perspectives are often fascinating, or at least very different, than ours.

Yesterday evening, with everything ready to go and some time to kill in the cockpit before push, I turned to my First Officer (a former F-15 squadron commander and overall Man's Man) and said I wanted his opinion on something. I had already established that he wasn't much of a car guy. I first asked if he remembered the Testarossa from the 1980s. He did quite well. I then told him that a new one had just arrived, and that I wanted his opinion on its looks. I said nothing about mine or any other's opinions on the car. I then showed him the photos. His first comment was, "My daughter would say it's way too low to the ground!" He then said, "That's a cool looking car. I like it." I then pressed him for more thoughts. At this point, he realized this was an interrogation. He looked at it awhile longer and said, "Well, I don't really like the front with the big hole." I then asked if anything else struck him. He kept staring at it, and, again, said it looked good. "Nothing else?" I asked one more time. "Nope." I then asked what he thought about the vertical stripe. He was fine with that. I then told him that that vertical stripe and the stripe on the nose were much derided. I then specifically asked him if that vertical stripe bothered him. He shrugged, saying "No. It's a good looking car."

So, there you go. An observation from an outsider, and it was like I had to literally point to the vertical stripe to get him to see what I wanted him to comment on. He seemed to be looking at the whole and not the minutiae. Even then, when it was pointed out, he didn't have any problem with it. Other than the big hole in the front, he liked the car.

 

Here's a quick follow-up to the above post. I'm sitting here eating lunch with my FO, and he just said to me, "You know, I was in the gym this morning, and started thinking about that black stripe you asked me about, and why it doesn't bother me. It occurred to me that it reminds me of the intakes of the T-38 I used to instruct in. They are basically vertical, and sometimes have a vertical stripe painted along the front of them."

He likes the look of it, because it reminds him of his old jet.

 

Different people view Ferrari cars very differently, and IMO, they can perhaps be subdivided into two categories. Those who know little or nothing about the brand, which I believe are the overwhelming majority, and for whom a Ferrari can be associated with wealth, power, prestige, high performance, beauty, and a lifestyle of luxury and success.
Then there is the rest. The Ferraristas, who have a deep knowledge of the brand's history, the design, and technical characteristics of many of its models. Those whose emotional connection with Ferrari was established through classic models and who base their aesthetic references on the past. The ones who see Ferrari design as a blend of art and engineering and who have learned to appreciate its deep connection to racing heritage. Those who believe that a Ferrari becomes beautiful when it is very fast or wins and emphasize the performance-driven aspect of its appeal.
Despite all of them seeing a Ferrari car as an object that should trigger emotion and a sense of magic, there are very different aesthetic criteria, with some liking more classic design elements and others preferring more aggressive and futuristic features. The reality is that in any Ferrari, there are always those who find the design breathtaking and beautiful, those who think it's neither beautiful nor ugly, and the ones who find it hideous.

 

This is interesting because the black band in the rear intake reminds also me from some fighter jet. I even tried to search images earlier but didn't really find what I was looking for.

 

I might be mixing it also to passenger airplane engine inlets. Those have sometimes chrome circle at the front. I have been wondering how it would look if rear intake black band in 849 would be changed to chrome one.

 

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