4 New 612 pics!

I'll withhold my opinion until I see it in person, but my initial thought is the front end reminds me of a P-car 968.

 

I just love it

 

It's interesting how different people react to designs. I find the 612 a bit more stylish than the 456 was... I've never found the 456 all that appealing. If they make a convertible version of the 612, I may buy one to replace my 911.

However, I will agree that Ferrari should put a bit more "sportscar" into the styling. But I think its just small changes that are needed:

1) add a bit more curve to the shoulders and hips. Following the fender line from front to back... I like how the line starts and runs through the headlight... it curves nicely up to the high point above the front wheel... but then it just goes straight back (boring)... I'd continue the shape of the curve around the front wheel such that where the front door meets window is lower, then similarly curve up and over the back wheel. That would make it look much more muscular and stylish... and more reminiscent of many of the great old Ferrari designs.

2) eliminate the giddy smile. I like how the lines run down into the front grill... but they need to adjust the shape a bit to avoid the big toothy smile... a Ferrari needs a growl or a cocky Clint Eastwood smile... not a Herbie's got a turbo grin.

With those two changes, I think the car would be fantastic. A bit larger wheels might be a good add, too, though.

 

Why does Ferrari waste thier precious resourses with this type of 4 seater?

 

Looks strangely similar to a TVR Cerbera, or is it just me?

 

on second glance I've changed my mind it looks F all like it as the TVR actually looks nice!

 

Really! And Ferrari is not the only one... why does Porsche waste their time with their 4-seater? Such a waste... they even make a turbo version of their 4-seater... so silly.


Huh? What did you ask? Why do I waste my money buying 4-seater sportscars? Uhh... cause I didn't lose my sportscar genes when I had kids. Oh, and even ignoring the kids, its real fun to take another couple out on a date in the fun sportscar. Or to take the group out to lunch after the business meeting in the exotic. Or...

 

These are GT's, not GTO's. The most criticized 4-seaters were somewhat sportier variations from the classic 4-seater of Ferrari. Mondial and 308 GT4 were not received well by the Automotive Press, and to this day, suffer price-wise - much to the delight of those who've become secondary owners and plan on keeping them. They love 'em, critics be damned.

2-seaters and 4-seaters are designed as different as night and day because their appeal has been for different types of owners. Playboys and Playmakers. That is why certain timeless themes have been kept in the line of 4-seaters. To that end, there are those who appreciate the tradition being kept - thereby recalling the soul of it's forebears.

One can argue that the mold needs to be broken. However, that's what was attempted with the aforementioned Mondial and 308 GT4. One might say - "The 612 looks nothing like the sketches." It's a good thing, as the doors would be splattered with dirt and rock chips.

If you look at post #36 by simonc on this thread, you'll see a side view of the 612. That looks like a Ferrari 4-seater - then and now and in the future it can sit beside it's forebears and one can see Ferrari without looking at the label.

Some will still insist "Out with the old, in with the new" Go ahead - mock up a 4-seater mid-engined Enzo. Or a 360 - heck, do a spyder. Looks cute on paper, even on a proper photoshop - but it's Hell on Wheels in a bad way with all that extra sheet metal/length. It's got to stop and if need be, turn on a dime. Or, stick with the front-engined layout and see what you can do that would make Pininfarina come begging. I have no doubt in anyone's skills to do better than the experts. Never have, never will. But I do think that 4-seaters are meant to be understated while 2-seaters are meant to be overstated. One says Ferrari, the other shouts it.

 

It looks bland from those pictures. But it looks beautiful in blue at the Ferrari owner's site (at least to me).

 

I was at the official unveiling of the new 612 in Maranello. I assure you it was a lukewarm reception when the covers were pulled of the two cars on display. The applause was like that at a mediocre school play that had none of the amateur actors parents in the audience. The car is BIG, and ungainly looking. I discussed the car with Luca Montezemolo and he suggested the car was aimed squarely at the Americans; in other words a big car for big people. I also viewed the new Maserati Quatroporte at the Maserati factory, it is a much more attractive car, not to mention it has four doors; if you have four seats you should go for four doors. The Ferrari is big, but it is still somewhat of a chore to get into the back seats. The unveiling was held at the Fiorano garages, with the entire historical lineup of Ferrari 2+2's on display outside; a lackluster group by any standards. The 612 is headed for the same fate as those ancestors, huge depreciation as a result of low demand. A previous poster suggeste the car needs bigger diameter wheels, I spoke with the lead designer of the car and he agreed with that same point. Look for bigger wheels to be available on the car.

 

There were two cars at the unveiling, silver and this blue one.

 

By the way, the 612 unveiling was quite the affair.

 

>Some will still insist "Out with the old, in with the new" Go ahead - mock up a 4-seater mid-engined Enzo.
>Or a 360 - heck, do a spyder. Looks cute on paper, even on a proper photoshop - but it's Hell on Wheels
>in a bad way with all that extra sheet metal/length. It's got to stop and if need be, turn on a dime.
>Or, stick with the front-engined layout and see what you can do that would make Pininfarina come begging.
>I have no doubt in anyone's skills to do better than the experts. Never have, never will.

Research and life experience indicate (may also peruse the "paid site (which should be community)" thread)
that progress takes place at the periphery. Expert is more or less a useless term.
Most children are more creative than most adults, as humans lack an efficient delete key.

Technical skills are less important than creative thinking.
Being creative is a highly personalized process in which a person searches
for original and novel ways of thinking and doing.

By nature humans are creative but humans aren't equally creative nor
is the potentiality to be so pervasive.

Learning is both reproductive and productive:
one may remember and repeat, but one is also able to
shape and reshape personal conceptions (Lindqvist 1995, 40-41).

That is, humans create their own conceptions of the world, and construct their own interpretations.
This is in accord with the constructivist view of learning: people construct their knowledge
based on prior knowledge and experience.

An asset in some cases, extensive experience can impede the adoption of new teknologies and ideas.
Einstein's special theory of relativity was largely ignored by the most revered scientists
of that time - Poincare, Mach, Plank and Lorentz. Stravinsky's most famous works originally
met with hostility. Critics reacted adversely to Picasso's "Les demoiselles D'Avignon"
- a work now considered critical to the rise of cubism.

Personal novelty or creativity is far more common place than societal novelty.

 

I thought the 456 was a beautiful car the first time I saw it. I still do. This new car does nothing for me. I respect it because it's a Ferrari, but I don't want one in my garage.

 

So uninspiring. You want curves, look at the new Elise. Probably considered, "too busy" relative to the new models coming out of Italy. But if the Brits take up the charge to style vehicles that are really inovative, that would suit me just fine. Maybe my children will think about Ferarri's as I think about Bentleys. They all look the same and don't exactly inspire.

-Lox.

I liked the old days of the Testarossa, F40, F50, F355 and F348. Curves and Vanes and slats and soul.

Is that 612 gonna have a soul?

I drove a 550 this weekend and I could feel the soul, fo sho!

 

Save for the F40 and F50 - watch a 612 pass you at 198.8 mph, and you just might be inspired. Where do you and you and you want to go today?

Which one of those Ferraris listed above was a four(4)-seater?

The 612 seats four (4) - not two (2).

Four(4)-seaters are for a totally different market. It's nicknamed "Scaglietti" as many of the visual cues are paying homage to Scaglietti. The result is sporty performance and comfort for four (4) occupants while in an understated, elegant Berlinetta-type of Ferrari. Not sporty performance and overstated exterior designs on a car built for two (2).

I'm not trying to be rude or anything of the sort - I'm just stating that Ferrari is capable of many things. Including producing powerful four(4)-seat cars with understated elegance. That's what the Scaglietti is, and quite purposely.

 

As a 456 owner - I can appreciate the design, BUT it does seem a little too understated. I agree with some above comments - it does look like a few other fast cars, Maserati, Aston, 550, etc, which the 456 doesn't. I don't think it stands out from the crowd much as it could. If you're paying that much for a car, you want to know it's going to look different from next.

Shame they didn't see through the side styling which was originally penned. As it is, it's nice, but it isn't a jaw dropper.

 

Well I for one am really pleased Ferrari continues to make 4 seaters. It's a niche (within a niche) that I think they understand rather well. It's difficult to convey, but owning a 4 seater has a totally different vibe to a 2 seater. It's probably down to having more people in the car, your kids or your friends, more of a social and inclusive experience than when you have a 2 seater. My 360 was more exciting to drive, all testosterone & adrenaline, but the 456 is part of the family. It's a complete gas to pick up my kids and their friends from school, or pile the family in and go down to the coast. You could say it would be the same with a Maserati, but to me that's a different thing entirely.

As long as ferrari continue making both 2 seaters and 4 seaters, I will buy both types, and that includes the 612. I'm not going to buy a new one, the depreciation cliff is just too much, but I will have one. For now, the 456 keeps me well satisfied.

Kevin