How much drag are those side intakes creating though and what's their purpose?. In this day and age, designers can't afford to have details on a car simply because they look good, they have to justify every aspect of the design.
I think that Ferrari did a great job, but the side intakes would have made it more aggressive looking, and in my opinion would have hurt the 430 a little. Even though looks aren't everything and you can't always go 180 MPH on the road, I think it looks pretty good minus the wing. Just my opinion
But the whole point of the 458's design is that they've gone to great lengths to do away with big obvious vents.
I believe his purpose is for the radiators to be replanted in the middle of the car ala F348, F355. However, the radiators were moved to the front of the car (360) so that the car would have more polar moment--moving the radiators forward makes for a road car with better maners as it detracts from race car maners. It is likely that the car could loos 50-ish pounds by moving the radiators back to the middle. However, I don't think that rear glass could survive this placement.
Is that why the Ford Mustang is covered with fake vents that are blocked off? (I hate stuff like that.)
There was a lot of F Chat chatter and grumbling that the hood scoop on the California was fake. Eventually it was shown to be functional and everyone shut up. Those who really care about what the styling does to the performance are the people this car was intended for. For the others, it goes just as fast on an X Box with or without scoops and wings.
This is the problem when people come up with designs like this saying: "This is how the 458 should have looked". They think it should have big spoilers and intakes because it looks "sportier" , without having to have any real world conerns about physical packaging and mechanical and aero balance. It highlights a weakness in the "designers" ability, in that he has failed to appreciate the basic concept of the aero packaging of the original car which generates downforce without the need for large, drag inducing intakes and spoilers. I would almost guarantee that if this car were to be made and be fitted with the exact same drivetrain as the standard 458, it would be embarrassed by the standard car on any race track. There are other threads in this section where people are saying if they buy a 458 they'll remove this and that, change the shape/block off intakes, and add spoilers etc, without even thinking how this would upset the natural balance of the car. As bdelp said:
Come on guys, how offen does a ferrari owner take there cars to the track, they basically use them on weekends and go to car shows, and what about when there driving down a highway lets say going around 120 MPH and say to them self, oh the aerodynamics is not working correctly because I have intakes on the sides of my car. What about the people who purchased an ENZO, do you think they were worried about aerodynamics. I'm not saying that Ferrari did a bad job. I think it looks beautiful, but there are few of us that like those intakes, wings, wheels, etc.
The point is, the looks of this car are more about it's performance than it's real look. That's why it has so screwy wings in the front. Asthetically, they don't work. Functually, I have to assume they do a really great job. Those who will overlook some asthetics for more performance are happy with the way the car is.
well, you posted a pic of a pseudo XX race car...and aero performance does matter. that wing is nothing more than an ornament, and those intakes, hmm...plenty has been said already...and the Enzo..it was designed that way...very much about Aerodynamics...the owners didn't have to worry about it because it worked very very well.
Let's leave the scoops and spoilers and unneccessary intakes and coke bottle exhaust tips to Honda/Toyota/Subaru ricers ,shall we? Anyone wanting to "decorate" their Ferrari that way needs to grow up....
