Not sure, more on the darker car. these must be 16 or 17", too big, I think. Not enough air around the wheel arches, 15" would probably look nicer. thanks for the pics
Sure look easier to clean. If anyone has cleaned the radial slots in the standard Cromodoras, they know what I mean.
they look great on the black dino. i dont know why but not so much on the yellow one. does anyone think the black dino looks rather "elise-like" from that angle?
Funny you should mention that it resembles an Elise. The local Ferrari club attended a vintage track event (observing vintage races not racing our cars). We were strolling around and noticed the track now has a training classes and rental agency for Elises on their track. A fellow club member who has done it commented that many of the dimensions of the Elise are darned near identical to the Dino. Again, it looks like Ferrari got the Dino right, but you may have known that already...
Also a fact of interest; the designer of the Elise, Julian Thompson of Lotus design (now at Jaguar) is a huge Dino admirer and owns a 73 246GT which he has owned since he was 21, some 20+ years ago . Surely his 246 was inspiration....
I found this interview with Julian Thompson from CAR magazine in Jan 1996; "Viewing the Elise in the open air, I would suggest that Thompson's own Ferrari Dino GT has influenced the Elise as much as his Ducati. Like the Dino, the Elise has pronounced front wings, cowled headlights, a large body-side air scoop and huge Ford GT40-style ducts in the bonnet. At the back, the (aluminium) engine cover is a riot of grilles and bulges. The pert rear end has a duck-tail spoiler in order to reduce lift. In truth, this and the chin aerofoils have slightly compromised the purity of Thompson's design, but even so, the Elise looks far prettier in real life than it does under show spotlights." http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elise/information/press/magazine/magazine1996/car2.html
Well this confirms what I have been saying to friends and my wife, the Elise is just a retro Dino. With all the modernized retro cars coming out, the Elise to me just looks like I imagine a Dino would if they had kept building it. It struck me when a friend came by the other day with his Elise and backed it up in my driveway, first thing I saw was the back window treatment and rear engine deck, from then on it looked like a modern Dino to me. I have wifey approval to look for a Elise AND keep my Dino, not sure I can afford both though and if I have to sell my Dino, its a 328 for me.
For my money the Elise is an ugly car, it always reminds me of a frog or toad whichever one has the warts. There are similarities, 4 wheels a mid/rear engine and a windshield but I find it hard to look at it.
When I first brought the Dino to the US, I was often asked if it was a new Corvette. I think an early 80's car mag drew an outline of the Camaro of the period and compared it to a Boxer and from that voiced the opinion that the cars were similar. Maybe someone can do a little photo shop exercise and put and elise and a GTS side by side.
