just in case anyone is interested in attending design school: http://www.cardesignnews.com/articles/resources/2015/10/how-to-be-a-car-designer/ How to be a car designer Pt2: Starting design school - Car Design News
Its like the essence of man and pure automobile. Thanks... I see that raising money for an engine relocation is going to be hard. I recently made a new concept to combine a Toyota Previa with the canopy of a Prius... its like a cab forward SUV... which Ive yet to see in real life. Looking for backers. Previa Concept 2 - Video Dailymotion Making the Toyota Previa mid engine van into a Ferrari SUV, photoshop idea. - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes, but not by too much "Looks like the roof is too low... thats me sitting between the seats, on the floor above the engine." Im 5'10 in height. other new pics http://i.imgur.com/OUUlSP4.jpg http://i.imgur.com/6DUWpvz.jpg
The face reminds me of a Range Rover Evoque crossed with a Ford Focus. What was the inspiration there? All the best, Andrew.
Yes actually, its the Evoque mixed with the new Lexus NX and Lambo SUV... thats what happens when someone like myself hasn't bothered to learn 3D modelling.
at least you're attempting to do something & for that I give you a great deal of credit doing something is better than sitting on the sidelines and being hypercritical that's how we learn......doing things and making mistakes
Dear John and Jeff, Please go to: https://youtu.be/HpfJ1b-X7p4 and turn off the audio. After watching the video I would appreciate your opinions/critique of the Scaglietti effort on this car. Best regards, Robert
Admiral, Congratulations on owning such a seminal piece of Ferrari history! What an awesome car. And the fact that you drive it makes it that much more enjoyed. I'm not at home at the moment, later I'll give you an assessment of your car, but understand, critiquing one of these cars is a daunting task........rest assured I'll do my best.
First let's put the car in it's proper context: mid '50's race car it's sole purpose was to win races and this was a period when Enzo's thought process was: " aerodynamics are for people who don't know how to build engines" Scaglietti was a master at taking Enzo's chassis and clothing them with bodies that were purposeful and meant for winning races.........however..he was a genius at surface/form development even though he was clothing the chassis as a tool to win races the Italians had a sense of beauty and a design language that was simple to a fault the car's forms and surfaces are clean & simple yet beautiful in the classic automotive form execution several interesting aspects for myself is the extreme ground clearance and exposing the exhaust headers with said ground clearance additionally, the non-round wheel openings were an opportunity for Scaglietti to do something unique rather than the traditional round the plan views are very straightforward and the rear plan view as seen from above looks almost circular, which flys in the face of what we know about aero in todays context the exposed front tires in direct front view are equally non friendly aero, but this was a time when Ferrari wasn't much interested in aero just yet another interesting observation is how the highest point of the front fender is aft of the front tire/wheel creating the emphasis behind the front axle, which makes a transition into the hop-up of the rear fender the fairing behind the driver's head had been done on other race cars, but here it's beautifully integrated the grille had what was to become the quintessential 'face' of Ferrari with the 'smiley face & egg crate' texture, Scaglietti would go on to refine that opening to a more oval shape on later cars but my bottom line is that it was meant to be a race car and was designed as such, without knowing about future beauty contests at Concours but even as a functional object meant to perform one singular task.........it was done with such beauty and grace and sophistication that romantic era of race car design is long gone from today's hi-tech aero driven race cars having only a door on the driver's side just plays up the intent of the design and the car while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I believe few would argue that this '55 Mondial is anything BUT beautiful, regardless of one's predilections the surfaces and forms are so smooth and harmonious it could equally hold it's own as sculpture pure and simple I'm sure others can do an in depth analysis, but to my eye the car is an example of purposeful design that was done with a passionate and sensuous touch by someone that cared and really knew what they were doing.........not always the case when it comes to race cars Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Dear John, Thank you for the design perspective analysis. Interesting that the photos you posted are not of my car but a sister car with a similar race number from a different race. Please see post #45 of http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/vintage-thru-365-gtc4-sponsored-vintage-driving-machines/505496-admirals-ferrari.html Your bottom line conclusion matches mine and it seems to strike a similar cord with many others. Even the Hagerty Youth Judges at Hershey gave it their award. I sometimes hear it referred to as "eye candy", but in any event after 55 years of ownership I occasionally go out to the garage simply to look at it and its entrancing lines. That is an opportunity totally different than spending time on the track with it. Best regards, Robert
Glad to give my $.02 for such an awesome car. You don't happen to know my car pals Dennis & Bev Little in Sante Fe, do you? I've known them for many yrs having worked with Dennis at GM Design
Dear John, Certainly do know Bev and Dennis. Two years ago Dennis awarded the Presidents Award to this car at the 2013 Santa Fe Concorso. See them often at the Santa Fe Tuesday Car Table started by Denise McCluggage. Best regards, Robert
Cool, next time you see them, tell them John M,former GM Design sends his regards. Dennis and I go back over 30 yrs of stylin' cars together
I will weigh in on the analysis of the Mondial too. Like John said, it is interesting that the body sits atop the chassis. There may be a technical reason for this but what it does do is lessen the body height significantly. Again like John said, that the wheel openings are more rectangluar is very interesting. In the case of the front wheels I find these to definitely help the forward thrust of the design. As far as the relationship of the wheels to the outside of the body this is part of what makes the car have such good stance in cross section. Especially in period look how so many of the "normal" cars had the wheels tucked way inside the fenders. The forms are fundamentally simple. But simple does not in any way mean unrefined. In fact the form development is extremely sophisticated and well thought out. Look at the grill as a fine example of this. Someone easily could have made a standard oval but instead we have here a highly developed shape that is completely intentional. There is clearly the intention to just barely clothe the mechanical package. As part of the shape analyze the detailing. It is purposeful and "looks right". The side opening for the engine compartment air, the vents in the tail. Can't say if they are properly sized and placed to best perform their function but they have the rightness of appearance that visually portrays why they exist. The Italians believe in appearance. It wasn't just sufficient to function it had to have style and a sensitivity from a deft touch. They notonly got the basic form right they understood the form development and transitional areas. (think cutting cross sections every few inches down the car and understand how the shape is mutating) My opinion is that the hand hammered bodies really allowed them to achieve these shapes when an English wheel is more conducive to simpler shapes. As for John's points on aerodynamics. In this era the consideration was low drag. And that was being done by eye not testing. I am not even sure if Mike Costin had started his automotive aero attempts yet. (interesting is that his early aero solution induced bad lift issues) Certainly the folks had not gotten to the point of understanding boundary layer separations. Jeff
I put this in Silver, then thought this was where I had originally talked about it, so if you're willing & able, please vote for your favorite Ferrari Design: What will the Ferraris of 2040 be like?
Wouldn't be a big stretch for us to have a similar viewpoint. What we did not mention was how different the scale of this type of car from what was normally on the American road. Put even a '55 Chevy (a seminal design in its own right) next to the Mondial to recognize just how it was like from a different universe. Although I do not believe that the Mondial is attributed to Pininfarina it holds many of their attributes of the period. Normally they used fairly simple forms but had a sensitivity that makes their designs age incredibly well. As for the design competition I am still forming opinions. Jeff
