The Official 360 Replacement Thread (aka 420 Monza, F430, etc)

I agree with you on BMW's ugly styling, but I STRONGLY disagree about Ferrari's recent styling. I happen to love the F50, 612 and the new "430". Some are just to "used to" the old school look of some older cars and can't take change. I for one think Aston Martins are nothing but so so looking over priced Jaguar clones. And the 911, even after a restyle looks the same, Porsche is afraid to change anything....Ferrari has balls. People complained about the Maranello when it came out, now it's a classic....cars DO take time to grow on you sometimes, and pictures DO NOT do any Ferrari justice. The first time I saw a Enzo Ferrari I couldn't believe how many details are hidden by the pictures I saw online.

 

That is cool for you but you may not be the majority ... or you may be so blinded with the Ferrari rose tinted glasses that they could put a Ferrari badge on the new 7 series BMW and you would declare it a master of styling

I personally have always found the F50 lacking and the 612 a bloated pig, and yes I have seen them both in the flesh.

I still find the 550 okay but too bloody big, but the 575 was a major backwards step IMO.

While I do agree that some styles do grow on you and the Enzo has grown on me to some degree, I will never consider it a master of styling. Your comment referring to all the little details has nothing to do with styling. You are admiring Ferrari's engineering ... and I would hope you would be impressed. Thus yes these little details give us all a hard on ... it does not make up for the overall view of the vehicle.

IMO for the 612 to have hit a home run the scollops (sp?) in the sides needed to be way more agressive ... but instead they wasted the chance of giving the car a definite feature and confined it to the bland list of automobiles created each year.

As for the 360 ... hmmm at first I was in love and now I find it a bland looking car from some angles. I hate the modern Ferrari headlight treatement and think the Enzo direction here is a huge plus.

I thought the rear of the Enzo it's best view but that look is looking clumsy on the 360 ... because it looks way to tall and narrow, like a Hyundai coupe. In the end tacking design ideas on to an old car is not how to style a car IMO, and by all accounts the 420/430/whatever is going to be a quick and dirty rehash of the 360 after getting too close to an Enzo.

Now where is that clean sheet approach that is required to make a stunner

Pete's opinion
ps: The best looking modern car in this league is the Murci IMO. Lovely tight lines ... don't need to look at the details to find something right, the overall impression is just right! ... and I'm the last person on this world to admire a Lamborghini

 

I the car in these pictures is still a test mule and is far from being complete. At least I hope so.

 

I once read that Ferrari are "stylistically bankrupt" when it comes to the design of their cars. They can only find design inspiration from the past.
The new car looks terrible - an amalgamation of Enzo and 360 - FUSSY and downright UGLY.

With the exception of the Enzo, why do they continuously need to borrow from the past to style their modern cars - look at their 456/550M/575M/612 - all old-style designs.
Hell - Ferrari admitted they thought of the 250LM when designing the 360 (look at the upper intakes etc).

Ferrari NO LONGER make beautiful cars. Some people with their dogged misplaced adoration for the marque need to get a grip and take a look at some of the offerings from Aston Martin, Lamborghini's Murcielago, and even Mercedes to look at cohesive and sexy design which works aerodynamically.

The hyper expensive 12's are too bloody subtle (read TOYOTA) and the V8's are plain boat-like ugly... The CS is how the stock 360 should have looked from the start.
The Enzo is fine - it has a job to do.

What happened to style - the 288GTO, the F355?

Don't anyone DARE accuse me of being a troll either. I loved Ferrari - just a shame the cars drive better than they look.

 

Very well put and i generally agree with your point(s). Im not a huge fan of the modern f-car styling and design either (although i do like the Enzo) im not sure about the 612 and the upcoming 420/430. Petes Opinion is spot on!! i also love the design of the Murci it is simply amazing!!

Ferrari should skip the 420/430 and instead bring out the Challenge Stradale version of it now!! as im sure it will look and drive better....i can just picture everyone..."this is what the 420/430 should have been in the first place"

Bring back the 355!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

How about the others of us, who have deposits on the car and are very excited to take delivery or their dream car?

It's something to think about in terms of etiquette. When you post pics of your 550, nobody responds, "man, that thing is hideous. Ferrari really needs to have their eyes checked." As automotive enthusiasts sharing in a single passion, I don't think it's right to say, "that's hideous." I know this sounds thin-skinned, but it's a matter of tact and respect. There a million respectful ways to say how a design doesn't work FOR YOU. You can say you don't like certain styling without saying:

to name a few. Everyone can, of course, continue to say what they please. But perhaps just think a bit about how you say it. This is a community and in a year or two many of us are going to get this car and really love it. My guess is that F-Chatters are not going to word their comments in this way then, so why do it now?

 

hell yes I agree with everything.
If you took al ook at my design, while really amateurish I tried to put some passion back into the car. Maybe I could smooth out some things but overall I think my design could look so much nicer than this new pig of a car.

 

Wow. Everyone is entitled to their opinions on styling, but the rear of a 360 "tall and narrow, like a Hyundai coupe"?? So far off base I can't even see where you come up with the comparison. Next thing you'll be saying the Lotus Elise is overweight and the Enzo underpowered.

Gary

 

To determine if it is ugly -- use mirror in morning - before coffee. Then engage brain -- look again.

Ferrari has been HAND building cars for years. Other car makers use robots, that is why most modern cars now are simply different "bread boxes" with different trims etc.

My next car will be a Ferrari - new or used makes no difference -- it is still a FERRARI.

 

Brian - it was not my intention to insult you or anyone else on the F-chat board (unless you deem an insult my expression of a negative opinion... which is pretty closed minded in itself).
I am not a Lamborghini MANIAC and am prepared to be objective - I don't care for childish flame wars - I post from work thank you and have a job to do...
BUT.....in response to your comments:
I am well aware that the cars I mentioned were "honed" from an original shape. Thank you VERY MUCH for the history lesson..... yes.....

If you are prepared to discuss then let's do it - my point is altogether different. Older Ferrari's had CHARISMA and something I call star-quality. Their shapes were altogether beautiful. Modern Ferraris are NOT.

Admit this yourself - WHY (as someone with plenty of $$$$ to spend on an ACTUAL purchase) should you or I or so many users/owners on this board, have to qualify your judgement on a vehicle until you "see it in the metal." The 308, Dino, Boxer, Daytona had visual impact INSTANTLY - were these the last of the line??? No - when contemporary, they were instantly beautiful - beautiful in pictures, in posters, in the metal at all angles.
Sorry modern Ferrari's are not - they don't GROW on people - instead people overcome their initial disappointment gradually and purchase these cars when they realise that they are dynamically superior to the competition.

IMO modern Ferraris rely on S I Z E to deliver something close to road presence - this is not star quality. This is not pleasing shapes that flow and work cohesively. Tacked on details (think of the 550's gills inspired by the 250 GTO) may work but in reality, they are fillers.

Will you be buying a poster of the flagship 612 Scaglietti for your kids? I doubt it.

P.S.
A tip - just because you see a "silly" profile - do not make the mistake of thinking you are speaking to a pre-pubescent idiot bored posting from home. You never know WHO you are speaking to you and in this case how many Ferraris/etc he/she owns and/or has driven and the extent of their knowledge - it may come back to embarrass you.
Shoo Fly - you bother us too......

 

4580mm/2045mm/1135mm Murci dimensions
4550mm/1935mm/1277mm 575M - not just Ferrari going for size then!

Lets face it both ranges are fantastic cars,looks are just personal preference.BTW if you've ever been near the gills of a 550/575 after a fast drive and felt the heat expended you would not say they are fillers - the car would self combust without them!
i just rejoice that Ferrari,Lambo,Aston et al are still turning out great cars for the lucjky few to choose from because very soon we will all be forced to be driven in computer controlled baterry powered electric cars and charged per mile if the powers that be continue on their "transport reforms" !

 

You're being generous characterizing it as an amalgamation. To me, it's a hodgepodge.

It doesn't matter, though. The Ferrari faithful would buy every last one and declare it to be the new standard of modern design. I suspect even a Ferrari-branded Aztek would have received widespread adoration as a ballsy design statement which could only have come from Ferrari.

But I think this is just one variant being considered and we're all taking part in a sort of a global focus group thanks to the Internet -- it would be silly to think that nobody at Ferrari reads these boards. I think (hope) that the final design selection has yet to be made.

 

Well, I think the F430 is being shown to a select group of people at Fiorano today... I doubt they'd change the design after this. A dude at rennteam.com has promised to try and pirate some snaps out... let's see

 

I have to say I don't believe in this classic beauty stuff. It is simply a generational thing. I'm not saying that these borders can't be crossed or mixed, but for the most part it is an age thing.

I'm only 20, but I'm young enough to not find all the old classic beauties so classicly beautiful. I have a lot of friends my age and a little younger that aren't into rice or anything, but they don't get all that excited about older cars.

There are a few that do, but it is a learned thing(through parents) or a classic car obsession and that doesn't really qualify. I was a fan of the F40 and Testerossa when I was much younger, but for the longest time I ignored cars. When I got back into it about 5 years ago I still liked them, but cars like the F50 and Modena really had a certain appeal to me.

These newer cars don't have quite the same appeal, but I think that is the way it works with everything. Every generation claims that their generation or the generation they listened to had real classic music and the new stuff is garbage.

I think it's just human nature.

 

No insult intended, but when you watch the expert hands assembling Ferraris, you wish there'd be a bit more industrial rigour in the process.

 

At this moment (17:00 h Maranello time) the 360 replacement is being introduced to dealers and vip's in Maranello. So I guess we do not have to wait much longer before we can actually see pictures of the final car.

 

And me. We are in remarkable agreement on the best-looking Ferraris, Brian.

Gary

 

And me.

And add the curves of the 275 to the list.

 

anyone you know who is attending that can give us more info?

 

http://www.rennteam.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=40658&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

But it seems Sergini the infiltrator's cover has blown

 

and me....in my very unbias opinion. lol.

 

Here's the latest update by rennteam.com's B2RBO:

<begin quote>
-------------------------------------------
Just spoken with one of the 1000 Ferrari guest (see previous post) ....his first comment was: "MAMMA MIA...THIS CAR IS AMAZING!! IT MAKES THE GALLARDO LOOKING LIKE A MIURA!!"
Not a lot of tech infos but:
- from what I understood from his description (not detailed as he didn't see the pictures on Internet), the car on the back is exactly as the pictures seen in Mexico but not on the front as it should between the one showed on the Jap magazine (he mentioned the front lip clearly visible) and the one robbed inside the factory. The central air intake should be divided from the two on the side but the effect is more like a unique one going from left to right
- around 500hp (should be 495-497)
- around 150kg les than the old Modena
- carbon ceramic brake as an option
- deliveries in March 2005
I know is not a lot but who knows what Ferrari made public....

I will try to discover more tomorrow as I will post him recent pictures collected on Rennteam...
Ciaooo
-------------------------------------------
<end quote>

 

sounds good.
now its only semi-semi-official fugly.