Ferrari In-House Design

In my opinion,
the 458 is much better looking than the 488.
The 812 Superfast is the least bad of the current portfolio,
The Portofino is a disaster
The LaFerrari was designed by a bunch of people saying "wonder if they will like an odd shaped hole right here", over and over again.

 

I do believe the 458 is superior to the 488 in every aspect, except performance.

The current in-house design is quite infatuating, the crown jewel being the 812 imho.

In house dept is actually being smart: instead of promoting a radical departure from certain Pininfarina principles, they're giving them another interpretation, thus assuring continued success.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

I have to agree, the 458 was fresh and amazing - typical Pininfarina. 488 is a bad make over, IMO and I much prefer a naturally aspirated car. LaFerrari is pretty nice aside form the grossly stupid name - total fail. I do like the 812.

Let's see what totally fresh (non evolution) design comes from in house. Honestly, I'm not a fan of the direction Ferrari is headed. If we get an SUV I'll vomit

 

I havent loved A new Ferrari design since the 355. I do think the LaFerrari is cool looking, but thats different than loving it.

On the other hand, I dont think there are any design disasters. Viewed in context of the generally poor state of modern auto design, I think Ferrari is one of the better out there.

 

Mark me down as another who thinks the 458 looks better than the 488

 

The 458, especially the speciale, is ratical in many ways, it really didn't need the side scoops that look like a bad afterthought with a chain saw

 

Tradition trumps innovation.

 

We hold a very high bar for Ferrari styling that will only rarely be met. I think my Pininfarina styled 430 is a great looking car. Is it one of the most beautiful Ferrari's made, probably not even top 20. But compare it to a 911, corvette, or a Gallardo...

In my opinion, only the tdf and Speciale have been complete designs since the 355 (although the 550, 458 and f12 come really close). I also do not think any other manufacturer has had a line up anywhere near what Ferrari has offered.

 

All design houses have hits and misses. The 488 is great. The Portafino looks good in picture. The 812 is terrible. But Pininfarina had its misses too: look at the 430 as an example of a bad update.

 

Beauty iis in the eye of the beholder. There is no right or wrong, just what you like or don't.

The F355 was love at first sight for me. Every one since has taken some time to warm up to. Never got warmed up to the F430 and the 488 doesn't work for me yet...except the rear is stunning.

Of the V12s l like the F12 the best for me...and itis the only one l have seen on the road and that is much better than a pic in a mag or a car sitting on the showroom floor.

I must say that the 458 spider gets a huge amount of attention. Much more than my F355 GTS or 360 Spider. The California l drove had the least response...maybe becuase it was black, all the others rosso corsa.

 

I think the Ferrari Design Center has overall done a good job. Here are some thoughts:

488: I prefer the 458. They are constrained by the 458 hard points. So hard to make a full judgement. I think its certainly aggressive. But its much more busy than the 458. I think the 458 is really a great looking mid-engine Ferrari with just the right balance of smoothness and toughness. I think the 488 is actually better at the rear than the 458 but at the front I think the 458 is a little better and the side is where they lose me. The air vent and door handles just kill it and I think they over did the pinch in look.

812: I much prefer the F12. It all fits together with the F12. On the 812, I think they tried to give the car a whole lot of drama, and they succeeded but in a way that- to my eyes- never quite gels.

F12tdf: I think here they took a really beautiful car and then transformed it in the right way to make a modern classic.

Portofino: Here they are working from a clean sheet and I think they did a wonderful job. I see it as a very big improvement over the California and California T. I think its a really really good looking car!

GTC4: I always thought the FF a bit weird proportioned and they're employ some styling tricks to make the GTC4 look more in balance. I like it better, but in person the car still comes off as quite large.

LaFerrari: Another clean sheet and perhaps the most important one... And.. Home run. Spectacular and Gorgeous. And same for the Aperta. When I am around these cars, I love the design so much, it hurts!

My opinion is they have done a very good job. Could PF have done better? Maybe yes, maybe no. No one will ever know. But the world is always changing, and yet we still have beautiful Ferraris to dream about..

Please note, I am still a huge admirer of PF design and all their accomplishments. I just think the FDC has done a very good job and its worth saying.

 

A good friend always reminds me:

There is a reason Baskin Robins has 31 flavors ice cream

We all have different tastes, no correct answer.

 

That is so true. I love the designs from all the eras. Its almost like saying who is the best player in a given sport ever. There are stats you can compare, but to be fair, you really have to look at it on an era by era basis.

 

People with no taste at all will always bring up the subjective thing. Most people should not be acting out their behavior just because they 'like it'. This goes for anything including car design.

Yes there is a correct answer. Beauty has hierarchy inherent to it. Everything beautiful has proper proportions while being in the right place. Modern thought is anti-hierarchical since it is based on false notions of 'equality', therefore it is automatically anti-beauty as evident by what passes off as art in our age. You ever notice the sheer ugliness of modernity around you? Why is the US so ugly?

Hierarchy implies there are lower and higher levels of beauty, but the common traits are proportion and order.

Are the present coup of Ferraris ugly? Yes. There is even a video on youtube(the authority on all subjects) where a LaFerrari is parking in London and a 5 year old boy calls it ugly as the morons all gawk around it. The emperor has no clothes.

 

My thoughts:
The Portofino is a big improvement in styling over the California.
The F12 looks better than the 812 (and the F12 TdF is one of the sexiest cars I have ever seen), but the 812 looks good except for that awful line around the back end.
The back end of the F430 is my favorite Ferrari. 488 does not look as good as the 458.
La Ferrari looks great in black. The red ones don't do it for me. The side view mirrors are weird looking.
I like the FF and GTC4 Lusso. They are kind of funky though, which makes the styling a bit polarizing.

 

I like the design of the 458....as well as the 488 for that matter

 

Pininfarina if you look at the cars are far superior

458 is Much nicer than 488.

F12 much more of an Icon with perfect proportions, than 812 which is very nice also

FF is much nicer than Lusso , more aggressive, Lusso is bland and the lights do not look proportional

However they nailed it with the Portifino, Hs the aggression it needed and svelte ass with a super interior and more rear space.

Overall Ferrai should start to use Pininfarina again, as their cars are losing so of their Magic , which they need a the competition is getting much stronger

 

Huge fan if Pininfarina! I think it came down to a cost issue. Also, how much "Italianess" will be lost now that an Indian company owns Pininfarina? I like the design of the LaF, 812, 488, Portofino...so I think they'll do just fine!

Cheers

 

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