Ferrari - Something is Wrong

[[XR]Chef]

Well as some of u may have noticed ferrari have opted for a different look to take them into the future, one not many purist or like me ,ones with fond memories of the 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s when things were simpler, really admire. In my opinion the pinacle of Ferrari was the 250 GTO the F50 well pretty much everything but todays sh*t.

In past cars you could see purpose, grace, speed etc. Now u see a F430, and u think to urself wtf happened. I'm telling u, the 430 made Enzo turn in his grave. Ferraris, lets hope, will still do what they do best, that is go around a track the fastest of most cars. As far as being good looking, well for that u can look to the F40 the F50, F355, 512tr etc.

To me the Murcielago is the pinacle of design. Clean cut, muscular and a lot of other adjectives im to sick (literally i got got some virus) to think of. Cars like the Pagani the new Peugeot 907 and the Carerra Gt and to some extent the SLR there really isnt much else to admire.

Maybe some of u echo my belief, or maybe its just me, but i dont think that any of the new ferraris should bear the red colour they are all distinguished by, in my eyes they have lost that privelage.

regards, and upset but not angry (yet)
cris

once again i have been had by the cookies <sigh> this is Mpower and not chef.

[chris]

I like the Carrera GT, and I can even see hints of the 917 in the Carrera GT.

The Ferrari F140 series is an odd one. In photos, you think it looks strange, but in the metal (or rather, carbon-fibre) it looks good. It's the little details that impress the most, and you don't see them in photos.

My opinion on the F140 E.F. pretty much mirrors that of Tiff Needell. It's not as elegant or practical as a Mclaren F1, nor is it quite as special, and it doesn't have anything near the F1's ferocious level of performance (F1 is still in another league in that regard, especially at higher speeds above 200km/hr), but it has something special about it.

I don't however like the F430. I do prefer the way mid-engined Ferraris like F130 F50 and F129AB F355 Berlinetta were styled. It's a more classical look, most people find quite appealing.

And the Murciélago? Simply stunning from all angles - an absolutely surreal car and driving experience. The sound, the looks, the feel, the interior, everything is just out-of-this-world fantastic. It is exactly the way a proper Lamborghini should be. See the quote in my signature, that sums up a Murciélago quite well, even though Valentino was referring to the Diablo.

The best thing about the Murciélago is that the average person can make full use of its power and torque, because it has user-friendly handling and 4wd, and it also has good brakes.

Mclaren even reckons the Murciélago (among others named) is a race-car in disguise. If you removed 300kg of its weight (probably not hard to do), you'd have a frighteningly effective race-car.

Just look at the R-GT. It already corners faster than anything else in FIA-GT. Once it is fully developed, it will be hard to beat.

However, when you go to things like the Zonda in comparison, the driver inevitably ends up working harder, and has to be so much more judicious with his/her applications of throttle, and the car never seems to corner as neatly as the heavier Lamborghini (strange, given the Zonda weighs just 1250kg in comparison to the 400kg heavier 4wd Lamborghini, and considering the huge wing on the back of the Zonda, versus the Lambo with only a small automatic flip-up panel for extra downforce).

The Zonda seems to be a somewhat twitchy machine, and it will bite the unwary. While Murciélago and others like Enzo Ferrari are developed to astonishing levels of user-friendliness.

Ferrari though didn't just recently discover how to build easy to drive cars. It started with the F355 replacing the difficult F348 series, and got better with the surprisingly fast F50. To some extent, the F50's excellent qualities as a drivers car could be attributed to its F1 derived semi-active suspension, but overall it was a well-developed package. Another plus for the F50 is the engine performance - nice, progressive power, building quickly with revs.

The reputations of some cars often come down to the impressions of journalists to a large degree. The F1 was probably considered to not have good enough brakes, and to be twitchy.

I don't believe that is true, but I do believe it is the case of journalists trying to drive an F1 like they might have done a Honda NSX from the time, or even an F355. The point is they'd probably be trying to stop at the same point as they might in a slower car, while forgetting that where the slower car might be doing 180km/hr, the F1 is doing probably 100km/hr better still. The other no-no some of them probably encountered with the F1 is trying to accelerate in the same manner as you would in a less powerful car.

If you do that, you'll probably be spinning off the road backwards faster than the blink of an eye, just like in a proper Formula 1 car. It's the combination of huge power and torque, in a very light car, combined with no traction control. You just can not treat the throttle like an on-off switch in the first 3 or 4 gears (depending on road-speed and surface-conditions).

To give an idea of the way an F1 accelerates, it is quicker to 150mph than even a Porsche 956C race-car (620hp, 820-850kg).

[Nappe1]

as a semi off topic, my humble opinion of nowadays supercars: way too much keeping stuff from previous models. the real Legends like 911, Miura, Esprit, Testarossa, even Countach were all something new. Something never seen before. Same goes to collectible sports: 2000GT, 240Z, RX-3, Bellet GT-R... list goes on and on.

though I hate some new looks of cars, it's the only way make really different, good looking cars; Just design something new that no one else has done before.


or then just take a look of old one and rehash it: Murcielago is more or less same as Diablo is. it's Lamborghini alright, but it does not have that spirit which lifts every hair on your body.

[chris]

I think you should never fix something if it doesn't need fixing. An F355 or an F50 is still as good looking today as it was when new. And the Mclaren F1 is still looking beautiful, like it has not aged even by 1 day.

A Countach today is looking completely out-dated and not very nice. Even the Miura design has lasted much better than the overdone Countach.

And the Diablo? It still looks out-of-this-world, even today.

[Venom800tt]

I'm also not to fond of the way new Ferraris look. I love the F355, F40, F50, and other older Ferraris. The F360 is also quite nice, but not as Ferrari-like as the F355 is. And the Murcielago is just so sexy. I have seen a couple in person and they looked even better than in pics. The Diablo also looks great, especailly the 6.0 and GT. Hopefully Lamborghini doesn't go the way of Ferrari or even BMW.
And lets not forget the beauty of the new and old Ford GT(40) :D

[VQ]

It's actually 42 inches high, and it's not that attractive, function over form is the go with a GT.

I think Ferrari has lost the plot a bit too, but the Enzo looks F1ish, even if it can't go as fast, remeber they have responsibilites to not let it go so fast that a over night millionare can buy one and kill themself, which has happened before, so as a result they don't make them as fast.

And yes, the F355 was the last good looking ferrari for me.

[Nappe1]

And yes, the F355 was the last good looking ferrari for me.

for me, last real ferrari was F40. there's several reasons for this, but biggest is the fact that it's the last Ferrari that has Enzo's touch on it.
F355 was more or less same outlook as 512TR and Testarossa, just "scaled down."

and what comes to Countach, I don't think it's outdated. It still represents the lines of auto design of the 80's: everything had have some "charm". There was no such thing as smooth curved lines. and the version with the big reart spoiler --> wheeh... :) there still no other car that would look as powerful as it is looking.


Better stop now, it would take forever to go thru all my favourite "extraordinaires" and what I like on them. list consist around 30 cars and only few makers have got more than one model in that list. :)