Ferrari Mailing List: Re: I'm back..

[Charles G. Perry IV (charles]

>  As to the design thread; I completely agree.  We are 'wind tunnel 
> designed' to death.  I believe that style will come back just as 
> horsepower has come back.  Sadly, it may be the Japanese designers who 
> realize and implement this first, but we will get there.  The automobile 
> is just too important an icon in people's lives for us to drive 'Chiclets' 
> for too long.

You know, Rick, you bring up a really good point, which is that we've now 
"solved" the horsepower versus emissions problem to the point where 
automakers shouldn't really have to go out of their way to squeeze the last 
little bits out of the coefficient of drag on a design. Assuming that 
high-end sports car consumers are willing to put up with a little wind noise 
and a slight dip in MPG, I can't see much reason any more to lean towards 
the chiclet design. Build a fabulous looking car, put whatever motor in it 
that it needs to reach the performance goals, and sacrifice a little noise 
and mileage to go back to creating iconic designs.

Frankly I think if Ferrari put the 599GTB's motor and chassis advancements 
under the Testarossa body, they'd be selling more cars in the 12 cylinder 
range. There's virtually no where off a test track that anyone can exceed 
180mph for any time, so why squeeze the extra .02 cD for an aerodynamically 
clean, yet boring, body which can go 207 instead of 195?

Starting with the 360, I think Ferrari has spent far more time sculpting the 
UNDERSIDE of the car than the top. They've made amazing gains in downforce 
using the channels and diffusers and such, but now the cars are only 
interesting to look at if they're upside down...

-- charles