Ferrari 456 - Il Cavallino's last great Gran Turismo
Monday, April 11, 2011 at 9:31AM Every time I look at the new FF, I think how Ferrari's design standards have fallen from the peak of taste and restraint they reached in the mid 1990s. After the excesses of the 308/328 and Testarossa era (aka the 1980s), Ferrari offered the more refined, if less exciting 348, and finally some superb designs like the 456 and the F355. The 456 in particular oozed desirability and exclusivity, but had a particularly Italian sense of purity and restraint that enhanced its exoticism rather than detracted from it.
You look at a 456 and can't help but picture a wealthy Milanese gentleman clad in cashmere sweater and his elegant wife stepping out of it at their Lake Garda weekend home. Today's Ferraris...well, can you picture anyone other than a douchebag getting out of one? The interior of a 1990s Ferrari is also far more sober and clean-lined than the more elaborate confections being dreamed up today--it emphasizes the luxury of the materials used, rather than the styling. But that brings me to my real questions here: Has Ferrari's taste atrophied? Or is their current design direction just a response to a shifting customer base in new markets? Were the 456 and F355 anomalies, or do they represent the last vestiges of the true spirit of the marque?
Reader Comments (31)
bradley---since typing that last message---i've been thinking about it, and on second thought i'm pretty sure the Estoque is related to those original "Espada" ideas they were having----in fact, that might have evolved right after the Espada idea was axed----i've gotta contact the person who would know this....will let you know when i speak to him again...
The best looking Ferraris all date from the 1950s and '60s. It's been downhill ever since.
Syed,
The notion that the FF is a response to the supposed Estoque/Espada neglects the fact that Ferrari has been building 2+2 GT car for DECADES. The 330 GT 2+2 was the first 2+2 GT Ferrari that I can think of and that was built in 1964! Ferrari's patent for their AWD system was published/awarded in 2007. To get to that point, their AWD system had to be proposed and approved for development, actually developed/tested and then submitted for patent approval. This is not an overnight process. You are looking at a span of years. Supposedly, the system was initially developed for the Maserati Quattroporte way back in 2002!
Undoubtedly, the Aventador represents a huge leap for Lamborghini from a technical standpoint but that is not the point of the discussion at hand. We are talking about design! Ferrari is the only brand that has seriously pushed its design language over the last decade. You cannot look at the Aventador and tell me it represents a huge step forward for Lamborghini design. It's a mashup of Gallardo and Reveton styling and that's a shame. Do I think that all of Ferrari's newest designs, FF included, are beautiful? No, but I appreciate the impetus behind them.
I agree with Lance Pierre, but I do like the 456 and agree with Mr Price that it's the best looking of its kind and of its time. Also the number 456 is good luck in Chinese.
I agree with you 100% regarding the 456 and 355. Both in my opinion some of the best examples of "relatively" contemporary Ferrari design. The elegance, proportion, surfacing and restraint is something I have not seen from them since....well, the 456,355,550.
I consider the 360 a pretty successful design worthy of the badge and would probably call that car the last Ferrari I really cared for. The terrible surfacing and proportions the 612, the generic tensionless themes of the California, and the unsophisticated 599 are a pretty disappointing way to follow up the cars before them.
Although overall I really like the direction they went with the FF I don't care for the execution or styling themes they went with. That being said I give them a lot of credit for taking a chance with the package and body style, I just wish they could have given it the finesse, refined execution and freshness I would like to see in a car from Maranello.
If i was in the market for a 200k+ car, I think I would probably have to stay away from the Ferrari dealership.
I saw a Ferrari California on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, this afternoon -- really ugly. A mess, exactly as one of your earlier commenters said.