What are the chances that on the same day that Ferrari reveals the F458 Spider that Porsche also uncovers the all-new 911 Carrera?!!
The reason these cars caught my attention, more than the amount usually reserved for a Ferrari or a Porsche, is because of two separate reasons.
One - The Italia now really looks like a Ferrari.
Two - The Porsche while still looking like a Porsche, actually looks different.
Let me elucidate. First, the Ferrari.
When you said Italian there was a certain sexiness that you expected. Something with character, a bit flamboyant, confident and elite. Something that you would look at and promise yourself that you would have it someday (or at least have a ride in if not see in the flesh - depending on your age and drive... :-)). You could rip a badge of most Ferraris and people would still recognise the craft of Maranello. The versatile F355, the flawed F50 and the stunning Testarossa despite their shortcomings are perfect examples of Ferrari-ness. I dub them “Recent Classics”. In the past few generations only the F430 has lived up to the Ferrari name.
I imagine being quick for a Ferrari is important, and being quickest is the ultimate goal, but at what expense? At the expense of making the super cars look like cartoon cars brought to life. I can easily imagine the Italia in the next Cars edition. Its roof line seems out of proportion and those eyes seem something Japanese designers thought of in the 80s. But now with the F458 Italia Spider balance has been restored. With the roof gone there is a beautiful, dramatic, familiar oh-I-gotta-have/sit/ride/see-this feeling. It is absolutely breathtaking! I can’t wait to see it in Frankfurt, for all the right reasons. The receding structures for roll over protection instead of pop out hoops or plain hoops add an almost playboyish element to it. I want to see the retractable aluminium hard-top in action.
Ferrari claims it takes fourteen seconds to make the switch and that the system weighs 25kgs lesser than previous folding soft tops. Nice. The open-top rocket ship retains its 4.5 litre V8 and Ferrari claims that 0-100 will come in under 3.4 seconds. Hmm, same as the coupe. Top speed though is down from 325 to 320kph. But with Ferrari saying - “the engine soundtrack has been honed to ensure that the car’s occupants are completely captivated by the drop-top driving experience” I wouldn’t care!! Now if only they’d do something about those fishy eyes.
Here's a teaser video of the Spider - theres a full video out as well but I like this one better.
Now, the Porsche.
I struggle to differentiate one Porsche from the other. I can’t tell between Carrera S, Carrera 4S, Carrera 4 Carrera GTS. The differences are such that it would take a microscope to pin point things. It’s no different when talking about successive generations of models. Luckily with the all new 911 Carrera, things are different. You look at the new Carrera and straight away you will be able to tell it apart from its predecessor. It feels hefty, bigger. There are also some new, obvious aggressive cues. The way the eyelets cut into the bumper and the way the fins in the airdam have been designed seem to hint at a younger Porsche. Is it a nudge from the company’s new owners?
Between the wheels the Porsche has grown too. The wheelbase is longer by a massive 100mm. But weight is down by 45kgs as thanks to extensive use of alumnium . The engine is in its traditional place slung over the rear axle and develops 350hp from its 3.4litres of displacement . Autocar points out that while engine size is down from 3.6 power is up, and so is efficiency as per Porsche's claims. The engine config is a flat six. The Carrera S (pictured above) will feature a 3.8litre flat six motor developing 400hp. Which will propel it from 0-100 in 4.3 seconds. Apart from the PDK twin-clutch automatic gearbox, the Carrera will also debut with a world first - seven-speed manual transmission!! Coming back to the design the rear been significantly remodeled while keeping Porsche heritage intact. The rear looks muscularly handsome with slinky tail lights pointing outwards . It is a very smooth shape and the cut out for the number plate mirrors the airdam at the front very neatly. Incredible stuff.
Now, the only thing remaining to figure out is which one of these will be my desktop wallpaper. Tough one!
Photos from Autocarindia.com & Autocar.co.uk
The reason these cars caught my attention, more than the amount usually reserved for a Ferrari or a Porsche, is because of two separate reasons.
One - The Italia now really looks like a Ferrari.
Two - The Porsche while still looking like a Porsche, actually looks different.
Let me elucidate. First, the Ferrari.
When you said Italian there was a certain sexiness that you expected. Something with character, a bit flamboyant, confident and elite. Something that you would look at and promise yourself that you would have it someday (or at least have a ride in if not see in the flesh - depending on your age and drive... :-)). You could rip a badge of most Ferraris and people would still recognise the craft of Maranello. The versatile F355, the flawed F50 and the stunning Testarossa despite their shortcomings are perfect examples of Ferrari-ness. I dub them “Recent Classics”. In the past few generations only the F430 has lived up to the Ferrari name.
I imagine being quick for a Ferrari is important, and being quickest is the ultimate goal, but at what expense? At the expense of making the super cars look like cartoon cars brought to life. I can easily imagine the Italia in the next Cars edition. Its roof line seems out of proportion and those eyes seem something Japanese designers thought of in the 80s. But now with the F458 Italia Spider balance has been restored. With the roof gone there is a beautiful, dramatic, familiar oh-I-gotta-have/sit/ride/see-this feeling. It is absolutely breathtaking! I can’t wait to see it in Frankfurt, for all the right reasons. The receding structures for roll over protection instead of pop out hoops or plain hoops add an almost playboyish element to it. I want to see the retractable aluminium hard-top in action.
Ferrari claims it takes fourteen seconds to make the switch and that the system weighs 25kgs lesser than previous folding soft tops. Nice. The open-top rocket ship retains its 4.5 litre V8 and Ferrari claims that 0-100 will come in under 3.4 seconds. Hmm, same as the coupe. Top speed though is down from 325 to 320kph. But with Ferrari saying - “the engine soundtrack has been honed to ensure that the car’s occupants are completely captivated by the drop-top driving experience” I wouldn’t care!! Now if only they’d do something about those fishy eyes.
Here's a teaser video of the Spider - theres a full video out as well but I like this one better.
Now, the Porsche.
I struggle to differentiate one Porsche from the other. I can’t tell between Carrera S, Carrera 4S, Carrera 4 Carrera GTS. The differences are such that it would take a microscope to pin point things. It’s no different when talking about successive generations of models. Luckily with the all new 911 Carrera, things are different. You look at the new Carrera and straight away you will be able to tell it apart from its predecessor. It feels hefty, bigger. There are also some new, obvious aggressive cues. The way the eyelets cut into the bumper and the way the fins in the airdam have been designed seem to hint at a younger Porsche. Is it a nudge from the company’s new owners?
Between the wheels the Porsche has grown too. The wheelbase is longer by a massive 100mm. But weight is down by 45kgs as thanks to extensive use of alumnium . The engine is in its traditional place slung over the rear axle and develops 350hp from its 3.4litres of displacement . Autocar points out that while engine size is down from 3.6 power is up, and so is efficiency as per Porsche's claims. The engine config is a flat six. The Carrera S (pictured above) will feature a 3.8litre flat six motor developing 400hp. Which will propel it from 0-100 in 4.3 seconds. Apart from the PDK twin-clutch automatic gearbox, the Carrera will also debut with a world first - seven-speed manual transmission!! Coming back to the design the rear been significantly remodeled while keeping Porsche heritage intact. The rear looks muscularly handsome with slinky tail lights pointing outwards . It is a very smooth shape and the cut out for the number plate mirrors the airdam at the front very neatly. Incredible stuff.
Now, the only thing remaining to figure out is which one of these will be my desktop wallpaper. Tough one!
Photos from Autocarindia.com & Autocar.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment