Photo: RM Car Design
Can you remember the last time Ferrari made an ugly car? We don't just mean non-beautiful, but a downright hideous vehicle that was so bad, you would rather stare under a prancing horse's tail than look at it.
While we all have one (or maybe even two) Ferrari model we find to be a bit on the meh side (for me personally, it has to be California with its fat behind), you'd be hard pressed to find one that's genuinely hard to watch. There are no Fiat Multiplas, Pontiac Aztecs or Nissan Jukes here.
We probably all have a favorite model as well, and for most of us, they are at least twenty years old, if not more. Ferrari might not have done anything wrong with its designs lately, but it definitely didn't create any new masterpieces either. It's true that a car needs time to attain its legendary status, something the latest models did not have, but even so, you can look at today's lineup and tell they don't really deserve it.
That's because they look somewhat predictable. There aren't too many cars on the roads that resemble them, sure, but Ferrari has developed some sort of mannerism, which means it doesn't look to surprise us, but please us. It's doing great, and business is thriving, but kids aren't flocking to put posters on their bedroom walls like the used to. Or, you know, use the pictures for the background on their smartphones.
Last week, Ferrari pulled out of its hat the J50 limited edition. The targa model based on the excellent 488 Spider was unveiled in Tokyo, and it didn't look like anything else we've seen from Ferrari while still retaining all the rights to be included in the Prancing Horse's stable.
The most striking feature of the J50 are the horizontal headlights - one single element that changes the whole allure of the car. It was a targa model, meaning it came with solid, detachable carbon fiber roof panels that could be stowed behind the two seats, and yet somebody thought a coupe version would be appropriate as well.
You can't blame them: working on these pictures must be a pleasure in itself, as it allows you more time to look at them while also doing something useful. Remco Meulendijk at RM Car Design figured that if you were going to give the car a fixed roof, you might as well make it special. That's why the doubly-domed roof is made out of glass, replicating the look of the engine cover just a few inches to the back.
It's not the most spectacular transformation - and it doesn't even make that much sense compared to the original solution - and yet we can't take our eyes off it. It may not be perfect, but it comes closer than anything we've seen lately.
We probably all have a favorite model as well, and for most of us, they are at least twenty years old, if not more. Ferrari might not have done anything wrong with its designs lately, but it definitely didn't create any new masterpieces either. It's true that a car needs time to attain its legendary status, something the latest models did not have, but even so, you can look at today's lineup and tell they don't really deserve it.
That's because they look somewhat predictable. There aren't too many cars on the roads that resemble them, sure, but Ferrari has developed some sort of mannerism, which means it doesn't look to surprise us, but please us. It's doing great, and business is thriving, but kids aren't flocking to put posters on their bedroom walls like the used to. Or, you know, use the pictures for the background on their smartphones.
Last week, Ferrari pulled out of its hat the J50 limited edition. The targa model based on the excellent 488 Spider was unveiled in Tokyo, and it didn't look like anything else we've seen from Ferrari while still retaining all the rights to be included in the Prancing Horse's stable.
The most striking feature of the J50 are the horizontal headlights - one single element that changes the whole allure of the car. It was a targa model, meaning it came with solid, detachable carbon fiber roof panels that could be stowed behind the two seats, and yet somebody thought a coupe version would be appropriate as well.
You can't blame them: working on these pictures must be a pleasure in itself, as it allows you more time to look at them while also doing something useful. Remco Meulendijk at RM Car Design figured that if you were going to give the car a fixed roof, you might as well make it special. That's why the doubly-domed roof is made out of glass, replicating the look of the engine cover just a few inches to the back.
It's not the most spectacular transformation - and it doesn't even make that much sense compared to the original solution - and yet we can't take our eyes off it. It may not be perfect, but it comes closer than anything we've seen lately.
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