LaFerrari Has Evolved Again, But Is This Progress For The Idea Of Supercars?

not sure how many people remember a cartoon called speed racer from the 70s but this car looks almost exactly like speed racers car.

I have been much more excited about rally cars for decades!

While not as sexy, Stirling Moss’ 300 on everyday Italian roads is a superior motorcar than anything pumped out from Ferrari or Lamborghini or McLaren or others. Because it can hit a pothole or a haybale and continue to thrill and charm not only the driver, but the fans as well.

Todays supercars excite one entity – the factory – due to the continuous repairing of carbon fiber and plastic.

Its not really possible for a modern manufacturer to produce a ‘hyper’ car without accepting full responsibility for the consequences of its huge power and speed capability without designing electronic aids and downforce to try and compensate for the inexperience of the amateur driver. The last of the Porsche Carrera analogue supercars represented the very limit of an unaided driving experience, but even that landed Porsche in court in the USA when drivers were killed in accidents. I dont know the outcome of any of those cases but clearly having the name ‘widow maker’ attached to one of your vehicles is no longer a symbol of excellence! Even the much vaunted McLaren F1 was very tricky on the limit and publicity over accidents could not have been helpful to them.

It is an obvious statement to make that perhaps less is more, but difficult to sustain in the fashion conscious world of the very rich. Beauty has never sustained supercar design because the next big thing is what everyone wants and constant change was the only way to proceed. Lamborghini showed the first Contach at a show way before it was ready to produce them, which had a negative impact on their sales because that was the next big thing, even though with hindsight I personally would prefer the Muira.

What Ferrari has done is ingenious because they have found a way of developing the La Ferrari without having to completely design a new car, placing it in the only place where you could possibly use the performance on the race track.

In a funny sort of way the development of the industry in general mirrors that of the jet fighter industry. The F16 design is thirty odd years old unyet it has been constantly updated and we no longer think of this old. The expense and diminishing returns has ensured that many years have passed until a new stealth technology was created.
McLaren seem to create a continuous flow of ‘new’ models such is the competition, and as for Porsche they are the masters of new old designs pushing the performance envelope ever upwards.

My feeling is that many of us here accept and welcome the flaws of beautiful old cars over the newer cars and also tailor our driving habits to suit the cars we drive. I prefer my nineties ‘old’ Lotus M100 because I love the look of the car and frankly am not a great fan of the Elise for the same reason, even though my car doesnt drive as well as the much lighter Elise, even on B roads. Its just how I am there is no rhyme or reason for my preference. The M100 has more understeer with its front wheel drive but still has that wicked Lotus turn in speed, I love it to bits moving and I especially love its styling. Would I like an original Elan, well yes of course, but at todays prices, no way and in any case I would still keep the M100.

Though I’ve only seen it in photos I actually think the original La Ferrari is a stunning machine (though it could do with cameras for mirrors instead of those massive stalks). It’s aggressive and elegant at the same time. This car on the other hand is just not pretty. Kind of like the original John Barnard designed 640 F1 cars verses the cars of today with winglets and appendages sticking out everywhere. Sure they serve a function, but destroy the looks of the car at the same time.

Supercars serve a purpose, I suppose, but dollar for dollar I’d own something else. None of them will eclipse the immortal McLaren F1 in terms of pure driver appeal, and prices seem to support that notion.