The Styling of Modern Supercars

At the turn of the decade, we have seen flagship replacements from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and Mclaren. It is apparent that we have moved onto the next generation of supercars, and a noticeable trend is occurring; the styling of these cars are becoming increasingly aggressive.

 It started with the quintessential supercar brand, Ferrari. The 458 came along with a bang in 2009, to much critical acclaim. From the sharp lines of the hood to the louvres feeding into the engine bay, it looks positively menacing from just about any angle. It was a radical move away from the F430, which now looks almost bloated by comparison. 

The FF released two years later has all the right design cues of the 458- Glaring headlights, and a wide front grill. But in the process of adding rear seats, it somehow lost the elegance of the 458, resembling a grinning Dr Eggman without the mustache.

Many enthusiasts, myself included agree that while it looks nice, it just seems slightly excessive for a four seater hatchback, but then again, it is a Ferrari!

The Enzo replacement shows no sign of bucking the trend. The teaser shot reveals a a low, wide beast coming out of the darkness, one that is bound to be as striking as the 458 and F12 Berlinetta.

If any company could be accused of excess, it has to be Lamborghini. Ever since the Miura their designs have resembled fighter jets rather than automobiles, from the Countach to their latest model.

Lets step back for a moment: It’s 2001 in Sant’Agata, the Diablo’s successor has just been shown to the world. The Lamborghini Murcielago has almost 600hp and an appearance of a bat from hell. It looks like it would bite your head off if you approached it in the wrong manner with wide wheel arches and massive twin exhausts.

In fact, only became more aggressive with age, getting revised intakes on the LP640 and a massive rear wing and even more air vents on the SV. 

It seemed that nothing short of adding machine guns to its successor would match the lion that was the Lamborghini Murcielago.

Yet in 2011, it was replaced by the Aventador. The lion is now a fluffy cat.

The Aventador looks like it has been designed exclusively with a ruler. Its appearance is terrific and embodies Lamborghini’s outlandishness to the core, however, it almost looks like it is trying too hard.

Likewise with the Mclaren P1. After the MP4-12C was criticized for looking too generic and almost ‘boring’, Mclaren unveiled their latest flagship at the Paris 2012 motor show and it looks like it comes straight from a Need for Speed game. It was designed entirely by wind tunnel, and the swooping shape shows it. 

So exotics are certainly looking meaner than ever, but is that a bad thing? Nobody buys a Mclaren for school runs or the weekly shop, it is there to put a smile on your face. A Lamborghini exists for the purpose of going fast and releasing that eight year old within you.

 Supercars have always been over the top, excessive and flamboyant. So when the next Ferrari looks like it wants to eat you, be glad that it doesn’t look like a Pontiac Aztek.



First published: 15/01/13

Location: fayazismail.blogspot.co.uk 

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