54 replies to this topic

[PCH Parts Express]

2014 F1 car looks good.

[TSR]

Scott,

I think that this Ferrari is the ugliest F1 car they ever produced, bar none. That snout up-front is simply disgusting.

Ferrari like other F1 constructors, are forced by stupid rules to engineer ugliness in their cars. All it is causing today is a near financial collapse of the F1 establishment, including Ferrari, tied to the FIAT empire that is not doing too well financially.

Spending $200 million per year to race aerodynamic marvels of ugliness at a cost unsustainable by smaller teams. Expect less of them on the 2015 grid after what will be a financial disaster for most in 2014.

[chaparrAL]

Lotus may not make it at all.

[raisin27]

Have to agree with TSR. Formula 1 cars have been getting uglier and uglier every year.

[SlotStox#53]

Maybe they need to kick out all the old guard at the top of the rule and decision-making processes, PdL? Would that help bring the beauty back into the cars and reduce the costs?

Seems like the big issue with F1 for years has been rising costs with the need and want to reduce costs so more teams survive or join the formula and better rules..
 
Go back to stick shift.

[Tex]

While I agree regarding the ugliness of modern F1s, I don't think "beauty" is their motivation.

[chaparrAL]

The wind tunnel designs the car basically.

[Pappy]

I agree with Tex and Al. Besides that, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But it's still an ugly car. 

[MSwiss]

While I agree regarding the ugliness of modern F1s, I don't think "beauty" is their motivation.

Obviously.
 
PdL complaining about their looks is like not being able to understand why a bowling bowl doesn't look like a Michelangelo sculpture.
 
No matter what the rules are, they aren't going to look like a '67 Gurney Eagle again.

[Tom Thumb Hobbies]

No matter what the rules are, they aren't going to look like a 67' Gurney Eagle again.

Which, IMO, is a damn shame. But if you want REALLY UGLY glance at the current IndyCar rides.

[Zippity]

Once the F1 racing season gets underway, we will forget about how ugly or not the cars look, and we will all once again be consumed by the thrill of the sport.

[993]

I'm watching for the Kablamos.

[Pappy]

 and we will all once again be consumed by the thrill of the sport.

Yeah, I love watching follow the leader. 

[TSR]

PdL complaining about their looks is like not being able to understand why a bowling bowl doesn't look like a Michelangelo sculpture.

 

Mike,

First, I am not complaining but pointing out that the RULES force those cars to be ugly. A rule change in F1 as well as in Indy car is greatly wanting, but as long as you will have Bernie types in charge of these racing businesses, you will have ugly cars.
The issue is dictated by the rules, forcing the engineers to accept wind tunnel-generated solutions because they have no choice.

Second, bowling bowls are very functional but I have never found them to be that ugly, and they never pretended to compete with Michelangelo sculptures, which the F1 establishment is certainly closer to claim.

"Beauty in the eye of the beholder" is also a cop-out and a damn lie. Functional objects do not have to be pretty, and we all accept that. But the current F1 trend of ugly snouts is simply ridiculous, especially knowing the actual rule motive for them. TWO LINES in the rules would bring much more acceptable aesthetics, but the FIA is run by a self-absorbed little dwarf after having been run for too many years by a Nazi sympathizer with rather odd sexual fantasies.

I would love to see Ross Brawn elected FIA president, have Bernie in a German jail where he belongs and things getting back to a sport that people would enjoy again.

[PCH Parts Express]

Something like this look better to you folks? 1970 model.

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[TSR]

Definitely less obnoxious...

The 1961 156 "Shark Nose" is considered as one of the most beautiful F1 car of all times, and I have to agree as it is one of the purest expression of an elegant, simple design. Of course no stupid regulations were in the way then, and racing was so much better for it.

 

 

 

 

As far as more recent Ferraris, a simple look at the 1998 car, the fastest F1 ever built before more and more restrictions slowed the cars down and restricted their tires, aerodynamics and basically castrated them, looks FAR better than the 2014 atrocity IMHO.

 

 

[Mbloes]

Dumb question, why do the new cars still have the air scoop now that they're turbo'd?  I was rather looking forward to a profile similar to the Williams FW10 (in the rear anyways) - a personal favorite.

[brnursebmt]

Spending $200 million per year to race aerodynamic marvels of ugliness at a cost unsustainable by smaller teams.

 

 

 

 

 

Gene Haas must have that kind of money in his shirt pocket to form his American F1 team!

[TSR]

Dumb question, why do the new cars still have the air scoop now that they're turbo'd?

 

Because they consume an inordinate amount of air, like 3-4 times a non-turbo engine...

Pressuring the airflow through a dynamic intake adds a tiny bit of power especially on top end.

[Mbloes]

So then what's different from the 80's era when the cars had no scoops? Were they the ones on the side?

 

[Samiam]

Look at the bright side, they could look like 1:1 versions of a 1/24 wing car.  

[Zippity]

"Beauty in the eye of the beholder" is also a cop-out and a damn lie.

 

Only in your biased opinion

[TSR]

Absolutely. And in your own biased opinion, it is not, right? Here is another picture of that true beauty:

 

 

Enjoy it!
 

 

So then what's different from the 80's era when the cars had no scoops? Were they the ones on the side?

 

 

Part of the side pods intakes fed the twin turbos that laid low on each side of the V6 engine. But it was not as efficient as a dynamic intake, there were if I recall, some sizing limitations on these for a couple years until they returned as part of the roll bar.
 

[TSR]

Looks like qualified others are of a similar opinion:

 

http://bleacherrepor...the-ugliest-yet

[Zippity]

So what?

 

Just because someone else agrees with you, doesn't mean that you are right.

 

In your opinion, the cars are ugly.

 

Who gives a fig what you think?