SACRILEGE MOTORS: VIRAL 288 REVIVAL
Revisiting a ballsy design I created in August 2017.
As I mentioned in a previous article about revivals, specificialy on the "Beast of Turin" sketch, I stated that I typically look to the 70s and 80s for inspiration on what designs to blow the dust off. At the time, August 2017, I was just getting into car design and really starting to take an interest in the field in a serious way, however I still had much to learn, (I still do).
I was never besotted with Maranello creations, sure, I had a 575M poster on my wall as a kid, a yellow F50 die cast model, and a couple cheesy Ferrari branded shoes and shirts, but these were all gifts. Friends and family knew I loved cars, and if they love the cliched, red shiny sports cars, I must love them too, right?
Wrong. I've always been more fascintated with sporty derivatives of ordinary cars, underdogs and sleepers. But back to August 2017, I had just finished an automotive design competition, where one of the entries had to be a new Ferrari, and I shamefully caught the cliche-bug. Analysing Ferraris, trying to design one of my own, and getting engrossed in their past and present, one Ferrari design just wasn't enough.
My design competition entry, the E12.
As a lover of all things retro, I looked to the past in the search of something that could benefit from 21st century styling. The F40 would probably be ruined, and the F50 is still a bit too recent for a revival, so I chose the 288 GTO.
In my opinion, I felt the front-end was seriously showing its age, and certain details would benefit from some reworking (ahem, side mirrors). Although, I concede now, there are certain angles of the 288 that are just perfection, and didn't deserve any of my tinkering.
AND SO IT BEGAN...
These were my first of sketches of the revival concept, and while some of these ideas fell away, my final design really didn't deviate much from what you see above. This project should've had way more development, and crazy idea generation before settling on this one idea.
BITS OF REFINEMENT
As mentioned above, this project could've done with a lot more work in the idea phase. Some of these angles are pretty cringey in reflection too.
STRAIGHT TO RENDERING
Feeling like I had done enough exploring on paper, I got snug behind a laptop and started rendering away, with the design slowly evolving as I progressed.
VIRAL POSTING & PURIST BACKLASH
And there you have it, the love/hate sacrilege mobile was complete. And boy did it cause quite a stir. Midway through these renders, I was contacted by a Motor1 journalist, asking if he could publish my renders into an article, and desperate for exposure on my latest design, I finished the rest of the work as soon as I could.
Once the Motor1 article was published, a couple sites followed suit, with the likes of CarBuzz, carscoops, gearheads.org, autoevolution and Top Gear Spain. Such an aggressive design with the exact name and visual links to the original, I think it's safe to say I pissed off purists from all over, but I guess there's no such thing as bad exposure? I had several comments of what it supposedly looked like; "MR2", "NSX", "Huracan Performante" etc etc. But as much as there was bad, there was also good. One comment I will never forget was "The best looking Ferrari in years", and as a young and aspirational car designer, this tugged at the heartstrings and encouraged me to push onward.
WHAT I COULD'VE CHANGED
A few weeks back, I revisited my 288, with a quick sketch. I looked at how things could've been improved, how surfaces could've blended better, and how the overall design could've been more unified. But all in all, I would change too much, just mountains of refinement in the body's form.
What are your thoughts on this controversy?
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Comments (21)
Your sketches and renderings are impressive. As always.
Thanks Alena!
Show it to that Ares company that's making the DeTomaso Pantera reboot and rendered a modern 250 GTO. They might just build this and then the world will be happy.
I've seen their work, they've made some stunning revivals. I think a partnership is in order😉
Great skill!
Thanks Danish!
I. Love. This. The 288 GTO is one of my all-time favorites, but were Ferrari to make something that looked like your rendering, I would risk divorce to have the poster above my bed. What a staggering piece of design. Those lines on the front and those headlights make my legs go a bit wobbly. Well done, Matt.
Massive thanks Ryan, comments like these really make the effort and hours worth it! Glad you're more on the love than hate side of the spectrum!
Ferraris have something in them, some super unique features. You grasped them properly. I like the sketch!
Thanks Lu, hope I did capture their essence correctly