oh i was just being pissy, german auto design has evolved but what i was getting at is the whole cold tutonic thing. In autos give me some personality, some soul, some insight into the passionate people that put their blood and sweat into it, give me a old jag, a italian ride or even a SM.
Amen brother!
lest we forget i give you a true automobile…
im 100% in agreement with the old jag or vintage italian autos.
if anything though, as a point, i’d say more that italian design is dead, and like it or not, german teutonic design is now more the influencing force in trans design.
back in the 60’s the italian style was king. classic ferraris, pinafarina styling for the likes of VW, Volvo, and others, old Alfas maserattis were king. even the jag you show is clearly italian in sculpted, sexiness.
nowadays though, the benchmark for most cars is BMW in performance, merecedes for technical, and audi for design (to some at least). every new US and a lot of asian cars all look the same, like a wanna be bimmer.
personally, for me, the 60’s was the heyday of the auto industry at least in terms of styling, and things have gone pretty much downhill since then. perhaps gone up a little now since the late 80’s/early 90’s but for the most part all new cars look the same to me, and even a new BMW gives me little in terms of “wow” or feeling.
R
(i drive a 1969 Benz, so am perhaps a bit biased).
sadly i agree, i drive a old maser bora from time to time.
?
really. thats sweet.
mine is bright yellow.
I’d murder just about anyone to have a car as pretty as the Alfa 8c. That car really is as pretty as they come. I think it does a much better job of looking back towards the time when cars were soft and sensual rather than the razor blade edginess that the BMW’s are doing now.
Don’t get me wrong I love the new 3 & 6 series…but that Alfa…:drool:
Nice, REAL nice.
not keen on yellow, but me likey. got any pics of it? ill show you mine if you show me yours 
R
So I was going on my morning run today and I’m zoned out, listening to my iPod… and a red blip catches my eye… it’s a new TT… I might have to change my opinion, it does look hot on the road, the overall form and proportions are sweet… I can admit when I’m wrong… kind of… 
its a pissed off bunny rabbit
that Alfa Romeo has some nice lines and some awkward proportions. Is it a recent styling trend to deeply sculpt the hood, bulge the front wheel wells and chop off the rear?
On a different note, those three Alfa photos are horrendous. Whoever did the photo editing and the art direction should consider other work.
Saw an R8 on the road today… First time… Now that’s a seriously pissed off rabit. Low with seriously squinty eyes and sharp teeth…
Look superb on the road.
Was it a coupe or roadster? There’s a coupe that occasionally parks outside my window here at work; such a big difference seeing it up close than from looking at pics on the Audi website or tv commercial. The biggest thing that immediately jumped out at me seeing it in person was the longer wheelbase; and although the increase is only 1.5inches, the styling makes it look more like 8inches.
But I think your earlier comments on design vs. styling were spot on.
It was a coupe. I think it was the proportions that drew me in to it in person, like you said, it is a subtle change, but it makes a big difference.
Funny, I was having dinner with a friend of mine who is an auto designer at one of the big 3, and parked outside the restaurant was my car, next to a red 08TT and he said the same thing. He also said that while the new one is sexier,it will never be a classic like the first one will be.
Time will tell, there is heated debate (by some) over which version of the Porsche 356 is the best
Time will tell, there is heated debate (by some) over which version of the Porsche 356 is the best
You mean coupe v speedster? I can’t imagine people argue over whether the 356 with one grille on the rear lid is better looking than the ones with two grilles.
they argue. If I recall there were 3 356 variants, A,B and C, each had slightly different bodywork and proportions.
I have to agree, I work for an Audi tuning firm and I was so-so on the new TT until we actually got one. I actually think the car is styled better then the first generation (certainly it is a better car from an engineering standpoint). It also follows Audi’s recent design language, which aids in having an “identifiable” product without the consumer having to ask “what kind of car is that?” People instinctively recognize it as an Audi which is important.
We offer them in a couple flavors…
Mild
and Wild
+1 on the Alfa 8C… ‘designers’ would gravitate towards the Audi, but car enthusiasts will pick the Alfa because of performance, exclusiveness, and curves.
Great to see that this thread has come back to theTT.
The underlying question here is: “How do you succeed an enormously successful design?”
(That within time was regarded as “classic”)
Even more critically so, if the “original” comes to be as iconic
as the original TT . A lot of car manufacturers had to fight with that.
Examples : Porsche 356 / vs 911 / vs every next Porsche
Alfa Romeo Spider / vs. the next one
Ford Mustang
Mustang 65 Fastback
Mustang 67 Fastback
I think, what Audi did to the TT resembles very closely what Ford
did to the Mustang after only 2 years.
I was very critical of the 08 TT until the first ones got into the local dealership.
As Yo und others have also observed the new one has
very good proportions (which doesn´t come across in the Audi
Publications, shame) and it does have the most gorgeous detail imaginable.
The one thing that differenciates it from the orignal is, that it is less strictly
“Bauhaus” and blends much better into the rest of the lineup. (see above)
That surely was one of the goals of the design brief. And they did achieve.
But Audi is really risking to fall of the cliff with their current model generation.
The cars are still attractive, but they got a little too “blurry”.
One could substract some lines from the current TT and A4 without loosing
anything. And that makes me shiver
I just hope, they never give us a TT “Grande” or a TT II (just to stick with the mustang theme)
waiting for more input
yours sincerely
mo-i
P.S.: I am an advocate hater of the LED lights “bumper car”
HOW WILL APPLE SUCCEED THE I-PHONE?
