cyrenepenya: French designer re-interprets the Ferrari 458 Italia

Sunday, September 25, 2011

French designer re-interprets the Ferrari 458 Italia

There really isn’t much of a discussion as far as how people perceive the design of the Ferrari 458 Italia because we all agree that it’s one of the most beautiful vehicles to ever come out of Maranello.

But for the purpose of argument, there are still some things about the Ferrari supercar that could have been improved, albeit ever-so slightly. French designer Olivier Demangel has a few opinions on what he thinks could have served the basis for redesigning the 458 Italia and has come out with three proposals to illustrate them.

The first proposal (Version 0.5) doesn’t veer away too much from what the actual car looks like, save for a few subtle improvements on the side skirts and the car’s diffuser. Then there’s the second proposal (Version 1.0), which took on a more aggressive approach with the noticeable addition of side air events, as well as re-worked front air intakes, and a small rear wing at the back. Finally, there’s the last proposal (Version 2.0) which, according to Demangel, is a design that pays tribute to one of the 458’s iconic predecessors, the F40. It carries plenty of new additions, including a different front profile with a more well-built bumper and an even bigger rear wing at the back.

It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see these modifications on the 458 come alive on the real model, but they do paint nice pictures on what kind of untapped potential the car’s glorious design still has when top-notch designers get to work on it.