Lorenzo Ramaciotti, General Manager of Pininfarina Design, takes us through the process that culminated in the Ferrari Scaglietti, the new 4-seater out of Maranello that he himself describes as the least Ferrari Ferrari of them all. A 315 km/h speed merchant thanks to its nearly 6 litre 12 cylinder engine that develops 540 bhp, it features a highly distinctive design. “It looks rather like a greyhound at full stretch”, says Ramaciotti again.
Its all-aluminium frame and body represent a technological advance that was also a necessity, given the car’s dimensions, and will also appear on all future Ferrari models from now on.
If the success of a design is proportionate to its ability to conceal the constraints its creators laboured under, the 612 Scaglietti is something like a design miracle. The rear-end for example posed all sorts of problems. There was the bulk of the two weighty catalysts to accommodate plus the fact that, given the position of the transmission system, the spare wheel was bound to create a bit of an overhang. And then, of course, there’s that Ferrari image, sacred, inviolable. The four big exhaust pipes, says Ramaciotti, “are icons and not to be touched”. Plus the four headlamps, the numberplate sunk into the bumper, the prancing horse in the middle.
The interior also reflects the Ferrari New Frontier represented by the car. Forget the standard saloon dashboard, thought the Ferrari designers. Let’s look for something more engineered and conceptual. So they combined hard-edged aluminium with the softness of hand-stitched leather to underline the cars unique mix of technology and craftsmanship.
The article continues in Auto & Design no. 145
