Pininfarina 'ENJOY'
Italian design house plays with Elise based concept
Pininfarina got things off to an interesting start today with news of their "ENJOY" styling exercise based on a Lotus chassis.
The stunning 'research study' apparently marks Pininfarina's return to the sports car theme.
The famous Italian design house designed the barchetta style car around a Lotus chassis evolved from that of the Elise.
The Lotus tub structure chassis is a key feature of ENJOY. Its lightweight construction and exceptional torsional stiffness offered an ideal starting point when creating a car designed for road and track.
Lotus Engineering have also had a hand in it, providing their expertise in the ride and handling department.
Proper pictures of the car will be available later in the week. In the meantime you'll have to take it for granted that the car looks something like the sketch.
Another pointless styling exercise so they can release a press statement. Some chappie/chappess in the design shop did a pretty drawing and the design director saw it and thought it would look nice in a magazine. Who cares?
PS. Ted? This isn't editorial feedback, by the way! It's more just ranting about these bloody design studios releasing pointless drawings to magazines. It's advertising!
But Lotus won't use it unless it's a freebee. They gave up using decent designers after they booted out Stevens. Since then it's been school boy city in the Lotus 'design studio'. In fact, they are more like a YTS scheme for budding car designers so they can get experience then leave and do their better work for a real car company.
Go on Pininfarina, chuck 'em a freebee, pretty please?
Regards,
Nicholas
(92SE,03V8)
Sorry but i have to disagree, Stevens has never done anything special, i think his work at lotus was average at best, the F1 was ok but nothing remarkable and the new MG is very very bad. In comparison the M250 and S2 Elise done by "school boys" are head and shoulders above anything done by Mr Stevens.
regards Ian
I'm going to have to perform a pathetic edit here and hope not too many people noticed before I crawl off in shame.
>> Edited by Bonce (moderator) on Wednesday 5th March 11:03
jamesc said: I am not allowed to make comments on cars like these. However the FBS Census offers more.
Eh? We're talking about a concept with no details of what kind of engine etc, what the handling is like.
How can an FBS offer more when the only thing to compare it on is looks (and I'm not opening that can again).
www.cardesignnews.com/autoshows/2003/geneva/preview/pininfarina-enjoy/
Well, I'm not a Pininfarina fan, I prefer Collin Chapman.
And I prefer a 'original Lotus Elise' -> If this thing wouldn't be that damn small, I would drive one!
//www.infomotori.com/foto/art_944.1_smart%20crossblade%2001s.jpg[/url]">
and that is saying something
SVG
>> Edited by Spining-v-grid on Wednesday 5th March 11:42
Thanks for your response. I respect the fact that we disagree on this. Let me add, that although the 'school boys' are novices compared to a design veteran like Stevens and Bertone, Pininfarina etc, I did not mean to infer that they are untalented.
However, I do continue to disagree that their designs are better than his. His [Stevens] designs are artistically 'complete' from all angles viewed, that's how he works, by considering the whole car/object. The latest MG thing may look brutish, but it does look complete, and is garish in the same way as Guigiaro's Aston Martin interpretation.
When I view the Elise from some angles, it looks great,other angles it looks awkward and out of balance (too curvy, exaggerated). M250 was stunning front on, but the rear is ugly, and too elevated, and it's front intakes are not elegant and look affected rather than purposeful. Lotus has in recent years gone for the 'in your face' way of attracting attention, not elegance the way the Esprit did. They started this with the bumper job on the Esprit (93-4), where they couldn't be bothered spending enough to change the moulds on the body, so told Thompson to exaggerate the bumpers to give the car a 'new' look.
This is just my take on it, and I understand many disagree.
Regards,
Nicholas
(92SE,03V8)
I think the fact the Guigiaro was impressed by Stevens reworking of his Esprit says it all.
I think pretty much everything Stevens has done except maybe the reshaped nose on the Impreza has been remarkable. Although, I heard quite a few remarks about that too, so maybe not...
Regards,
Nicholas
(92SE,03V8)
Stevens? Hmmm, some great work in the past, but lost his way at MG, everything looks too 'bodykitted aftermarket bolt-on' rather than designed/styled etc.
Regards,
Nicholas
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