I love the Wiesmann also but think that if money were no object and you were looking for a unique head turning car the new Australian Devaux Coupe can't be beat and is my all time number one wish list car. 350 CID, GM alloy V8, 361 HP, 2,480 lbs.

Sorry if I'm off topic.

 

Looks too long.

 

Yes. The styling is a little GT6, Jag E-Type and C-Type.

Now that Devaux is something! For my taste the side profile is a bit long and the front fenders too chunky. Also the rear tires a tad small. And how about that square window on the door? SO taking the photochop lead of another poster on this thread...a tail tuck, a +2 on the rear meats, a little shift rear and channeling on the front pontoon, and custom glass for the doors to get rid of that square window frame...


Original (click for more)



Restyled

 

Much better ppro, Deveaux needs to hire you as a designer.

 

Thanks! But it's easy in Photo-shop. Problem is, by moving all that stuff around, I implicitly changed the chassis, engine layout and drive train, and probably stepped on some design patents (Talbot-Lago, Jaguars E- and C-Type, and XK-120, Bugatti T-50, and Ferrari 250 SWB Berlinetta) in the bargain. Which probably explains why the Devaux looks as it does - they couldn't copy existing designs too closely.

 

That might be the ugliest looking thing ive seen in a long time! Wow.

 

I guess that you have to understand and appreciate automotive history to see any value whatsoever in the Devaux design. It's a kind of acquired taste. I really like the 1930's era of car design such as Bugatti, Talbot Lago. Delage, and Delahaye. The design is a nostalgia trip and can't be defended in an esthetic way. The 1930's era in Europe and especially France produced some breakthrough designs and went for a more aerodynamic look. But beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder and I understand your comment. Just think, some people think our Crossfires are ugly and it borrows some retro hints from earlier eras.

 

thats not true... theres that whole ENGINE difference too.

 

There has been no engine difference for the past few years.

Boxsters and Caymans get the same motors nowadays. 245 hp base, 295 hp "S". Heck, the special edition RS 60 Boxster gets 303, more than any Cayman from the factory.


I test drove a Cayman and a Cayman S before buying my SRT-6. They do handle better than the Crossfire, but I just couldn't justify the price difference.

 

Nope. Really just the roof.

 

Yep, same car except the roof, and the price...

 

I have to say I am a huge fan of the Cayman as well, but my wife does not like the "high ego emissions" factor and prefers the Crossfire....Guess we can save enough to put our kids through a couple of years of college....

 

My father is..sort of a car collecter if you will..We have two corvettes, a Cayman S..my crossfire..an SSR ( Chevy Truck..weird thing ) Jaguar XJR..and a couple others...I would have to say the best handling of the bunch is the Cayman S. Yes the Vettes are faster and the Crossfire is unique ( and my baby ) but after driving all of them many many times, I have to say I like the Cayman S for handling the most. But I will say, after Removing the muffler off of my Crossfire, the Porsche sounds like a complete toy. There is nothing like getting in your Crossfire everyday, starting it up, and it putting a huge smile on your face.

 

I don't know chuck, I mean, I know part of the design is a nostalgia trip, but is it possible that certain shapes have lasting beauty or just plain "get it right"?

For example, the Type 57SC:


I mean, look at those curves, it is really beautiful (to me). A modern car can even have the same types of lines, like the Morgan Life Car prototype:



But I don't even think one has to make a modern interpretation to keep the same beautiful lines, for example, the Peugeot 908Hdi is fabulous:



And in my opinion it follows some of the same design elements, for example, the flared wheel arches with aerodynamic curves, along with design equivalents of "shoulders" and "hips".

I guess I'm one of those people that believe in "classical beauty" for what it's worth. So it's hard for me to be so reductionist about judging car design. A car may have a ridiculously long wheelbase, but as a whole there may just be something "right" about it. And so in the end, certain shapes can't be judged simply by when they were popular, so couldn't attractiveness be objective and not simply a look back at "the good old days"?

 

Good post sonoronos, you're absolutly right. Certain shapes and proper proportions do have a lasting beauty and please the eye.

I own two books, one is Speed Style and Beauty, cars from the Ralph Lauren Collection that was an exhibition at the Boston Museum of Fine Art, and Curves of Steel, an exibition at the Phoenix Art Museum. Both books are excellent examples of the point that you make. Another is the exhibit that the Peterson Automotive Museum had back in 2005 intitled French Curves: The Automobile as Sculpture.


The opening paragraph in the write up of the Peterson exhibit:

"Few vehicles evoke emotion as strongly as those bodied with the voluptuous, yet sleek designs of the streamlined French school of the 1930's This was an era when a new appretiation for aerodynamics in concert with elegant, creative expression - amidst great social and political turbulence - pushed the limits of automotive achievement."

From Curves of Steel:

"Streamline design flourished from the late 1920's through 1939 and still affects the way automobiles look today."

Here's the links to the exhibits, I hope you enjoy them.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n2849103.shtml

http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/sub.a...=15&subkey=500

http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=1028

 

Yep.

I spent this past Friday at Road America. I must have seen well over 100 Porsches in the spectator parking areas but I didn't see one other Crossfire.

--------------------------- Bill

 

oops, youre right -- guess i only paid attention when they first came out!

 

Thanks chuck for reminding me about the term "streamline design". I just googled it and I'm up in my arms in reading..