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When I first saw the 458 in magazines, I must admit I thought (and still do) that the design was fantastic.
However, since then I've seen quite a few being driven around London and the SE, and well, on our roads at least, the thing looks a bit silly. Not the styling, but the size.
I remember the very first I one saw, a black model, driving across the bridge at Walton-upon-Thames. Lovely car, but it was so wide an unwieldy, it had the traffic behind it backed up. That, along with the fact the driver was slung so far over to one side of the car, made it look ungainly. Not cool.
Of course, the 458 isn't the only car to suffer from this. All modern Ferraris and Lamborghinis I've seen out and about just don't look right on UK roads.
Contrast that with a Porsche 991 Carrera 4S, that was parked up in a side street in the City last night.
I don't know, but it just looked compact, wieldy, chuckable, and totally at home. Here, it's purposeful and down to business, so the driver doesn't look like a knob.
Similarly, the Aston V8 Vantage also has a chunky, compact appearance and consequently doesn't look out of place either.
Are the dimensions of the Porsche and Aston really that much different to the Ferrari, or is it something to do with the more upright driving position?
I only ask as I think this is relevant for the P13, and what kind of owner McLaren are aiming for.
However, since then I've seen quite a few being driven around London and the SE, and well, on our roads at least, the thing looks a bit silly. Not the styling, but the size.
I remember the very first I one saw, a black model, driving across the bridge at Walton-upon-Thames. Lovely car, but it was so wide an unwieldy, it had the traffic behind it backed up. That, along with the fact the driver was slung so far over to one side of the car, made it look ungainly. Not cool.
Of course, the 458 isn't the only car to suffer from this. All modern Ferraris and Lamborghinis I've seen out and about just don't look right on UK roads.
Contrast that with a Porsche 991 Carrera 4S, that was parked up in a side street in the City last night.
I don't know, but it just looked compact, wieldy, chuckable, and totally at home. Here, it's purposeful and down to business, so the driver doesn't look like a knob.
Similarly, the Aston V8 Vantage also has a chunky, compact appearance and consequently doesn't look out of place either.
Are the dimensions of the Porsche and Aston really that much different to the Ferrari, or is it something to do with the more upright driving position?
I only ask as I think this is relevant for the P13, and what kind of owner McLaren are aiming for.