AutoCritical

Does this seem a bit blocky and square? For sure this is not fast!

Most, if not all of the cars that I’ve taken a look at with you guys have been consumer production cars that would have been designed with a higher degree of form over function. When presented with the press release of the Caterham Lola, I initially put this in the ‘too hard’ basket as I don’t actually know how to evaluate the aesthetic success of this type of car, one that is driven by function over form.

Adrian Newey designed Red Bull racer for a Formula 1 car with no technical restrictions

Before shutting down the computer I saw on the wallpaper of a Red Bull X2010 designed by Adrian Newey for Grand Tourismo. The premise for this design was to develop a car that was based on a fictional Formula 1 season that had no design constraints on the car. This was the result.

As I am not totally convinced of the areas that cover the wheels, I do like the idea of the X2010 cockpit looking ever so closer to a jet fighter, and how the polycarbonate (guess) blends into the engine cover.

Looking at actual Formula 1 cars, I do have my favourite designs;

• The nose cone on Kimi Raikkonen’s 2008 Ferrari,
• The front wing of the McLaren 2008,
• The raised nose bridge over the front suspension on the Red Bull Racing cars,
• The ‘horns’ on both the nose and engine cover of the 2008 BMW Sauber,
• The anvil dorsal fin that connected the engine cover to the rear wing, complemented by the general lunacy of the previous generation of winglets and aerodynamic devices permitted on Formula 1 race cars – I came to realise that perhaps I was able to appreciate the aesthetic qualities on engineering driven car design.

Favourite bits of F1 cars. They all seem to be from 2008...

I find it awkward about having straight lines on the lower portion of the Caterham. In automotive aesthetics, because cars move, lines tend to have degrees of tension in how they bend, to create drama and the illusion of speed. Putting aerodynamic knowledge and theory aside, the straight lines just seem to make the Lola visually heavy.

The body shell leads with hints of racing history with a nosecone that pushes through the front of the car, with fins and slots in all the right places, demonstrates the seriousness of the Lola for the track. An open cockpit furthermore ties the racing aspect of this product that further enforces how different it is from a traditional car.

Caterham Lola SP 300.R

Architectual Rear end of the Lola

The most striking view of this car is from the rear, where the horizontal straight lines are the only area where the visual enjoyment of pure function can be appreciated. This view makes emphasis how wide, yet how light this Lola appears (in contrast to the side), making this observation and understanding from an architectural perspective. The aggression of an oversized dominating rear wing, the stiff rear diffuser and angular engine cover slots make this racer scary and dominating. I don’t want to be behind this thing. Yikes.

What are your favourite bits on an F1 car, or am I the only that notices these details?

Let me know what you think! I have a £5 Amazon.co.uk Gift Voucher to share (use a valid email) for the first UK reader who makes a comment.