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2010 Formula One Launches – F1 Livery Design Comparison

January 25th, 2010 AutoCritical 4 comments

There is only a month before the Formula 1 begins the 2010 season. As the teams begin their launches lets have a go at comparing the designs of both the car and its skin!

Mercedes GP MGP  W01

Although McLaren may have a silver/satin chrome car, Mercedes have opted for a white silver - this would make sense drawing from the 'Silver arrows' but also its former Brawn GP car. See some ideas from the Red Bull car of 2009?

Ferrari F10

Ferrari are the first team to release images of their 2010 car. Comparing to the cars in the last couple of years, there is an increasing amount of white on the car. This trend can also be seen on their uniforms over the past few years. I'm not sure why they revisiting their white and red theme of 2002-2005, but perhaps it has something to do with Schumacher? Note the ridges over the nose of the car, similar to the RedBull of 2009.

McLaren MP4-25

Although the colors and livery on the mp425 are very similar to the car of 2009, there are major changes to the form of the body. Most obvious is the anvil tail that has featured in some cars throughout the past couple of years. Other changes include the exhaust area that is turned out more to the side and a simplified rear wing.

Sauber C29

We almost lost Sauber. Featuring a white body with masses of black, this could just be a preliminary color scheme. Gone is the flat nose of the 2009 Sauber, that seems more traditional. Like the McLaren, the Sauber has a anvil fin engine cover. Lets hope they will also get soem sponsors on there too.

Renault R30

With a color scheme that resembles what they did for the 30th anniversary tribute, this bold car only carries a few sponsors from last year. Sporting the anvil fin, this supports the trend that only Ferrari and Mercedes have done without. Looks like a tiger...grr!

Williams FW32

Although with a similar color scheme to last years car, there is a notable lack of sponsors. In form, second trend that has developed are the ridges along its nose, albeit very subtle in the example of the Williams.

Torro Rosso STR5

Parting ways from the design support of its big brother, Red Bull Racing, this will be Torro Rosso's first attempt at its own chassis. This car, with predominantly Red Bull sponsors, surprisingly has intricate design solutions. The rear end plates and rear wing is the most unique.

Virgin Racing VR-01

The first of the 'new' teams to launch their car, Virgin F1 have been promoting their method of digital and virtual car design. Generally speaking this car seems pretty simple with a clean form that could be said lacks refinement and detail of the more established cars. It will be good to see a new set of colors on the track featuring graphical ornate flourishes on them...colors are a bit prodrive anyone?

Force India VJM-03

As the last few teams start to reveal their cars, I think I, like many are really hanging out for the new teams and their 'take' on F1 design. The Force India car has that long finned engine cover that I've always jokingly said was put in for more advertising space! Other than that, this car is looking quite detailed compared to the new teams who have less refined body parts.

Red Bull RB6

So this is the car that all the other cars have become similar to. Did Red Bull Racing come up with a radical design? nope, they evolved a car that was already proven to work well. This RB6 will hopefully have evolved enough to keep the other teams at bay. Similar to the Torro Rosso, predominant team named sponsor adorns this car, I wonder how this directly affects the sales of their drink.

Lotus T127

Going to the opposite side of the development of a Formula 1 car is the Lotus. Unless their strikingly simple design produces instant results, you wouldn't be blamed for thinking that this design lacks refinement. Most obvious areas of this simplicity can be seen in the rear wing and nosecone. On the other side, it's great to see the return of the Lotus name, and its colors to the grid!

HRT F1

HRT are the last team - Since USF1 has officially withdrawn their entry for the 2010 season. They have a very neutral colored car featuring speed stripes. When I see these colors I can think of various forms of military aircraft, and in this instance, would be much cooler if it was matte, but then, resembling anything of the military could be highly contravertial. Hopefully HRT will pick up some sponsors too.


Categories: Misc. Tags: , , , , , , , ,

2011 Mercedes SLS – The beauty among the beasts

December 7th, 2009 AutoCritical No comments

When Mercedes released the SLR, I was overwhelmed by the complex nature of what they were trying to achieve. Mind you, this was all from a poster, and as a result I thought of it as an example that sometimes designers just get it wrong. It was not until I saw it for the first time in real life that I could fully appreciate and understand the idea of the car. What a boldly striking design!

Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren

With hopefully more mature eyes reviewing the design of the SLS, I hope I don’t make the same mistake twice….

The first thing that you cannot miss about the SLS is the distinct return to a style of the past. The retro-futurism tones are strong; the resemblance to the first gull wing is apparent but not literal, which is very important if it wanted to be taken seriously as a stand alone design.

Vents, Grilles, Gull-wing doors and a long bonnet - Supercar stuff

Key features such as the long hood bonnet and small cabin formulate a desirable supercar, with the addition of vents and intakes that reminds us of its potential performance abilities on the road. However, the main attraction and party piece is the return of the gull wing doors that confidently states is heritage – just incase you missed it!

I’ve been irked by the current styling direction of most of the Mercedes range, I don’t know if in sketch form it looked reasonable, but in the production they have been looking awkward and messy. It could be a result, and it wouldn’t be the first instance of an awesome sketch design being placed on older underpinnings of a car that didn’t take it well. Trying to be more positive, I can see the potential of that directional idea, but seeing it in its resultant form I really question the senior designer judgment.

Quite differently enough, there is no evidence of this styling direction that can be seen in the SLS, which contrasts the family portrait of the season when the SLR made its showing.

Sketch - Car comparison - Corners could have been more sharp, giving a more forceful appearance

With its pretty face that draws influence from aerospace design, its long nose resembles one from a jet plane, with its badge fittingly surrounded by a stylized propeller for emphasis. Headlamps placed on the far sides accentuate the width of this car, helping its road hugging appearance.

Along the body side, a simplified fender vent grille can be compared to the outrageous gill like appearance found on the SLR. Part of me was hoping for some this lunacy on the SLS but I think there is enough of that business on the consumer market Mercs. The belt line is not defined by a crease but more of a swooping curve that flows to the rear of the car, which compliments the gesture of the bonnet, and unifies the car with the rear.

Rear and side view

The rear for me is the only part of the car that subtly resembles the SLR with the crease along the deck lid, creating a sloped ducktail and clean minimalist interpretation that resembles the language of the rest of the car. At the same time the rear view of the car has areas that I would have done differently, such as not making a cavity for the name plate (they didn’t do it at the front) and adjusting the rear glass backlight to make it appear more sympathetic to one of the sketched proposed, although this would have been difficult due to mechanical and ergonomic issues.

Ideation sketches for the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG

Seeing all the other sketches of potential SLS’s makes me just wish they could have made them all, especially those that have more sheer surfaces and distinct creases which also would have looked dramatic in real life. The potential to make a similar ‘mistake’ as the consumer Mercedes cars would have been high but could have been worth the risk – at least this way they would all look like they were from the same generation.

I wonder if the design director has realized that there is a beauty among this seasons family portrait of beasts?

Categories: Mercedes Benz, Production Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,