Hey now, look at that! You may have just finished reading Jalopnik’s great interview with legendary designer Frank Stephenson. Well Frank has moved on from working on McLarens to now making internet videos, and in his latest he attempts to redesign the iconic Ferrari F40.
While I’m always charmed by the rather childish results of these types of automotive sketches — I have no doubt the man is a creative tactile genius, I just think the various medium mixing of markers and waxes reminds me a lot of elementary school — this design is a bold move, even for the guy who penned the McLaren P1. Plus, unlike me, Frank is actually talented.
In Stephenson’s latest video, he visits Harry Metclafe of Harry’s Garage fame on YouTube, where he gets to walk around the F40 in the flesh before taking on its redesign. Some of his inspiration from the F40 is found in its copious amounts of NACA ducts, the iconic revealing engine cover, and what designer could resist the urge to take a swipe at that massive rear spoiler.
The result is very cool, but very different. I like the sort of “barbed” openings added on the front bumper, as well as its total reshaping into a point. Frank notes he pulled the edges of the actual F40 bumper, which are very squared off and protrude at the corners, back in toward the wheels and rounded it out. This way he could avoid adding to the overall length of the car by adding a tip. He also added an angle to the rear edge of the front fender, which now has some visual movement and momentum in the profile view of the car over the squared-off original design.
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On top of that, the car now gets gullwing doors, bigger wheels, more glass, an even more chaotic rear spoiler and the door mirrors are mounted at eye level on the supercar’s A-pillars for better visibility. Keep in mind Frank designed the Ferrari FXX, which means he’s already essentially redesigned the Enzo. I would be shocked if this is the first time he’s taken a crack at the original icon, but I like what he’s come up with here.
