Yep, it looks amazing in black. Or any dark color: Blu TDF, Rosso Fiorano, Rosso Rubino, Blu Pozzi. Agreed Rosso Corsa really doesn’t fit it at all - the car is too big and GT-like. I don’t like brighter reds on the FF or GTC4 either.

Agreed re: classic status. F430 was arguably the finest handling car of its generation. Only a 997 GT3/RS really compares. Sounds truly awesome, too.

See, I find the contemporary mid-engine cars gorgeous. They capture the sexy curves of ‘60s racers while still looking very modern. The 488, F12, and 812 have a few awkward details, but nothing that ruins the show IMHO.

Agreed on the majority of those (Virginia can be real Gestapo with car-related infractions - the window tint and exhaust laws are total bullshit, for example), but driving with lights out or broken at night is something the driver needs to be made aware of immediately. I had a near-miss the other week due to a car…

I’m generally for letting inspections handle non-emergent things...but driving at night with your headlights off is IMHO more hazardous than speeding in most cases. Cops should absolutely pull drivers over for it. It is on the cops to respect the person’s nights and not needlessly escalate things, but that is true for…

Virginia is going to hell in hand basket. Tyrannical reckless driving laws and a few dumb rules around alcohol aside, the state government generally respected business and people’s personal choices. The current regime OTOH nannies its way up our asses in every manner possible (except when it comes to actually doing…

I actually don’t mind the 612 at all, though the 456 is obviously prettier. The size and long hood looked awkward when it was released, but seemingly every front engine performance car has gone that route since. The 612's biggest problem IMHO was/is the rear end. It’s just way too soft and bland. It also needs the…

This is the right idea. Fixes almost all the car’s styling issues, makes it loads classier:

I really don’t get the styling hate on this car. Back end is a little busy IMHO, the rest of it looks as low and wide and cutting-edge as it should without having too many messy aero appendages. Front end is a welcome evolution from the 458/488/F8 (though I still love those cars).

F430 has aged the worst (though I think the 430 Scud is hawt), but 360? Saw one last weekend, still looks sexy and exotic 20 years on. 550/575 are also classically gorgeous IMHO.

You nailed it IMHO re: barriers to importing cars to the US. It’s the same reason we missed out on many low-volume performance cars over the years. The costs sink the business case.

IMHO the biggest obstacle to selling a car like this in volumes needed to justify it is the used car market. Unless friends are really insistent on getting a new car to capitalize on a lease deal, my default advice for a non-enthusiast looking for reliable transportation is “used Accord, Civic, Mazda 3, et al”. It’s a…

Devil’s Advocate: is it REALLY a bad thing if someone buys a car (or anything else) not primarily for any practical or performance-related reason, but simply because they think the design is really cool and unique?

Calling BS on that one. I’ve owned/driven multiple 400+hp cars and enjoyed them on the road without pushing their limits (which in any car should only be done on a track). And I’ve a.) been on enough group drives and b.) seen enough high performance cars on mountain roads to know I’m hardly the only one using them as…

NP. These are only starting to catch the wave of ‘80s/’90s car nostalgia. They were well-known supercar back then. You saw them in music vids, bedroom posters, 007 movies.

Upon reading this my first reaction was “Dammit!!!!”

Aaaaand this is why the rest of the world is increasingly pissed at China’s economic gangster state. Hopefully I’m wrong, but this reeks of “we poached CAD files from Toyota servers”.

The engines are still pretty awesome for what they are. I badly miss the old N/A M engines and the outgoing S55 sounds distinctly “meh”. BMW’s engines across the lineup are still at or near the top for smoothness, power, and responsiveness though.

Disagree. The grille really is that bad. Think about how it will look with a US plate, or no front plate at all - the narrow EU plates break the grille up. Someone p-shopped a traditional BMW grille onto the car in another thread. It didn’t look so bad.

I was about to post something about Jalopnik’s anti-GM crusade...then I remembered the Silverado HD tailgating me this weekend.