Which ugly F1 car do you have a soft spot for?

Let´s send this as a memo to Brawn and Liberty, RE: Really simplifying front wings...

Poetry in motion.

That's the one. Jolie laide.

Poetry in motion.

Oi, the center of gravity must have been about level with Jacques' ear!

I kinda like the 2008 BMW. Yes, all the aero bits are messy but there is a certain beauty in seeing such complexity. 

BMW F1.09 however:



It's really not a surprise BMW quit the sport after this. It's actually more surprising that they raced at all in 2009, one would think BMW board would pull the plug on F1 project at the moment when they saw what the factory has produced.



Not a real soft spot for this car, but everybody was s***ing all over it, and I kinda sorta liked it. Yes, far too many details in the pain job too look good on the move, but still, I never went "wow that's ugly" when I saw it, like appearently 95% of the internet:

Edited by wingwalker, 25 November 2018 - 21:56.

Has to be the snow plough. 

Not for me. But this seems to arouse the missus. That must be something of a soft spot as well..?

The Cooper Maserati T86 - Pretty ugly, but purposeful

Edited by charles r, 26 November 2018 - 07:02.

I kinda like the 2008 BMW. Yes, all the aero bits are messy but there is a certain beauty in seeing such complexity. 

BMW F1.09 however:



It's really not a surprise BMW quit the sport after this. It's actually more surprising that they raced at all in 2009, one would think BMW board would pull the plug on F1 project at the moment when they saw what the factory has produced.

God I remember seeing that thing for the first time and being shocked by how ugly it was.

The 2009 Renault was utterly disgusting too.

 

The Cooper Maserati T86 - Pretty ugly, but purposeful

Absolutely. 

I kinda like the 2008 BMW. Yes, all the aero bits are messy but there is a certain beauty in seeing such complexity. 

BMW F1.09 however:



It's really not a surprise BMW quit the sport after this. It's actually more surprising that they raced at all in 2009, one would think BMW board would pull the plug on F1 project at the moment when they saw what the factory has produced.



Not a real soft spot for this car, but everybody was s***ing all over it, and I kinda sorta liked it. Yes, far too many details in the pain job too look good on the move, but still, I never went "wow that's ugly" when I saw it, like appearently 95% of the internet:

God I remember seeing that thing for the first time and being shocked by how ugly it was.

 

The 2009 Renault was utterly disgusting too.

Dunno about you two, but what was wrong with the BMW? The fugly wings were mandatory and ruined every car in that ruleset. It got worse and worse every year. Next year, we will have snowploughs again. 

Edited by Andrew Hope, 05 December 2018 - 16:32.

*barf on wheels*

Edited by Afterburner, 05 December 2018 - 17:15.

The Caterham was significantly improved with a revised nose:

The Caterham was significantly improved with a revised nose:
 

Another vote for the FW26, won more races than the recent Williams'.
Steve.

I kinda like the 2008 BMW. Yes, all the aero bits are messy but there is a certain beauty in seeing such complexity. 

BMW F1.09 however:



It's really not a surprise BMW quit the sport after this. It's actually more surprising that they raced at all in 2009, one would think BMW board would pull the plug on F1 project at the moment when they saw what the factory has produced.


 

To make it worse, they gave up on 08 development to focus on 2009 when they had a great car in 2008 and could have really given the 08 title a shake had they thrown their weight behind that year.

Though it did win with a conventional nose.

The 1993 Benetton was a Scalextric car i lusted after in a shop window for (what seemed like) years. I finally saved up enough for it and gradually destroyed it in a series of devastating crashes in household furniture. 

I've always thought it was beautiful but had it expressed to me that it was an ugly boat and brought about the rot of high noses. 

Edited by Peat, 06 December 2018 - 07:37.

Poetry in motion.

When I look at photos like this is just think how beautifully simple the world was and how funny it was that in 1970 the best designers did not realise what obvious performance disadvantage having such an airbox was. 40 years later and even a schoolchild would be able to explain how to make that car go much quicker with some relatively minor changes! I wonder if, for those of us who will still be around, we will be looking at the current cars in 40 years time, thinking the same. 

It'll be interesting as the current CFD is coded by humans. In 40 years, i suspect software like that will self-optimise with AI.

Maybe the designer thought that if the airbox is round-shaped it wont generate much drag despite the size.

Mad looking designs always have some idea behind them. March tea tray does well in yaw. Ensign front radiators moves them away from the newly important side tunnels.

My favorite cars all of them.

Nissan's Le Mans adventure had this same charm. It was a mix of ideas that could perhaps work in theory, but nothing did. 

When I look at photos like this is just think how beautifully simple the world was and how funny it was that in 1970 the best designers did not realise what obvious performance disadvantage having such an airbox was. 40 years later and even a schoolchild would be able to explain how to make that car go much quicker with some relatively minor changes! I wonder if, for those of us who will still be around, we will be looking at the current cars in 40 years time, thinking the same. 

I don't quite understand the thinking behind of the JS5 airbox shape...but it's not like the 1970's designers did not recognize concepts related to aero drag, or disrupting air flow to the rear wing.

This was Gérard Ducarouge (a literal Rocket scientist) design...and it was not slow.

I don't quite understand the thinking behind of the JS5 airbox shape...but it's not like the 1970's designers did not recognize concepts related to aero drag, or disrupting air flow to the rear wing.
This was Gérard Ducarouge (a literal Rocket scientist) design...and it was not slow.

Edited by Henri Greuter, 07 December 2018 - 07:20.

I kinda like the 2008 BMW. Yes, all the aero bits are messy but there is a certain beauty in seeing such complexity. 

BMW F1.09 however:



It's really not a surprise BMW quit the sport after this. It's actually more surprising that they raced at all in 2009, one would think BMW board would pull the plug on F1 project at the moment when they saw what the factory has produced.
 

One of the strangest cars in recent F1 I reckon. Such a weird looking boat of a design, led to BMW withdrawing, just wrong on so many levels and a backwards step after 2008, but had a shot at winning the Australian GP, shadowed Webber home for second on merit in Brazil, second at Sepang, in the back end of the season legimitately one of the quickest cars on the grid at some tracks. 

What a weird year 09 was.

I don't quite understand the thinking behind of the JS5 airbox shape...but it's not like the 1970's designers did not recognize concepts related to aero drag, or disrupting air flow to the rear wing.

This was Gérard Ducarouge (a literal Rocket scientist) design...and it was not slow.

You're probably over estimating the amount of aerodynamic expertise and resource available to the F1 teams of the 1970s.

I don't quite understand the thinking behind of the JS5 airbox shape...but it's not like the 1970's designers did not recognize concepts related to aero drag, or disrupting air flow to the rear wing.
This was Gérard Ducarouge (a literal Rocket scientist) design...and it was not slow.

Edited by Beri, 07 December 2018 - 16:26.

The transition from the sleek ground effect cars of 1982 to 1983 was pretty abrupt (compare the 82 and 83 Ferrari with the oversized rear wing for example). Necessary though for safety and the season did have some good racing. Nice to have some variety in design like the Brabham.