The car above is a Ferrari 250 SWB, for short wheelbase. It debuted at the end of 1959, perhaps the most extravagant year for auto design since the Brass Era.
And yet, in its age of fins and swoops and two tone pain jobs, it’s about as restrained as a car can be. Everything on this Ferrari is designed to be as straightforward as possible. The only thing that even looks like a flourish on the car is its front fender vent, and even it’s functional.
It’s a lasting tribute to understatement, in a way.
And my mind was directed toward the 250 SWB’s direction from a particular comment today on Whexit, when a brave wheel liberated itself from the tyranny of a stanced Saab. Reader magus-21 wondered if stancing a car has a negative effect on its handling. KomradKickass replied as simply as possible:
Such is the power of understatement. Say less, y’all.