We've commented on the Ugly Sexy Factor before. It's also known as the Lyle Lovett Effect or the Jeneane Garofalo Paradox. This is where a person, or an object, can be ugly to some and sexy to others or, rarely, simultaneously both obviously unattractive by common measures and still irresistibly magnetic. This is especially present in certain cars with a high level of design, such as the stunning-yet-stretchy Lagonda. Today we were reintroduced to another car that straddles the line between mistake and miracle: the Alfa Romeo Bertone Bat 11 concept. This car, which we obviously like, found a supporter in Yagobal and a detractor in Retiree. Let's Crossfire:
Yagobal was quite impressed:
It's beautiful!!! Truly a design master-class... and quite tamed, if we understand it's theme.
But you need to have some design culture to understand it, and one can't ask that from the average Joe, specially in the US, were other things are more important in a car's shape, like simply it's size.
Retiree on the other hand...
Glad to know I'm not the only one who's... unimpressed...
It looks like some kind of transformer that didn't quite get itself all put back together as a car. The original BATs were graceful and flowing. This is just two angular. It's a good effort, but it looks like he was trying too hard.
The wheels, consisting of individual carbon spokes bolted to aluminum(?) rims & hubs are a piece of art, however.
Though we're fans we think Retiree proves you can dislike something and still have a sense of design culture.
[Photo: Getty Images]