What
better way to commemorate 50 years designing automobiles than to design your own Ferrari and build it. That’s
what Giorgetto Giugiaro did and he came up with the GG50. The GG50, as we reported earlier when it originally debuted at the
Tokyo Motor Show, is based on Ferrari’s 612 Scaglietti and features the same mechanicals wrapped in a new,
skin-tight red suit penned by Italdesign-Giugiaro S.P.A design studio.
The little red Ferrari was sitting
all by its lonesome out in the lobby of Cobo Hall, so we took some pity pics of it and picked up a press kit. The car
is striking in person, though not in a way that’s different from any other time you approach a Ferrari in the
flesh.
More live shots and the official press release after the jump.
Proving his mettle with the Ferrari GG50,
Giorgetto Giugiaro paints in glowing colors a great adventure
“To
mark 50 years of activity in the world of car design, I decided to sculpture a Ferrari to the memory of that great
adventure and enjoy it with my family”.
Giorgetto Giugiaro fashioned and commissioned a project that
spilled into stretching horizons, in that he became concurrently – for the first time ever –supplier and
customer of the new car.
Rather than being a spellbound step into tomorrow, the ultimate outcome of all
this is an expression of today – a Ferrari graced by his initials, GG, followed by the digit 50 by way of
epitomizing his debut into the world of car design in September 1955 –imbued by an imposing, unmistakable
artistry capturing sky-high ergonomics and outstanding space on board.
Created along the lines of the
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, and retaining the same basic mechanics, the Ferrari GG50 is a little shorter in length than the
original model, with a fastback tail conspired to conceal the underlying hatchback lid. The rear seatbacks can be folded
down to create, thanks to the new fuel tank, a flat trunk platform one meter and 40 centimeters deep.
All
that was checked and verified with the Ferrari Technical Direction support.
GG 50 Philosophy
The idea of creating a Ferrari to mark 50 years of activity in the world
of car design took shape in September 2004 at the Paris Motorshow, where Giorgetto Giugiaro talked about this flight of
fantasy directly with the President and CEO of Ferrari Luca di Montezemolo who cued the model around which the vehicle
concept should be developed: the 612 Scaglietti 12 cylinders four-seater coupé.
Montezemolo also gave Giugiaro two inputs: although no restrictions would be posed on creative-thinking, the vehicle
must be perfectly in keeping with the Ferrari tradition and transmit a sensation of compactness, even being highly
enjoyable.
Giugiaro started to work on the project in February 2005, sketching entirely by hand – a
practice followed over the last 50 years – the physical design of the vehicle in 1:10 scale from four orthogonal
views, marking out the side, nose, tail and bird’s view: all sketched in 2H lead pencil on tracing paper using a
universal chalkboard.
This two-dimensional rendering is typical of Giugiaro’s method and is
today pursued by Fabrizio Giugiaro, Italdesign Giugiaro Styling Area Director.
According to this
procedure, the rendering is translated into math surfaces in order to proceed to a 3D validation of the project by
means of 1:1 scale dynamic visualization in the Italdesign-Giugiaro Virtual Reality Design Center.
Once
the VR green light was given, seeing onset was full-scale plaster model milling, as duly completed in April.
Along with the 1.1 scale mock-up put in place to test out the ergonomics and ease-of-access interior concepts,
starting to see construction at the beginning of June was the running prototype.
Redesigning the Layout
Retaining the wheelbase at 2.95 meters, the Ferrari GG50 spans
4 meters and 81 centimeters in length vs.4.90 for the Scaglietti.
Giorgetto Giugiaro reinterpreted
the front just a little, pruning the front overhang by 2 centimeters. On the other hand, he revolutionized the rear
section, nipping the overall length of the car by 9 centimeters.
In the Scaglietti, the fuel tank is
positioned vertically, behind the rear seating.
For the Ferrari GG50, Italdesign engineers were asked by Giugiaro
to concentrate on positioning the new 95-liter fuel tank entirely below the trunk platform line.
With the
rear seatbacks folded down, the redesigned fuel tank layout translates into a flat trunk platform one meter and 40
centimeters deep. Compared to the 240-liter loading capacity of the Scaglietti, the loading capacity offered by the
GG50 stretches to 270 liters, which, with the rear seatbacks folded down, increases to 500 liters.
In a
strategic intent to take full advantage of the bolt-on loading space driven through by the new fuel tank layout,
Giugiaro decided to use a proper hatchback lid, hinged to the roof’s edge.
From a structural
standpoint, Italdesign engineers had to redesign the rear cross-member which, in the Scaglietti, joins the suspension
domes atop the fuel tank. Likewise, also added to the roof’s edge was a cross-member, joined to two reinforced
risers, to stand the hatchback trunklid’s weight.
The more instantly recognizable makeover is the
tail’s sleeker shape, where the rear profile has been nipped 7 centimeters.
GG 50 Exterior Design
Although being 9 centimeters shorter than the Scaglietti, the
Ferrari GG50 appears instantly to be even more compact than the series-production car as a result of the subtly rounded
nose and tail angles.
“In bird’s view, all cars look like a rectangle”, explains
Giugiaro. “As a consequence, the dimensions are perceived optically as being the same as the maximum
length”.
In the GG50, however, Giugiaro rounded to an extreme the loop between the cowl and the
front wheelhouse, applying the same treatment to the rear.
“When viewed three-quarterwise, this also
enhances the look of the car optically, making the car appear leaner and bolder. In a nutshell, rather than having a
fender lip that clearly defines the bodyside edge, a seamless line flows toward the centerpoint where the two
extremities meet”.
From a structural architecture standpoint, the GG50 relinquishes the
Scaglietti’s third compartment for a nimbler tail, an instantly recognizable fastback.
A very bold
statement of performance and design is the general impression perceived. A compact coupé, ready to bite the
grit, with the rear seats so well concealed as to be perceived as a classic two-seater.
The bodyside is
immaculate. The air intake – providing cool air for front brake system cooling – meanders along almost in
parallel with the ground line and creates a bas-relief that fades into the rear.
As for the more stunning
Ferrari cars, the belt line arches in correspondence to the rear wheel highlighting the generous wheelhouse’s
taut muscle.
The boldly tapered rear profile gains form and shape from the side view, in that emerging
from the tail-end mirror are the dual tail lamps, which, of course, are round.
Absolute simplicity in the
front as well. With the low-slung Ferrari grille looking just as fresh and fun loving as ever, the nose flares forward
in the center with two generous and vertical air intakes unfolding to the side, where the fog lights are housed.
The headlamps are vertical, a stroke of pen that translates into a black crescent moon housing XENON headlight
beams and dimmers, and the turn signal indicators.
The long bonnet is creased almost imperceptibly by a V,
which makes the volume more plastic without, however, disrupting the natural flow of the lines.
Likewise
simple is the tail, with the lower section, housing the chrome dual exhausts, black-painted to reduce the overall
sensation of height.
Incorporating LED technology, the round dual lamps are asymmetric, with those to the
side playing a master role. Set at the forefront, the chrome Prancing Horse.
The crest of the trunk rises
towards the center contouring a small spoiler to provide extra downforce at the rear and insure the car is stable at
high speeds.
Practically imperceptible is the hatchback door. The GG50 seems to have a classic trunklid
hinged under the rear window. However, the rear window as a whole lifts up along with the trunklid and, as such, is a
proper hatchback door.
In bird’s view, the elements that dominate are two: the boldly tapered four
extremities and the photochromic roof, which, with the fender, creates a seamless transparent surface.
GG 50 Interior Design
Whilst the GG50’s exterior drew
breath from a universal chalkboard, its interior was fashioned as the mock-up progressed.
In addition to
retaining as mentioned earlier the wheelbase, also retained was the interior appearance of the Scaglietti. However,
when working on the full-size mock-up, Giugiaro and his son Fabrizio, decided to eliminate the closed-in feeling back
in there by sloping the rear window at the side.
“Getting in and out of a 2 2 coupé is never
an easy feat, because access is directly proportional to the door’s length, which cannot be stretched to the
infinite. Indeed, the GG50 door’s structural frame mesmerizes the Scaglietti’s door framework. However,
enhanced headroom has been gained by sloping the rear window, thereby making it much easier to get in and out of the
car than expected. Just try getting in and out of the car and you’ll see how easy all this can be”,
explains Giugiaro.
One other thought of mind went to the driver’s right hand. Used by tradition to
change gear, drivers do not use their right hand as much as before due to the F1 gear change fitted on the steering
wheel.
As such, repositioned to the right-hand side of the dashboard are certain commands and controls once found
by tradition on the left-hand side, such as the lights and, not least, the handbrake, in this exercise, electric.
Taken as a whole, the instrumentation is the same as the one to be found in the series-production car. Brand new
is the dashboard, fitted in the center of which is the AVIC – X1R satellite navigator by Pioneer.
Fitted inside the central console, whether between the front or rear seats, are two generous storage pockets, duly
protected by a flap.
Decidedly unusual for a Ferrari in these times, the door panels, featuring a large
glovebox, have a horizontal natural beech insert.
Covered in beige leather, the seats use the structural
frames found in the production car.
The upper section of the rear seatbacks can be folded down, thereby
creating a flat loading platform at the same height as the new fuel tank.
Ferrari GG 50 Technical Bulletin
Length: 4,810 mm
Width: 1,950 mm
Height: 1,347 mm
Wheelbase: 2,950 mm
Front track: 1,677 mm
Rear track: 1,643 mm
Front overhang: 838 mm
Rear
overhang: 1,022 mm
Trunk Size: 270 liters
Trunk Size with rear seats folded down: 500 liters
Engine:
V12 – 5,748 cc
HP (hp/rpm): 540 HP at 7250
Drivetrain: Rear-wheel drive
Transmission: 6-speed
automatic with sequential mode
Front Tires: Bridgestone 245 35 ZR20
Rear Tires: Bridgestone 305 35 ZR20
Brakes: Brembo
Rims: ATP Tecnoforming 20”
Color: Red