Three New Kings

Well, it looks like there are three new kings in town, and they all showed up at basically the same time. The supercar field, if not crowded enough, has three pretty spectacular new entrants as of the Frankfurt show just opening September 14. These, of course, are the new McLaren sports car, the Mercedes Benz AMG SLS and the Ferrari 458 Italia. So, here we have three spectacular new machines from two of the world's best high-end sports car producers, and one who is returning to the field after production of the legendary McLaren F1 designed by Gordon Murray ceased many years ago. Looking at the three cars together as a package of not only supercar etiology, but as a statement of where the supercar is at this time, we see some interesting trends. It is the McLaren that looks the least exciting initially, and that is because visually it is a pretty bad pastiche of what was obviously a much earlier designed theme. This car would have looked extraordinarily new and hot, and also very good, had it come out in 2003 or 2004, but in 2010 the car looks decidedly old-fashioned in its styling, and this is certainly going to count against it. I am sure that it will be a spectacular driving machine, however, given the legacy of Gordon Murray's original F1, and we probably need to withhold judgment until we drive the car. The 458 Italia is the opposite end of the spectrum. It is by far the most visually attractive Ferrari produced in a long time, and it really is a significant styling jump from the last generation of V8 mid-engine Ferraris, the 355, the 360 and 430 derivatives. This car looks entirely different, it is visually exciting, it is pretty, and yet somewhat brutal at the same time. It introduces a lot of new both mechanical and aesthetic technicalities which are innovative for Ferrari, as well as car design and manufacture, as well, and looks to be a shattering road car. The Mercedes SLS is also a rudely spectacular piece of design. While not as visually stunning by any means as the Ferrari, the SLS has a brutal homogeneity about it which is entirely striking and very appropriate for its purpose, which is to be the spiritual, if not technical, successor to the 300 SL gullwing of the 50's. The car is brutal looking. It is not by any means pretty, and certainly nothing compared to the Ferrari, but it is mind-blowingly effective and, this is the important thing, it is not merely a group of design themes but a coherent whole. That is what is most critical. The fact that the car is so effective in its styling renders the question of whether it is really pretty in the classical sense irrelevant. The technical specs of this car are also mind boggling, and early test drives by European writers suggest that it is going to be the best AMG product ever, the most balanced, the most feelsome, spectacularly effective, and really adept at covering ground from point A to point B. Additionally, as we usually find with the AMG products sold in America, they have more accessibility than other exotics, especially Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc., and the reason for this is that they just have a day-to-day usability built in that allows them to be used over a broader spectrum than other exotica. This appears to be the case with the SLS, except it also seems to be pretty incredible and pretty exotic right out of the chute. OK. THREE NEW KINGS on the block. Can't wait to drive them all. JLS:M&M