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'Sensual but also logical': Ferrari's Flavio Manzoni opines on design at London exhibit

Ferrari design boss Flavio Manzoni was in London this week for the opening of a five-month exhibition on the famous Italian brand, part of its 70th-anniversary celebrations, at the world-famous Design Museum. So Autoblog jumped at the chance to ask the man behind the La Ferrari, FXX, 488 GTB and more about his design approach and inspirations, and also what he thinks about designing a Ferrari SUV, or even an EV. Manzoni, 52, is pleasingly Italian in manner and accented English. Passionate and forthright, he has strong views on what makes good design in general and for Ferrari in particular. Having increased the importance of the brand's Styling Centre considerably since becoming head of design in 2010, the now 80-strong team increasingly creates new vehicles in-house (as opposed to using former independent design company Pininfarina). The first project Manzoni fully oversaw within Ferrari was the La Ferrari. He's a firm believer in form following function, "but not in a German way," he says with a smile, citing the side of the 488 GTB, which is shaped by the need to divert air in a certain way around the car and also to look fantastic. As he declares: "You'd never find lines on a Ferrari just for decoration. The scoop on the 488 GTB is sensual but also logical." As another example, he says that his "latest baby," the track-focused FXX K Evo, took a different path from the very engineering-focused Enzo of 2002, designed well before he joined the company. "We worked for eight months with the engineers on the FXX, to keep the functionality and make it beautiful." In Manzoni's job, it would be impossible not to respect Ferrari's incredible back catalog — he owns a Gandini-designed Ferrari 208 GT4, "still very beautiful, but iconic as well" — but he's no slave to the past. "Deja vu is something we don't like," he says with a slightly scolding look. "We don't agree with nostalgia or the need to create a family feeling throughout our range. But a Ferrari must be recognizable without the badge. There are different ways to do this — not just in details like the headlamps, but sometimes in how you treat the surfaces. It's tricky to explain, but it's a feeling." View 12 Photos He's also not keen on following industry trends and has historically spoken out against luxury SUVs. "Every time we work on a new Ferrari, we try to improve on every aspect — including the center of gravity — so an SUV is not a Ferrari," he stated as recently as 2015.

Luca doesn't believe in electric cars, but Ferrari will build more hybrids

Confirming what we'd long suspected, the hybrid powertrain in the Ferrari LaFerrari was not a one-time thing. "I don't believe in the electric cars, but I strongly believe in hybrids," Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo tells Bloomberg. It's unclear when we'll see another hybrid Ferrari, though, as the automaker's current lineup is quite fresh - the oldest model is the California, which was updated for the 2013 model year - but make no mistake, there are more electrified cars coming from Maranello. "The answer is yes," Montezemolo told Bloomberg when asked about hybrids, although he was quick to add "without exceeding." It's that last part that is key for enthusiasts of the gas engine.
Ferrari's move towards hybrid powertrains reflects a pair of trends in both the political and motorsports spheres. Politically, automakers, even exotics, are being pushed to produce cars with cleaner emissions, or in many cases, no emissions at all. Look no further than the Range Rover Hybrid, which was just announced. Formula One's push towards hybridization and smaller engines is also informing decisions at Ferrari, with the LaFerrari already using hybrid tech already inspired by the sport.
Still, it's reassuring to know that while Ferrari is pushing forward with future technologies, that the gas engine won't go the way of the manual transmission in Maranello - at least in the near term.

Autoblog Minute: UAW and FCA avoid strike, Clarkson teases new show

FCA avoids a worker strike, a former Top Gear host teases us with a picture from Amazon's new car show, and Toyota predicts autonomous cars by 2020. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] FCA avoids a worker strike, a former Top Gear host teases us with a picture from Amazon's new car show, and Toyota predicts autonomous cars by 2020. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. A UAW strike of FCA was avoided thanks to a zero-hour tentative agreement reached this week. Worker concerns that were renegotiated in the new [00:00:30] deal include adjustments to the two-tier wage scale, health care costs, and production outsourcing. Now check-in with Autoblog as we update our reports on this evolving story. Shooting began on Amazon Prime's new automotive show starring the former Top Gear crew. That's Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. Now Clarkson threw out a tweet from day one of filming on location at Algarve Motor Park in Portugal. The picture features the show's [00:01:00] three stars and crew posing with the holy trinity of hyper cars. That's a McLaren P1, a Ferrari LaFerrari, and a Porsche 918 Spyder. This Prime show is being called Gear Knobs though the name is unofficial. Now if a tweet is any indication of what we can expect, who cares what it's called this is gonna be awesome. (Eds Note: Clarkson tweeted Friday that the show will not be called Gear Knobs.) Toyota predicts drivers could be obsolete on highways as early as 2020, with technology dubbed the Toyota Highway Teammate or THT. Toyota is using a modified [00:01:30] Lexus GS to show what this is capable of. THT is already able to create a driverless freeway car that's capable of changing lanes, making passes and taking curves. Plus, it can keep safe distances from other vehicles. Toyota is currently testing this on Tokyo's Shuto Expressway. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full recap this Saturday. And I'll have some added insight on the BMW M4 GTS. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. [00:02:00] Show Logo Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals.