F1: Interim BMW F1.08B Breaks Cover in Barcelona
Off season Formula One testing commenced this week at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. Among those testing are BMW, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mclaren, but it was the BMW that caught my eye.
Keep in mind racing cars at any level of the sport aren’t meant to be Pretty - function over beauty wins out every time. In short, if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, true ugliness is probably more universally agreed upon.
The decade of the Seventies brought forth many examples of F1 ugliness. The 1979 312 T4 Ferrari comes to mind, Ferrari themselves applied the term “ugly” to it. However, it won for Ferrari with Jody Scheckter taking the driver’s World Championship the marquee the manufacturer championship and Gilles Villeneuve placed second in the points.
Given all that, just what the hell is BMW thinking? Below is their “interim” 2009 version car as it tested at Barcelona.
I’m sorry, it’s FUGLY!
Maybe it will be fast, with all the rules changes in effect for ‘09 anything is possible.
The new BMW F1.08B interim car - image courtesy of BMW
But still, it’s FUGLY. And strangely reminiscent of something.
Frank the Combine from the movie Cars
Yeah, I thought so.
If you fail to see the resemblance it’s time to see the eye doctor.
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Marc, the car is designed according to the new aero rules for next year, specifically the size and placements of the front and rear wings. All of the cars will be remarkably similar from that perspective.
I kind of like it, brings me back to the Tonka Toys payloader I used to play with as a kid.
Screw the rules George, the thing is FUGLY no matter how it’s sliced or by who.