On Ferrari’s website, Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Ferrari, is quoted saying, “ask a child to draw a car, and certainly he will draw it red.” Nobody can seem to prove or deny this, but the sentiment rings true. From the Formula One fan, to the Prius driver, everyone knows Ferrari.

Beginning as a racing team in 1939, the brand has morphed into a symbol of excellence in the world of motorsport and automotive design. Since 1951, the magic behind Ferrari’s design has come from the Italian coachbuilding company, Pininfarina. But, in 2012 the partnership came to an end, and Ferrari has since struggled to maintain its design pedigree.

This isn’t to say the company produces ugly cars. The truth is far from that. To see any Ferrari post Pininfarina is still a treat. People will still oooh and aaah, and take pictures when they see a Ferrari. The problem is, they don’t look like Ferraris.

Take a look back at some of the shining stars from the partnership. The F40 looks just as at home on a child’s bedroom poster as it would in the Louvre. The 250 GT Lusso is the kind of car that makes you feel like Steve Mcqueen, and not just because he owned one. And the Dino has curves that would put some of Michelangelo’s sculptures to shame. 

Across all these examples is a design language of reserved elegance. The Ferrari owner shouldn’t be able to resist looking over their shoulder as they walk away, and the old couple sitting and enjoying their coffee should be just as approving of the car as the wide-eyed children surrounding it. The Pininfarina silhouettes were dramatic and evocative without being too busy, and that’s what’s been so special about the Ferrari design. They look suave. 

The last Ferrari released in partnership with Pininfarina was the F12 Berlinetta in 2012. Then, in 2017 it was replaced by the 812 Superfast, and in May of this year, Ferrari revealed the 812’s successor, the Dodici Cilindri.

 If the Dodici Cilindri was the halo car of some new brand, I would be excited. It certainly catches the eye. But it doesn’t look like a Ferrari. Purists might call this heresy. After all, it’s still a glorious naturally aspirated V12 with 819 Italian horses, and it takes design cues from the Daytona, Ferrari’s 1968 Superstar. 

But compare it to its grandfather, the F12, and it looks like a histrionic teenager. The nose is wedge-shaped in accordance with the Daytona, but where the original Daytona grille was small and sloped back toward the wheels, the Dodici Cilindri’s nose pushes straight down into an aggressive front splitter. The daytime running lights continue in a line that extends past the wheel onto the fender and looks like a Genesis G90. The rear quarter glass swoops upwards into the roofline rather than continuing straight as most Ferrari touring cars do. 

The Dodici Cilindri is over designed and aggressive. It blurs the line of design philosophy with Ferrari’s biggest competitor, Lamborghini, who are known for their angular, batmobile-like cars. A Ferrari should look like it wants to dance on the road, and this one looks like it wants to eat it.

We know Ferrari can still make beautiful cars without Pininfarina. The 296 is one of the most stunning cars to come out of Maranello in the past two decades, and the Roma is so pretty that I’ll give it a pass for looking like an Aston Martin Vantage. And strangely, both these cars were designed by the same team that did the Dodici Cilindri. Where did they lose their way?

As performance cars get bigger and faster, they need all the help they can get to stay right side up. More powerful engines need more air to feast on which leads to evermore gaping vents and intakes. The mind-numbing speeds they reach need to be reigned in by the black magic of aerodynamics, and this leaves no body panel without creases and curves. 

Couple this with a changing customer demographic — the human peacocks that are influencers and celebrities — and we can start to see where it’s gone wrong.

Ferrari simply needs to remember who they are. Show don’t tell, less is more, all that good stuff. The Ferrari shouldn’t show up to a restaurant in a Louis Vuitton monogram T-shirt and diamond watch. It should be dressed in a well fitting tuxedo with fine leather shoes and its own bottle of wine for corkage.