Ferrari showed the first images of the new California as early as May of this year. (Photo: ultimatecarpage.com) » More Photos

Beauty and the beast
BeautyFerrari showed the first images of the new California as early as May of this year. Nevertheless it was in Paris that the wraps were taken off the drop-top for the general public. The initial response was not wholly positive with the styling being subject of much debate. As had been the case with the 599 GTB Fiorano an in the aluminum encounter with the California took most of the doubts away. My only complaint is the choice for a metal roof; the California’s of old were very Spartan racing derived roadsters, so a fabric roof should have sufficed.
The BeastFerrari’s rival Lamborghini opted to build anticipation for their Paris showpiece quite differently. The Italians released four teaser pictures and very little information in the weeks before the Mondial opened its doors. Looking at the end result, maybe they should have left it at that. The ‘Estoque’ concept they eventually unveiled on the eve of the show could form the basis for the company’s first ever four-door production car. To make sure everybody knew it was Lamborghini the designers crafted the nose of a Murcielago onto a sedan green-house. Underlining that styling cues that work well on one car, often can’t be transferred to another. Such an exciting and potentially important Lamborghini really deserves its own styling with the marque references limited to the details.

An even bigger disappointment was the Aston Martin booth, which prominently featured a mock-up of the upcoming One-77 supercar. Taking Lamborghini’s tomfoolery one step further, the covers were only taken off a small part of the nose and of an even smaller section of the rear end. Either show it in its entirety or don’t show it all. There are plenty of exquisite road and racing cars in the Aston line-up to fill the space.

Conclusion
Industry experts believe that it may take up to two years before sales will fully recover. It remains to be seen if all of the cash-strapped manufacturers have enough resources to survive until then. If anything the Paris show underlines that there is still plenty of life left for the automobile and its manufacturers. Trying times usually encourage creativity, so for us enthusiasts some good may come out of this crisis in the end. All of the new machinery and their friends are depicted in our sparkling 220-shot gallery.

For more visit http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/