With the creation of the 1989 Ferrari Mythos concept car , the legendary styling family Pininfarina broke custom and declined to debut latest creation in Europe .
Instead , the company select Tokyo ’s October 1989 auto show to bring out what may have been its most dramatic intention study ever . Created for Ferrari , cementing the decades - farseeing crosstie between the two company , the Mythos was no myth , no fantasy . It was a real no - top speedster with a mid - rear 12 - cylinder engine . Yet neither did it quite modify as reality . Not for a while , at any charge per unit .
Although base on the proven Testarossa chassis , the Ferrari Mythos concept car was strictly one - of - a - form , playing on its own field . And yet , said chief designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti , the car ’s design could be " adapted to fill the needs of production … of tomorrow ’s railway car . " Sergio Pininfarina , the company chairman , called it an " advanced research paradigm , " mean to show that Italian styling was " on the crest of the wave . "
There was not much doubt about that . Even superlatives seemed lacking when describe the credit line of the Ferrari Mythos construct automobile . good ? Smoothest ? Most beautiful ? Maybe so ; but more important , Mythos sign a permutation in basic approach to auto intent , from the realism - based creations of recent times ( which focalise on fresh materials and technologies ) back to the dreamy , elemental essences of form . In a word , it was a recurrence to the " pureness " of the dream .
Emphasizing the " relationship between volume , " according to the Pininfarina firm , the Ferrari Mythos concept car broke free of the traditional " linked gore . " Although made up of two clear-cut element , the styler attempted to meld the pair into a single homogenous manikin , one flowing into the other .
The main consistency , containing locomotive and rear - mounted radiators , served as one of the two masses . The extension phone that holds rider and the gondola ’s nose was the other . Unlike the Testarossa , which used lateral grilles to belittle the relation of the two masses , Mythos tried to underline that demarcation – to foreground the obvious fact that they cross .
The 1989 Ferrari Mythos concept car break detached from custom in other direction , as we ’ll see on the next page .
For more on concept cars and the production models they forecast, check out:
1989 Ferrari Mythos Concept Car Body Design
The 1989 Ferrari Mythos concept car body design hearken back to Ferrari custom , but also formulate its own path .
The 1989 Ferrari Mythos construct car eubstance intention symbolized a rebirth of the two - seater " barchetta . " Pininfarina draw it as " very succinct , emphatically sporty and highly spartan . " Coupe , targa , and speedster organic structure were considered , but speedster win out for its subspecies - railway car connector . That mean neither a square roof nor side windows had to be dealt with in the plan process .
A low-toned but extended windscreen extend out steeply , to flow into the missile - same nose . Wheel arches hugged the tire , reaching down closely to the pavement . Deeply adjourn rectangular headlamp barely broke the flow of the fender , from air dekametre to door . A humble backtalk at the front end was " recall " by a touch of bulge that extend all the way back along the lower body , level with the sill .
Monstrous intake hole behind the doors flow aviation into the prehensile Boxer engine ; however , there was no Testarossa - vogue grillework to block the menstruum . The Pininfarina signature and Ferrari crest posture just behind the rear intake , forward of the back wheel .
A rear end that broaden sharp ( but ever so graciously ) also uprise above the seats , helping to accent the Ferrari Mythos conception car ’s wedge profile , whether viewed from the side or above .
rearward overhang appeared even shorter than a ruler suggested – almost nonexistent , in fact , break beyond stubby to fork out a sliced - off look . Two brace of exhaust pipe peeked out from the engine - ventilation slit in the back board , below the taillamp that was put and above the continuous bumper .
hostility was plain in such details as the build of the nose ; the small windshield and square - off tail ( both reminiscent of certain Group C racing cars ) ; the steeply - inclined outer boundary of the melodic line intake ; and the arouse front wheel arch , which were typical of Pininfarina - styled Ferraris .
An extension of the windshield glass hid its windshield wiper . Because the Ferrari Mythos conception car ’s side plane coalesce so well , the heavy rear wing spoiler did n’t bear out almost as much as in other supercars .
Viewed from the top , a link with Formula 1 Ferraris was evident in the double " S " section , said to be " similar to the sinuate lines of a … violin . " Whereas an ordinary Testarossa was wider at the buns than at the front , the Ferrari Mythos construct elevator car sum five more inch to that difference , make the back end 8.2 inches broader than the front . For that reason , the yaw rearward air intakes were manifest even when viewed from the front of the railway car . Rear overhang was shorter than Testarossa ’s , measuring just 25 column inch .
The 1989 Ferrari Mythos concept car forged a young route not just in the figure of its body . see more on the next page .
1989 Ferrari Mythos Concept Car Mechanical Design
Like many futuristic concept car of the 1980s , aerodynamics play a central function in the 1989 Ferrari Mythos construct car mechanical design . The rearward fender spoiler , for one , could fire almost a foot ( harmonize to upper ) , to boost downforce . It also rotate 12 grade , while grow a loading of 331 pounds at 155 miles per hour .
alternatively of the usual chastisement techniques that involve either the front or rearward axle alone , which upsets a car ’s balance , Pininfarina opted for one at each oddment . So up front , the retractable lip at the base of the bumper come out a slight over an inch to increase the downforce reaction of the dike . Both equipment operated electrically , zipping into action at speeds above 62 miles per hour . Each retracted when speed fell below 44 miles per hour .
ornament was about as minimum as in any conception of the 1980s . operable elements ( bumper , headlamps , looter ) were integrated into the overall design , not tack together on later . No surface computer graphic were needed to distinguish a railway car that spoke for itself .
Within the Ferrari Mythos construct car lie a symphony orchestra of symmetries . Seat base , for instance , reflect the flow line of the simple fascia . The duplicate - circumference pattern of the analogue musical instrument repeated itself in the guidance steering wheel . restraint sat on symmetrical stalks at the side of the instrument panel . That panel , the steering wheel , and pedals imprint a single , profoundness - adjustable cylinder block .
The want of window hold reserve the door casing to serve as an armrest , while door panel were of the most minimalist nature . Like the body , the two - seat inside , upholstered in violent leather , was designate to retake the spirit of pelt along " barchettas " of the 1960s . The instrument panel , facia , door dialog box , and tail were leather - cover shell .
Mechanicals for the Ferrari Mythos concept car came strictly from the Testarossa , include the 12 - cylinder , 4942cc flat Boxer locomotive engine . Only the exhaust system had to be revised , because of the Mythos ’s shorter rearward overhang . The tubular brand frame was also derived from Testarossa , but reinforced in this program program . Hoods , doors , and consistency gore were made of carbon fiber .
Pirelli PZero tire carried the engines 390 - horsepower to the land : 245/40 ZR17 in front , and mammoth 335/25 ZR17s at the rear . Alloy wheels , derived from the basic Ferrari five - spoke design , displayed only the intimate prancing horse in their hubs ; lug nut were concealed .
With the creation of the far - from - mythologic Ferrari Mythos concept auto , the Pininfarina firm – and Ferrari – reach back to the tradition that brought forth such groundbreaking model as the 250 PS ( in 1968 ) , the 512 S ( 1969 ) , and the futurist Modulo ( 1970 ) . fan of both art and automobiles surely welcomed a regression of that kind .
Go to the next page for stipulation of the 1989 Ferrari Mythos construct car .
1989 Ferrari Mythos Concept Car Specifications
Racing through the outer space that position somewhere between fantasy and reality , the 1989 Ferrari Mythos conception car was the subject of many a car - lover ’s aspiration of the automotive time to come , and a coup d’oeil at the 1989 Ferrari Mythos construct car specification listed below leaven that the ambition was n’t so far - fetched .
Manufacturer : Pininfarina Studi Es Ricerche S.p . A. , Turin , Italy ; for Ferrari S.p . A. , Modena , Italy
physical structure design:2 - rider , 2 - doorway coupe ; carbon fiber body , tubular steel frame
Powertrain layout : mid - engine , rearward - wheel drive
Wheelbase:100.4 inches
Overall length:170.7 inches
Overall width:82.7 inches
Overall height:41.9 inches
Track , front:59.8 inch
Track , rear:68.0 inches
Weight:2,756 pounds
Approximate price : not available
Engine case : dohc horizontally - opposed 12 - piston chamber
Displacement ( liters / cubic inches):4.9/301
Horsepower @ rpm:390 ( DIN ) @ 6300
Torque ( lbs./ft ) @ rpm:(est . ) 354 @ 4500
Fuel delivery : twin multi - point fuel injection
Transmission:5 - stop number manual of arms
Suspension , front : transverse arms , spiral coil springs
abeyance , rear : transverse branch , matching helical coil spring per rack , anti - roll bar
Brakes : front / rearward ventilate discs
1989 Ferrari Mythos Concept Car Performance
Top f number : not available
0 - 60 mph : not usable
Quarter - mile : not available
miles per hour @ quarter - mile : not available
