This bit on Jalopnik -- The Importance of Underhood Styling: Audi RS-4 or Lexus IS-F? -- Got me thinking again about contemporary underhood design or the complete lack thereof. The Jalopnik piece illustrates this by comparing the beautiful Audi RS-4 engine bay with the bowl-of-speghetti Lexus IS-F.

While certainly the IS-F's engine suffer naught from looking awful, it, well, looks awful. And while the RS-4's mill gains nary a bit of horsepower from its well rendered aesthetics, it would be a joy to pop that hood and just gaze upon it -- true car ****.

The Stang, along with most recent cars, tends much more closely to the IS-F's example -- functional, yes, but certainly not rising to the level of great industrial design of the RS-4. The cheap and easy out has been to simply cover the whole eyesore with plastic shrouds.

Any other thoughts, opinions or ideas? I do wish that manufacturers, at least for their enthusiast/performance models, would spend as much time applying good aesthetic design to their engines as with the exteriors and interiors -- not adding a lot of useless trim and gingerbread, but, like the Audi engineers, just applying an designer's eye to the existing bits and layout.

 

IMO underhood styling is almost as important as the exterior styling. It seemed like my old 5.0 LX was much tidier than my 02 GT and the underhood appearence of my 07 GT is an improvement over the 02 as well. However it could use some improvement. I definetly dont care for complete engine covers (the intake cover on the concept was just right).

However, I do understand the need to control costs and route things for efficiency so while its a sticking point with me I can somewhat gloss over it as long as the engine reiliably delivers the goods when I plant the loud pedal.

 

I hate all the plastic in engine bays these days. I love to see the old school muscle cars that are so clean and so simple.

 

Frankly, I couldn't care less what the engine bay looks like.

 

I'm much more concerned with being able to reach stuff that needs maintenance/fixing than about what it looks like. Six and tired of crap that's hidden deep in the bowels of the engine bay needing to be fixed.

 

I prefer function over form usually. Ease of maitenance. The main thing I hate about my Camaro. I usually don't like the whole engine bay covers like some audis have where you pop the hood and you can't see the engine or even the ground. But a little to tidy everything is nice. I like when most wires are routed and for the most part stay hidden. My GTO for instance, http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2963859 (sorry couldn't resize here at work so had to post link to it) All the wires and plumbing are routed behind the engine neatly but still readily accessible. The pic does not show the rest but most of the other wires are in little ducting that completely hides it from view. I can deal with this. Now if the whole engine had a cover and I couldn't see the road then thats a bit extreme IMO.

 

I think that the "form over function" is a bit of a canard and excuse for expediency. Ideally, with excellent design, form and function should complement each other and not necessarily be a compromise of one over the other. A purely utilitarian view might say it doesn't matter at all what the engine bay looks like, and perhaps for most non-enthusiast buyers, that is mostly true.

Why end that fuctionalist philosophy at the underhood? What functional benefit do all the costly aesthetics enhancements of the Stang's interior and exterior that do nothing to improve its performance. Indeed, I would argue that many of them are at a significant cost to performance and functions -- that distinctive but bluff Mustang prow for one.

Many if not most enthusiasts do appreciate fine mechanical design. As slim mentions about his GTO, the design is very clean, appealing and the thoughtful rather than expedient routing of wire and plumbing actually makes it easier not only on the eyes, but on the knuckles too. And my M3, whose engine is certainly not lacking for function, is beautifully designed and laid out.

I recall reading somewhere about some automakers design chief, I would guess not Ford's, saying he wants to develop and emphasize a better sense of industrial design in such places as the engine bay -- not a bunch of chrome, glitter or plastic shrouds, but just some added thought in the form or pieces and routing of things to give a sense of order and purpose. Just look at the Audi's plug/coil design, just a little bit of thought to the form and some clever use of color and voila, a simple spark plug cap becomes a piece of art.

Anyway, enough design philosophizing, the weekend's almost here and I wish to be admiring the fine functional and aesthetic design of a full beer mug right about now.

 

When it comes to good design the function over form argument is crap.
A good design will work as well if not better than the bowl of speghetti look.
Take the engin od the New V12 Vantage..it's simply a work of art

Old engines didn't have the wires and hoses that todays engines have but that doesn't mean you can't go out of your way to place those wires and hoses in appealing ways.
I'm not into a big plastic over but I would love to see more of an effort in the engine bays of all cars

 

OK, this is a shot of the concept's engine bay, but I love the Camaro underhood design. Filling the brake or power steering reservoir under the strut base could be interesting though!

 

Take a look at any modern Ferrari engine bay. Of course they aren't "ordinary" in any stretch of the word, but the idea that it can be done amazes me everytime I see one of those Italian powerhouses. 575 Maranello. 599 GTB. F430. Etc.

 

ferrari 599 engine bay, as clean as that camaro concept.


and 1600x1200 version.
http://www.speedwheels.gr/dynamic/im...engine1600.jpg

 

That IS-F engine bay has to be the ugliest thing I have ever seen - like a den of serpents.

 

I have to agree

 

Definitely something I hate when I open my hood, seeing a mess of electronical junk. I wish I had the means to reroute the wires.

 

Jeez, just took a look at the IS-F engine, what a mess, I'd be afraid to touch and inadvertantly disconnect/break something, how could you find it in all that mess there?