What the new FASCIA reminds me of

[trayloader]

We had tremendously bad CGI renderings in the beginning.
Over emphasized, painted, too sharp exaggerated. Classical mistake.
This created the "duck face" vibe.

Then Elon took notice and probably feedbacked that to his design team

Then the official reveal came with the real thing. A cool athlete. Slim, sleek, elegant yet sporty.
No duckface in sight. Orders went through the roof.

Let alone the super cool "Motor Trend" photo session.
Everything made sense.

Then came the domesticated release candidates.
And now we got this letdown.
A fatty nose.
Too wide. Too unproportionized in the front. Everything tending to the sides. Practically shortening the car in a very, very unfavourable manner. Guinea pig comes to mind.

What we are facing reminds me of a deja vu of the Model X reveal and RC X we have now.
From a longer, sleeker Prototype to a fat cat. Again.
Last second corrections in major fields, good intentions but wrong execution.
They should fire their CGI team.
WTF.

 

[strykeroz]

They all look largely the same to me. Each to his own I guess.

 

[trayloader]

you cannot be serious
*hammer on the head*
here again. Old one and "melted" RC.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

The new one is safer, I think, though.

Given the risks Tesla took on the interior, this one feels less of a risk...

 

[Lukas99]

Day and night, fully agree. I am also disappointed though it does not mean, that I am not going for the 3. Dependant on multiple factors.

 

[trayloader]

Losing their focus on the finishing line. Again. Like the ModelX.

Everything made sense. Now it´s like the design in almost hiding within the front. Faceless.
This one was so much purer.

Franz, don´t let it go. Plastic can be changed last second.

 

[rcarpen22]

Everything made sense. Now it´s like the design in almost hiding within the front. Faceless.

I couldn't agree more. I loved the prototype they released last year. I really want to like the release candidates, but I just don't. They are soft, bloated, and unremarkable. The bold crisp design is pretty much gone. I think the smaller wheels on the RCs exacerbate the problem.

 

[flamingoezz]

Is there a visible difference....sure, if you put them side by side -- but i really don't think it changes the overall proportions or design of the car in a meaningful way.

you cannot be serious
*hammer on the head*
here again. Old one and "melted" RC.
View attachment 228951

 

[trayloader]

Nope. We are speaking of a basic impression of an object:

Movies GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

[Jayc]

I didn't mind the original duck face and I think the changes done for RC has made it better aesthetically and I would suspect better aerodynamically.

 

[timk225]

They are so worried about their 0.21 C/D ratio that they are hurting the looks of the front end for it. When I saw the photos of the black and white 3's at the charging station the other day, I felt the rear of the hood was too low, and the entire hood area in general was too low. I never had that thought from seeing the Motor Trend photos and video, and all previous photos.

 

[jelloslug]

OK

 

[North75]

I admit that I was a hold out thinking that they hadn't change the front at all. Finally with some better pictures from the front it is obvious that they did change the front. I think the changes are subtle but have a big effect. It looks to me that all they have done is blend out the more vertical creases on the side. The top of the lip looks the same, or very close the same. Regardless it does make a big change in the appearance. I liked original a little better, but I'm ok with what they came up with.
From what I remember lots of people didn't like the Alpha nose at the time. I guess you can't please anybody.

I don't think the changes to the front affect the proportions of the rest of the car either. The car definitely looks better from certain angles than others. Front 3/4 shots look much better than rear 3/4 shots. Anything that picks up the dark rear window winds up making it look taller than it actually is.

I also really want to see a picture of one with a front license plate mounted. Call me crazy, but I actually think a front plate will make the front look better by breaking up the big front slab a bit.

 

[strykeroz]

you cannot be serious
*hammer on the head*
here again. Old one and "melted" RC.

I see what you mean regarding the nose in this post, but the main design elements of the car still hold. Photos are very prone to light conditions, reflections etc so that white one at the charger appears to have a very poorly fitting frunk lid that I'm sure is not the case. But regardless, I'm serious that most of the design elements from April last year appear to be there for mine, and the changes they've made don't break it in my view.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

I also really want to see a picture of one with a front license plate mounted. Call me crazy, but I actually think a front plate will make the front look better by breaking up the big front slab a bit.

You're not crazy. Unlike the old black nose cone, a plate improves the front.

 

[JeffK]

I wonder what the final coefficient of drag numbers are.

 

[Topher]

Couldn't DISagree more. New look is a VAST improvement.

And from this we can see that personal aesthetic preferences are just that, personal.

Thank you kindly

 

[Runt8]

you cannot be serious
*hammer on the head*
here again. Old one and "melted" RC.
View attachment 228951

It's very difficult to say based on those two pictures. Different angles, different lighting (both ambient and head lights/fogs turned on), different paint colors, missing pieces of the bumper, mis-aligned hood (maybe). Overall it's a very nice picture of the silver M3 and and very poor picture of the white one.

I'll wait until I see some professional pictures of an RC.

 

[alseTrick]

you cannot be serious
*hammer on the head*
here again. Old one and "melted" RC.
View attachment 228951

"They are largely the same." Fact. They are not exactly the same. Fact.

 

[WileyTheMan]

"They are largely the same." Fact. They are not exactly the same. Fact.

Yes, clearly they made a subtle change to the nose lines, but that's all I see. The essence of the design is the same.