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The Ferrari Enzo's designer isn't worried about the future of supercars

Ken Okuyama is a talented designer with a prestigious portfolio. He spent 12 years at the famed Italian design house Pininfarina after a stint with GM's Advanced Design Studio, where he worked on the C5 Corvette. He also styled the Boxster and 996-generation 911 at Porsche. His first Ferrari design was the Rossa concept car, though his most famous creation is the Enzo. Now Okuyama runs a design studio that not only is responsible for the new Kode57 supercar that debuted in Monterey this past weekend, but also eye glasses, civic planning, and even Japanese bullet trains. We caught up with Okuyama at the Concorso Italiano car show, plopped down on a couple of plush leather chairs right in front of his brand new Kode57, and chatted about what the future holds for car design. Alex Kierstein: Lately there's been a lot of talk about autonomy and future mobility. What sort of challenges and opportunities do you think this autonomous future is going to provide for you as a car designer? Ken Okuyama: It is a really fantastic time for designers because of two reasons. One is that the public and private transport have been two separate, completely different industries up until now. Now, when you think about the future of autonomy, that really brings the automobiles into something more of a public transportation. You really have to think about the total experience of the customers from buying the ticket to the paying mechanism. That's just hardware, actually. It is a huge challenge for engineers and designers, and I really love that. That's one reason. Another reason is that just like horses were a means of transport 100 or so years ago, up until Henry Ford mass-produced the Model T. Now, maybe sports cars are becoming like horses. Now, horses are a great object for hobby, sports, and part of the Olympics and everything. Cars are going to be like that also. Dr. Porsche [was asked what type of] automobile is going to last for the longest time. He said, "the sports car." I really believe in that, because with sports cars, you never lose a sense of ownership. Autonomous vehicles are things you don't have to own. You have to design a total experience and the whole operation. A car, you want to own it. It's part of you. Your mechanical watches, do you borrow them from somebody? You want to own it. Your suits, your favorite shirts, you want to borrow them from somebody for your experience? No, you want to own it. Ownership is a core part of human beings.

Ferrari chairman ticked off by Alonso

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo does not strike us as the kind of person we'd want to cross. We imagine the Chairman of Ferrari as sort of like an automotive Don Corleone, a thought that is further confirmed when we hear about the aftermath of last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso made some unsubstantiated remarks that have angered his team, with The Daily Mail reporting that when asked after the race what he wanted for his birthday, the Spaniard responded "Someone else's car." And while no one seems to know exactly what was said, it was enough to prompt a personal phone call from the boss of Ferrari on Alonso's birthday for a dressing down.
Montezemolo reminded Alonso that, "All the great champions who have driven for Ferrari have always been asked to put the interests of the team above their own. This is the moment to stay calm, avoid polemics and show humility and determination in making one's own contribution, standing alongside the team and its people both at the track and outside it."

Ferrari 488 Spider turbocharges its topless way into Frankfurt

There's a droptop supercar for any wealthy buyer's style at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show. If the sharply styled Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder doesn't get your heart racing, Ferrari is in attendance, as well, to give the turbocharged 488 Spider a public debut. With either of them, buyers are getting an exclusive, Italian name and plenty of performance to keep the wind gusting through their hair. The major upgrade for the 488 Spider and the reason for the new name is the addition of Ferrari's 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 to the droptop. Just like in the 488 GTB coupe, it makes 661 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque. The Prancing Horse claims its latest Spider can hit 62 miles per hour in about 3 seconds and 124 mph in 8.7 seconds. The retractable hardtop is pretty quick, too, and can open in just 14 seconds. A redesigned aluminum spaceframe offers the benefit of 23 percent better torsional rigidity compared to the 458 convertible. While the styling at the front is the same, the 488 Spider wears some beautifully sculpted nacelles behind the seats. They create a streamlined look that flows right down the tail in profile. The glass pane between them can be retracted in three positions, too, to adjust the amount of wind and sound in the cabin. The droptop also has a new engine cover with louvers on each side. Check out all the little details of the blue example from the Frankfurt show yourself in our image gallery above.