Ferrari 456 GT & GTA Design

The strongest element in the creation of the Ferrari road car myth was the 2-seat sports car. Over the years, though, the cognoscenti have been aware of Ferraris skill at producing luxury four seat cars that combine top performance with practicality. These are perhaps the truest "gran turismo" cars.

The 456 in its GT version with mechanical gearbox and GTA automatic, sought to underscore its difference from other cars by synthesizing the performance and driving pleasure of a sports car with the comfort and the space of a gran turismo. Pininfarina applied this philosophy to define the 456 shape, which was aggressive while compact and slippery. Special effort was applied to producing a 4-seater with overall dimensions similar to those of a classic 2-seater.

Many elements made this car immediately recognizable as a Ferrari: front air intake, retracting headlamps, long hood, roof line that flows into the tail, style of the side lamps and tail light clusters. All these elements belong to the lively and rich Ferrari heritage, and highlight the strong character of the car. The combination of cues with a clean-sheet design identifies the 456 as unique.

Aerodynamics:

The car's aerodynamics were studied for a long time on full scale models, and a 1:2.5 scale model was used to define the underbody in a wind tunnel equipped with a boundary layer moving belt. One important aerodynamic element was a retractable wing, integrated with the rear bumper which conforming with the lower aerodynamic profile, and lowered to increase this effect by reducing rear axle lift. It was electronically controlled according to speed-dependent logic. Front axle lift was optimized with the front bumper spoiler, shaped to improve airflow towards the rear.