Friday, September 7, 2007

Ferrari 360 Modena by J.N.Hephaiss

The sensitive task facing J.N.Hephaiss when choosing to work on 360modena was whether they could put their own spice on the world's most complete design, which was Pininfarina and whether they could improve functional-wise what Ferrari's craftsmanship mastered in ground effect.

JNH's long standing policy is not to work on anything if it's only for dress-up purpose. The motto is to use magic to better the original design and function.

Having conducted numerous tests with a stock car and what was witnessed there was disturbing. In 6th gear and extremely high speed situation, the front under cover for which our modeler has nothing but praise was ripped apart and the fear of front lift ran through test drivers mind.

Extensive testing led to this conclusion: 360 modena is better left as it is. What J.N.Hephaiss should do is respect the stock body and refine it JNH way.

Utilizing Ventuuri Tunnel and respecting Pininfarina design, specially on the side view --- What JNH proudly presents are: Front canard that'll be separately installed, Splitter which looks perfect on smooth side view and Rear under diffuser that effectively handle air from the bottom of body.

Front Canard

The Lip spoiler wasn't an option when considering the significance of Venturi Tunnel. Yet faced with the task of creating appropriate down force, the best way is to adopt wing-shaped canard.

The bottom of side duct is lip-shaped which leads air to the wing part. If the wing is at the wrong angle,it might disrupt stability of wheel but to overcame this delicate issue there JNC do it the only way they know - by testing, testing and more testing. As a result, the amount of air hitting tires directly is kept to aminimum when steering the wheel.

JNC tried to achieve both functionality and beauty, while not sacrificing either on behalf of the other. The modeling technique of JNH is best showcased here: from creating the perfectly seamless panel, appealing massive presence to making beautiful R curve on the panel.

Side Straker

The recent trend shows more and more racing cars are adopting side splitter and it's with an obvious reason - inflow air.

It prevents the flow of air underneath the body from going towards the side and control the turbulent air caused in the back area of front tires. In order to take in a lot of turbulent air, a step-shaped front is adopted which naturally transforms into wing-shaped design toward the rear.

Even though some may think the 360 Modena is fairly square-shaped, looking at it from side would change that idea. It's actually full of curving line and putting on JNH Side splitter would enhance its original style.

The Rear

The development team had doubt about rear section when analyzing the design of stock car. The volume of air running through Venturi Tunnel is great but they asked themselves whether or not the speed of air at the end could be increased.

Upsweep at rear-end increases downforce is obviously a wrong idea.

It is well known that 360 Modena takes in a large amount of air from the front nose and when it runs through Venturi Tunnel, the flow of air is converted into downforce. However, there is room for improvement at the rear end in terms of performance and design.

The upper (upsweep effect) and the lower (diffuser effect) areas are boldly separated and seven fins are attached to the lower area to help increase the speed of air flow.

Exhaust system

As the name shows, it's for pursuing the ultimate sound. The switching of Silent mode / Race mode is pretty much a standard these days. Silent is useful for driving in the suburb in the wee hours and once it's switched to Race mode, the greatest sound you have never heard of awaits you.

The sound at 3000-4000 RPM attracts the respect of others around. Even more, the sound at very high resolution gives you the most beautiful high-pitch sound you could ever imagine. This is THE ultimate sound every owner of 360 Modena should experience.

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