Noses, smooth and stepped

[Dana Loomis <dloomis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Eric Sands responded to John Hertzman's critical assessment of early and
late versions the 105 coupe, writing "the stepnose is the purest of the
line... It conveys a sense of grace and power that is only diluted in later
versions. Giorgetto Giugiaro was at his peak when he designed this car, and
it is a masterpiece,"  and later "The steped nose treatment is odd, it is
beautiful and it is bold. Just the kind of thing you would hire a world
class designer to come up with. And it complements the rear of the car in a
natural and beautiful way. I hope I am not alone here, anybody else want to
defend this car?"

There's something to be said for the argument that the first version has
special merit because it's the most authentic rendering of the creator's
intentions.  In spite of that, I prefer later versions of the Bertone coupe
to the original Sprint GT.  The stepped nose has always seemed to me like
an unnecessary interruption in a form that would naturally be smooth and
continuous.  It's a superfluous detail, a gimmick.  Not unlike the kink in
the rear of a Milano, or the angled creases on the fenders of the current
Fiat Coupe'.  

The stepped nose of the early coupe may be "purer" in terms of it's lines
of descent from the artist's hand, but I think the smooth version is a
purer form.

Dana Loomis

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