2011 Bentley Mulsanne
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: SoCal
Originally Posted by rockville,Aug 17 2009, 06:46 AM
I thought the Q45 headlights were also stupid.
The issue I have with them is they seem to be overly complex for no purpose other than being overly complex. Even worse, they are a single styling detail that is disproportionately gaudy with respect to the styling of the rest of the vehicle. It's a bit like wearing a conservative Brooks Brother's suit with a light up LED tie.
Nissan and Infinity also suffer this problem. They have rather dull looking sheet metal then add overly styled lights as the only styling element. If you look at the old 300ZX or the McLaren F1, the headlights weren't that fancy. They were simply and didn't call too much attention to themselves. Instead they let you take in the entire vehicle. You got to appreciate how all the details worked together, rather than how one element screamed "look at me" while the rest of the car was vanilla. On something like a Spyker C8 they wouldn't see as out of place because that whole car is done with that level of glitz.
If the whole car was that garish I wouldn't mind so much. The whole car might be over done at that point but the design would have balance of details. As is the headlights are not balanced with the design and honestly, I don't think they are dignified the way they should be to be on a Bentley.
The issue I have with them is they seem to be overly complex for no purpose other than being overly complex. Even worse, they are a single styling detail that is disproportionately gaudy with respect to the styling of the rest of the vehicle. It's a bit like wearing a conservative Brooks Brother's suit with a light up LED tie.
Nissan and Infinity also suffer this problem. They have rather dull looking sheet metal then add overly styled lights as the only styling element. If you look at the old 300ZX or the McLaren F1, the headlights weren't that fancy. They were simply and didn't call too much attention to themselves. Instead they let you take in the entire vehicle. You got to appreciate how all the details worked together, rather than how one element screamed "look at me" while the rest of the car was vanilla. On something like a Spyker C8 they wouldn't see as out of place because that whole car is done with that level of glitz.
If the whole car was that garish I wouldn't mind so much. The whole car might be over done at that point but the design would have balance of details. As is the headlights are not balanced with the design and honestly, I don't think they are dignified the way they should be to be on a Bentley.
i agree completely about the Q45 lights - although the lights themselves were amazingly well designed, they did look too crazy when the entire car was put in perspective.
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From: Winter Springs, Fl.
I am going to reserve judgment on this one. My initial reaction is that I agree with rockville.
Most of the design is very nice in a conservative sort of way. But the front end has too much going on. It's all well to incorporate retro design elements (although I don't car for retro cars at all), but the front is entirely too flamboyant for the rest of the car.
The Rolls Royce Phantom is a perfect case in point. It's generally a pretty ugly car in my opinion, but it's so over the top that it makes sense. The fact that it is part of the BMW group makes all the more sense because BMW has perfected the art of building ugly cars.
Bentleys have been all together more reserved. The Continental and Speed have borrowed from the brand's past but moved the game on. This front end, even though it's based on Bentley DNA, is like tacking a Rolls grill on a VW Beatle. The parts just don't fit.
Most of the design is very nice in a conservative sort of way. But the front end has too much going on. It's all well to incorporate retro design elements (although I don't car for retro cars at all), but the front is entirely too flamboyant for the rest of the car.
The Rolls Royce Phantom is a perfect case in point. It's generally a pretty ugly car in my opinion, but it's so over the top that it makes sense. The fact that it is part of the BMW group makes all the more sense because BMW has perfected the art of building ugly cars.
Bentleys have been all together more reserved. The Continental and Speed have borrowed from the brand's past but moved the game on. This front end, even though it's based on Bentley DNA, is like tacking a Rolls grill on a VW Beatle. The parts just don't fit.
