| Author | Message | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 255 Registered: 5-2003 |
In a younger age, there were Words of Power -- phrases that spoke to the soul. "Open Sesame" would take you into the mythos of the Arabian Nights. "Abracadabra" would transport you into a world of magic. There were words of desire, like "Brigitte Bardot"  And then there was "Ferrari". A way, in one word, to speak of the whole essence of motor sports, of power, passion, performance. The pinnacle of the automotive pyramid. The Ultimate Goal, the max, the numero uno. In other words, The Best. Even today, everyone speaks of "The Ferrari of (fill in the blank)" to mean The Best. The best performing, without regard to price. The Best of The Best. Growing up, it was that association between "Ferrari" and "The Best" that I remember, rather than a specific model. Ironically, it was rarely "The Best" of the breed that you most often got to see as a "Ferrari". The first machine I recall that everyone would point to and say "Ferrari" was the Dino (which wasn't even technically a Ferrari). The "Magnum Car" was once reviewed as a "slab nosed road rocket", for it's contrast with the more organic lines of the Dino (or P3). After Miami Vice, every Ferrari became a "Tester Rosser" (sic). C'est la Vito.  On another venue, a previous debate argued which was "the best Ferrari". There was one clear answer: The best Ferrari is the one in your garage.  | ||
| Kelly Hayes (Khayes)
New member Username: Khayes Post Number: 29 Registered: 4-2003 |
Magnum PI's TV show was the first Ferrari sighting for me. A few years later one of my neighbors bought a silver 308. We swapped cars for the day and that was my first Ferrari drive. I had a Porsche 928S in the mid 1980's. My car was much faster and much more comfortable than his but WoW that 308 stirred emotions that the Porsche never did. The thing that I remember most about that first drive was the feeling of everyone looking and pointing at you as you went down the street. | ||
| Jordan Witherspoon (Jordan747_400)
Intermediate Member Username: Jordan747_400 Post Number: 1677 Registered: 12-2002 |
Matt, your on The first one to get it must immediately put 20k miles on that thing! 165 miles on an F40 is possibly hte most pathetic thing I have ever seen. | ||
| Dr Tommy Cosgrove (Vwalfa4re)
Intermediate Member Username: Vwalfa4re Post Number: 1253 Registered: 5-2001 |
I remember the first one like it was yesterday. It was back in 1981. The car was a yellow 308 GTB. I still have the pictures and yes it still stirs up the same feeling when I look at them or drive mine. I don't think it will ever go away with me. | ||
| Matthew J Germane (Mjgermane)
Junior Member Username: Mjgermane Post Number: 106 Registered: 1-2003 |
I don't remember the first Ferrari that I saw, but I have always loved the F40. Actually the first F40 I saw in person was about 6 months ago at Newport Autosport. I have been back there a few times since then to see the cars there, but I am always hovering around the F40. Jordon, I will race you to see who can buy it first. | ||
| Thomas I (Wax)
Junior Member Username: Wax Post Number: 75 Registered: 7-2003 |
About 30 years ago while visiting relatives in SF Bay area, a few blocks after taking the scenic Lombardi Street cruise I saw a 330GTC beside, then in front of our car. Dizzying. The day before, I'd gawked at a parked Cobra with a Corvette steering wheel (Uncle said "it mustn't be any good if they gotta put a different steerin' wheel, 'specially off a Chevy in there") as I ate my first "It's It" ice cream sandwich. Fantastic voyage. Still get palpitations around those cars I have yet to own, but can consume "It's It" any day of the week. | ||
| Jordan Witherspoon (Jordan747_400)
Intermediate Member Username: Jordan747_400 Post Number: 1673 Registered: 12-2002 |
I dont remember the first Ferrari I ever saw, but I do remember that the F40 always stood out as my favorite/dream Ferrari. The happiest day of my childhood was when Ferrari of Houston closed down their dealership for a day and gave me a birthday party (I dont know how my parents did it ). The dealership gave me a few small gifts --a patch which I still have, and some pictures. The thing that stood out hte most about that day though, was when they let me sit in an F40. As I lowered myself into that seat, I felt a surge of energy flow through my body. I saw there in awe...even though I couldnt quite see over the steering wheel yet My parents said I was in the car for a good 15 minutes and that I had the biggest grin on my face they have ever seen (only matched by the day I got my first ride in a Ferrari). It was the F40 that covered my walls in posters and pictures I took at the dealership. It is the F40 that draws me to Newport Beach every weekend to see the example at Newport Autosport. And soon, it will be the F40LM I will be driving behind in an event here in SoCal  | ||
| Jaime T. Ferraris are sex on wheels (Chevarri)
Junior Member Username: Chevarri Post Number: 135 Registered: 1-2003 |
The first Ferrari that you ever saw, does it still have that same meaning? Does it still beckon at your soul, stiring up that same passion and excitement? Which model was it that captivates you? I myself remember the first Ferrari that I ever saw. I was in the local hobby store looking for a P-51 Lightning in the model section. Cars at the time did not appeal to me, so I just ignored the cars that were next to the P-38 Mustangs, Lightnings, and Bombers. While rummaging through the various vintage planes I found my skill 2 lightning! I picked it up(p51) and started to leave, but some thing caught my eye, something stunning, and something red I looked down at it and their it was, the F40. I put down the P51 and picked up the F40, I was mesmorized and captivated by it. I had never seen anything like this, something aweinspiring, something beyond words. This model of the F40 was my first experience of the world of Ferrari. The few things I remember most of that model were the vented rear glass, the red color, and the rear wing. I wish I wouldnt have broken it  |