| Author | Message | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 260 Registered: 5-2003 |
"Enzo was often quoted as saying about brakes; �I make them to go fast, not to stop fast!�." Enzo resisted the move to disk brakes, but good brakes are essential to low lap times, and Ferrari made the switch back on the TR60. Today, Ferraris have some of the shortest stopping distances of any production car. (And the brakes are none too shabby on the track cars.) | ||
| Vincent (Vincent348)
Member Username: Vincent348 Post Number: 996 Registered: 4-2003 |
Nicely done. vincent. | ||
| Mitch Alsup (Mitch_alsup)
Member Username: Mitch_alsup Post Number: 967 Registered: 4-2002 |
I have only one issue to this wonderful report: "This was Enzo�s passion, not a corporate finance exercise to create wealth but to satisfy a need to be happy." Drop the "to be happy" and I am in complete agreement wiht the whole article. | ||
| Dan Gordon (Ferruccio)
Junior Member Username: Ferruccio Post Number: 84 Registered: 2-2003 |
Best post I ever read! "Except the one inviting me to drive the 308" | ||
| Mitchel DeFrancis (4re308)
Intermediate Member Username: 4re308 Post Number: 1027 Registered: 6-2001 |
Amen to that! Great post! | ||
| JRV (Jrvall)
Intermediate Member Username: Jrvall Post Number: 2207 Registered: 11-2002 |
Excellent!!!! Times change. Things are different now. {  } | ||
| Thomas I (Wax)
Junior Member Username: Wax Post Number: 109 Registered: 7-2003 |
First class post, through and through. Here's a skip through history I chanced upon earlier: http://www.johnstarkeycars.com/HTMLpages/Feature/Articles/FirstFerrari/FirstFerrari.html | ||
| ctk (Ctk)
Junior Member Username: Ctk Post Number: 119 Registered: 7-2001 |
FERRARI Do you remember how and why old Ferraris were built? They were built for racing and then some were made and sold for profit to finance the racing. This was Enzo�s passion, not a corporate finance exercise to create wealth but to satisfy a need to be happy. My first date with a Ferrari was a Dino at a car show when it was launched locally in 1969. I was 11 years old and between the Dino and the Lamborghini Urraco that was on the stand, I was in car heaven! I came away with a set of catalogues that I cherished and they fuelled my desire to have a Ferrari. In the late 1970s, the 308 came out and it simply, took my breath away. The lines of the design and the imagination it evoked was celebratory. To me, it still is the prettiest Ferrari of them all. Owning an older Ferrari is an act of faith and of passion. They challenge you. You have to really like cars as they are not convenient, especially compared to modern cars of today. You make adjustments and sacrifices and put up with their cantankerous personalities. Drive in one of them, and exult in the smell of hot oil, fragrant Connolly leather and superb stitching, handmade parts that are chunky but oh so, solid. It was about being in touch, Man and machine on a challenging road, learning about each other and garnering respect about each other�s skills, idiosyncrasies and ultimate experience at higher speeds than normal cars allow. Early magazines that wrote test reports often mentioned the �italian driving stance�, long arms, short legs that were splayed to master the pedals and the seating arrangements. Changing gears is a thought process, firm, deliberate, decisive with your ears tuned to the engine sounds and eyes on the rpms. They still �clack� as you run them through the gears, doing it with an authority, a process not unlike mastering a thoroughbred stallion. They were heavy cars with strong engines. They revved over 7000rpms, when most contemporary engines redlined at 4500rpm. Enzo was often quoted as saying about brakes; �I make them to go fast, not to stop fast!�. If you examine a pre �80s Ferrari, their engineering was very thorough. Because of their small production outputs, they virtually built everything they needed or designed them for small batch productions. Their castings were legendary. Consider their power window set-up, electric for luxury, way ahead of the game but just look at their solution, pulleys, string, leverage � it was strong engineering on a shoestring budget. My favourite bits are the engines, chassis and gearboxes � the heart and soul of a Ferrari. Early models were built with tubular frames, welded together where panels and components were bolted on in a real handbuilt process. If you rebuilt or bent one, and were trying to replace it with a new part, a fair amount of handwork was expected to make it all fit. The castings were masterpieces, again compare them with contemporaries of their era, they were and still are today, works of wonderment. Pieces you can admire because they were crafted. The interior of early 308s were works of great flair, swooping armrests that melded with the dashboard. They were about style, panache and a passion to state their intent with no apologies to market studies or general consumer demands. Examine their door latches inside and out, stylish and daring, unlike any other then or now. Early Ferraris, ladies and gentlemen, were about passion and that is why they inspired generations of tifosi, to lust after these icons. They are statements, lets hope with our modern approach to satisfying consumer needs and shareholder value, Ferraris continue to �fly the flag� and build legends, they are not cars, - they are statements. To those of you who hold the passion, the faith and the desire to own, drive and enjoy Ferraris, try an old one, love it, drive it and use it. That�s why they were built in the first place, not as status symbols or fashion statements but for people who would �walk on the wild side� of motoring. So, to the men of Scuderia Ferrari, forget not, who you are and what we respect you for.  |