I have a unique conundrum. I currently have someone offering to trade me a 2015 458 speciale with delivery miles for my 2015 FF plus cash. or.... I can use the cash and keep the FF and buy the F12 to add to the garage. What do I do?
Although they are different cars, The FF and F12 remain two front engined V12 ferrari with (Almost) similar power... For me it would be far more logical to have an FF and a speciale. A 4wd V12 GT and a Mid engined race oriented V8 Best of both worlds...
In an ideal world I would hesitate and would have the Speciale and the F12. If faced with this conundrum and like others already advised, my option is to keep the FF and get the Speciale.
I've owened all 3, the speciale has amazing handling blisteringly fast, small and compact. You can chuck it around and it sticks to the road. Driving it makes you feel mischievous and fun. The FF as you know is a great V12, allows you to enjoy the Ferrari experience everyday. The F12 is an absolute BEAST!!! Both cars don't come anywhere close to the power, drive and the overall experience is beyond imagination. The overall size with that power and smooth drive, can be driven rough and thrown about like the speciale but you need to be a good driver. Makes you feel like the king of the road when driving. Cars just move out of your way!!!
This is all good advice. Yes I would agree a FF + Speciale would be the best of both worlds but the prices of the Speciale are staying steady and the FF is steadily dropping. Budget isn't allowing FF + Speciale at this point but an F12 + FF is doable right now. I feel like if I don't trade the FF for the Speciale now that I'll miss the boat on the values and it'll keep going up...I know the F12 is only going to get cheaper so that's an easy one.
Lots of Speciale out there, 488 Speciale will be announced signing 12 months and remove a little lustre even though not N/A. No rush, prices steady but not a tight market.
I also think a lot of this comes down to how you use these cars. If you use the FF every day, then you will probably find it a bit more frustrating to do the same thing with the Speciale. If the FF is more of a toy, then the Speciale is better at being a toy. How about instead of adding the F12, add a 458 Italia? You'll now have the V12 and the V8 in the garage. More variety than 2 V12s (as exciting as that sounds) and the Italia is a really fantastic car.
Precisely thinking of a late model 458 coupe or spider (preferred. The question is will the sound of the V8 be as magnificent and will the speed still provide enough thrills compared to the V12 in the FF?
Buy F12 something about a NA V12 designed by PF gets the heart going Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I think this is one of those times when the result will be personal preference influenced. I prefer the Italia > Spider because I think the Italia looks better and also the Spider isn't nearly as stiff. Its something I am sensitive to. You might have very smooth roads, or might not be bothered. I had an FF for a little while, but it was not the right car for me. I can't give you a good comparison between it and the 458. But I can give you a comparison between the 458 and the F12. The 458 stock feels fast and strong. Then I drive the F12 and by comparison the 458 feels quick but like its got a little bit of a soft spot in the medium to upper RPM power delivery. It is only when I drive them one day after the next that I notice this. The F12 power delivery is just relentless, it gets stronger and stronger and stronger and its hard to believe they engineered a motor to do this and do it over and over without falling apart. Its really a crowning achievement. As far as sound, the 458 sounds like a great sports car. The F12 is automotive music. The 458 is much more nimble feeling than the FF and is also more nimble feeling than the F12. But the thing about the F12 (at least for street driving), its got like 90% of the 458's nimbleness, but it feels like its got 150% of the power and probably 250% of the comfort. Its a really hard package to argue with. If you said you were going to buy one modern Ferrari, which should it be, I would say the F12. But, since you have the FF, and you love it, and you're thinking of adding something, I think the 458 is more complimentary than the F12.
The Speciale is a blast. If you've not driven one yet, I highly advise that you do so, prior to making this decision. After your test drive, you may be surprised just how easy this decision really is!
Jerry read your text and I think you gave us a great explanation about three different Ferraris on the way they feel and compare between each other.
unless you are using the backseats or the all wheel drive id go f12 and speciale. i have an ff/tdf/458 and having those 3 it i wld make most sense if i had a speciale instead of 458. I dont care enough and the 458 is breath taking so im good. f12 + speciale is a sick combo. And if you end missing the FF you can always buy one back easily. Plenty for sale. The speciale is buyable but not that as easy as FF
I have all 3. Here is my take: FF if you need the 4 seats or 4 wheel drive for bad weather, F12 if you don't. Speciale because the shifting, etc is so on point. Its loud, its raw, its violent, and I love it. Oh ya and it won't depreciate as much as the 12's but you're going to pay a premium to buy it.
I see a lot of mention about retained value and investment when the 458 Speciale is brought up. If I do trade the FF + cash for the Speciale I will put on average 8,000-10,000 miles a year driving it most likely. These cars are bought to be driven, not simply admired. I have no idea what that will do to the value of the 458 Speciale as an "investment" other than probably cause 50-100k loss in a year. Is it still wise to go ahead?
IMHO, once you start putting real mileage on these cars, like you are talking about, then you are right: they are not viewed the same way by the market place and I would imagine your number for depreciation is realistic. That's why I suggested the Italia in the first place. I think they certainly could go lower, but they don't risk so much room to go further lower and adding in the fact you will put some miles on it, I think your distance to fall won't be as great.
I am very fortunate to have a Speciale & FF. For me this is the best combo. On one hand you have a limited edition, last V8 N/A engine with a legendary status and on the other hand a 4 seater allround GT (a hooligan in a Brioni suit) for more frequent drives with the family. What else does anyone want and need?
I have an FF, a Speciale and plenty of 'seat time' in an F12. My take for what it's worth is.....even though I use the FF far more than the Speciale, even though the F12 is a blast and has that beautiful V12 tuned to perfection, the Speciale in the end is an easy choice. It is special. I use it less, but when I want to go on a road trip, or really drive a Ferrari as Enzo intended (cliche but who cares...) there is only one. If you want to own a great car, the FF and F12 make a very good case for themselves, and even though I know the history of Ferrari being V12 makes this next statement a bit trite, I'm going to make it anyway. If I want to own and drive a car that gives me the feeling I should expect from a proper Ferrari, I keep the Speciale. And that's exactly what I plan to do. Completely agree with others who think the Speciale and FF make good garage mates though. I haven't found better partners so far.
