My GTO: first impressions

Hi Fchatters,

As promised … the start of a new thread of my GTO. It deserves it simply because it is a great, great car.

Took delivery last Friday and I have driven 1,200 kms with it in basically 3 days. Mixed use (highway, in town, twisty roads, in the hills of the Ardennes and on one of the (pardon my chauvinism) most beautiful tracks of the world, Spa Francorchamps.

I’ve included some pictures of the car with its sister, our HGTE. I won’t bother you guys anymore with the specs and option list as I have posted this already in another thread.

Just wanted to share with you how I feel about this car as I believe I’m in a position now to do so given the number of kms and various conditions I’ve driven it in.

First things first: I’m very pleased with the outcome and looks of the car. Note that I ordered the black rims but they delivered the car with grey ones as there is a delay on the black wheels from BBS. All the rest is as ordered and we expect the black rims to arrive shortly.

When I saw the car in the delivery area at the dealer my hart started beating very, very fast. It looks good. Very good. I know, we all have different taste but for me … she looks just stunning. Aggressive, sporty, … ready to attack. The color combination of the red with the matt grey roof and the matt grey CF goes very well together. Pictures don’t do the matt grey CF justice at all. One has to see it in the flesh to appreciate it. The Grigio Charcoal interior came out really well in combination with the CF. That’s the reason why I picked Grigio Charcoal and it worked out just the way I expected it.

Time to start the car. Loud growl but then she settles down and becomes almost boring. Sound is very light, not the deep growl my HGTE has (with the valves open). Driving off goes very easy. Clutch engages very smooth, seems almost like an automatic. The ride is not hard at all. In fact, I find it not to be as stiff as my HGTE (we are talking magnetinno setting wet, comfort mode here).

Off we went and my dealer told me to step on it … so I did. The gates of heaven opened instantly. Accelleration is nothing short of phenomenal, even with cold tires and the gearbox is so good. Shifting is so fast and accurate, it takes your breath away. Last but not least, there is this sound. This loud, screaming, sound. High pitch … just the way a car of this pedigree should sound like. Every hair on your body stands up. It just adds so much more dimension to the whole experience. That was only up shifting. What goes up … must come down and boy, the GTO is good at it. One has the impression Ferrari installed an army with canons in the back of the car. It bangs, blows and backfires. People walking in the street dive away looking for cover. And that’s just the impression after driving it for a couple of kms.

On the way home I got to know the car better and better. One feels at home in this car almost instantly. I played the musical instrument (forgive me for steeling that one from Steven @ Autocar) and scared some more people on the highway. How do you do that in a GTO? Simple: drive next to them at about 140 km per hour in 6th gear and quickly downshift to 4th gear and accelerate away. They never saw you coming but they think lighting struck 3 feet away from them. So much fun. Forgive me if I sound like a 7 year old kid playing a prank but that’s just how it feels. The sound is terrifying yet beautiful at the same time.

Back to the other goodies: steering: very light and very accurate. You give a little bit of input and that nose will go where you want it to go. Traction (with tires up to temperature) is excellent. The brakes: they have bite, lots and lots of it yet one gets better feedback compared to the CS brakes from the first generation. Quite an improvement. No signs of under steer whatsoever. The engine is a work of art. It climbs high in the revs without any hesitation and it does it mighty fast. Masses of torque constantly available. Low to high RPM … it is readily available at all times.

What really amazes me is how easy this car can be driven around town. I find it easier to drive than the HGTE. Equip this car with full leather, stereo, Daytona seats … well basically like my HGTE (but I think one shouldn’t do that) and it will be as comfortable as the HGTE. In fact, better because of its gearbox. It shifts so much quicker and under normal driving circumstances, so much smoother.

During the drive to the Ardennes (my wife at the wheel of the HGTE) the GTO grew more and more on me. Even without a stereo the 300 km drive wasn’t boring at all. The tunnels around Liège were the perfect play ground for it. My God that thing is so loud in a tunnel. It almost makes your ears pop Accelerating in 2nd gear to redline … you need to hear it to believe it. Almost F1 quality. That V12 (and its exhaust) are a masterpiece.

How does the GTO handle on the track? Well … it’s fun, lots of fun. The brakes are very, very powerful yet somewhat tricky to handle. You really need to hit the brakes hard and then let go or they will start to wear faster than the 1st generation CS brakes. But, such a driving style is perfectly possible as the car’s chassis works like a charm. You point the nose into the corner and in she goes. No under steer whatsoever. Traction coming out of the corner is perfect. Scuds and 458 Italia’s … the GTO runs away. It handles better than a Scud imo and better than a 458 Italia. Ferrari put together a great package. The gearbox is perfect and the car is very, very stable at high speed. 270 km/h at the end of the straight in Spa is fast, very fast and one can brake late, very late. Just start to imagine what this car could be capable of with slicks …?

Ferrari was very proud at the presentation of this car and in my humble opinion, they have every right to be so. They managed to build a V12 front engined car with tremendous power and great, great handling. The electronics are there to make it even better. They nanny you but in a different, less interruptive way. They simply make the car faster. Mind you, this is a very fast car and it’s a drivers’ car built to be used, to be driven. This is what Ferrari stands for. It is a car that evokes tons of passion and pleasure both looking at it and driving it.

As I said before, this is my feeling and in the end, who am I? I guess one lucky GTO owner looking forward to plenty of memorable, exiting miles in Ferrari’s quickest, most powerful road car they ever built. For the time being of course because soon, they will present something quicker. That goes without saying. Is it worth the GTO badge … I said from day one that if Ferrari feels it does … I tended to agree with them. Did my feeling change? Certainly not. I stand behind their opinion 100%. I believe this car is worthy of this badge as it is nothing short of spectacular. Is it a super car? Give it some time and I think we will start realizing that Ferrari delivered something very special. The car certainly evokes passion with Ferraristi as I have noticed yesterday at the Ferrari Owner’s Days in Spa.

Looking forward to reading impressions from other owner’s soon.

Thanks to the dealer and his entire team They did a hell of a job with the follow up and delivery. Grazie Mille

Cheers,

M
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... of the interior
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Special car built by special people ...

Grazie a tutti

PS: No intention to snatch your idea Hawkeye
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They come from the same family but they are so different ...
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