Not that it's an issue, but I just can't decide... 12 or 8 cylinders?

Real men drive 12 cylinders........

Bart where are you ?

 

Hi there,
One thing you might try is Forza Racing on the XBox. There is a great selection of Ferrari's to "test drive" if you don't mind a simulator, then you need to find the closest Ferrari club and talk your way into a few rides. The 12 cylinder models don't feel as nimble or fast, but believe me they are. They just don't have to work as hard to accomplish it. After seeing a 575 screaming around the track in a four-wheel drift, you never look at them the same way again.

I have a lower-priced 8 cylinder Mondial, which is great fun. Don't wait until you can afford an F-430 before buying a Ferrari, find a lower priced one and work your way up.
Thor

 

If you want a Ferrrai road car get a 12...anything else is just 4 too few...I've owned 2 8 cylinder and 4 12 cylinder Ferraris over the last two decades and there is nothing like the sound ,power and looks of a 12 cylinder Ferrari engine...On the other hand, if you want a track car, the only thing Ferrari currently makes is an 8...unless you have the bucks for an Enzo or F50...

 

I started with a 355. I almost purchased a 550 a couple of years ago, but at the last moment decided to wait. I've got a 360 now and love it. Since I try to do all my own work on the cars, I enjoy the rear engine V8's more. Working on a 550 yourself would be a task.

The 550 and other V12's are awesome cars - especially if you have a lot of freeway driving to do. Since I work from home and rarely drive more than 50 or 75 miles on my average trip, I enjoy the V8 cars. They are sporty, fun and have nice lines.

The 599 looks like a monster of a car. There are a couple of cool videos of the 599 I believe on youtube also.

BTW, on the 550, I was just reading through Fchat and ran across this thread:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123150

check msg #17 specifically. I don't have any first hand info, just thought it might be worth a mention.

Ray

 

550's are gorgeous, and prices are getting better (for buyers), but:

Sports and GT cars are different, regardless of cylinder count. I will always have a 2-seater convertible in the garage for the weekend, because there's nothing like it, and the Ferrari V8's do that with reasonable (by Ferrari standards...) maintenance/repair costs and great power ('great' is relative to the era of production). They're tossable, high-revving cars. An F355 with a Tubi will give you as much Ferrari sound as you can stand, and even my 328 with Tubi sounds pretty good (though not in the 355 category).

If you want more power, the V8 category has the F40 and 288 GTO.

The 612 and 599 are undoubtedly great cars, but they are GT cars and trade a lot of 'raw' for a lot of 'refined'. I think the 12-cylinder cars have begun to play to a more mature (OK, older...) audience and would stick with the 8's until the point in your life when a Tubi at full howl sounds like noise. This seems like Ferrari's strategy. The 550/575 seem smaller and sportier, but nothing like the athletic V8 cars.

If I went with a 12, it would be a 512TR, which seems to have been last sports car 12 from Ferrari. And I love the looks of it.

For a cruise up to Las Vegas, however, I'd take a 550 any day. I guess I'm more than double your age, so chalk it up to the onset of middle age.

 

It should be noted, that the 550 is more raw than the 575, especially with the Fiorano edition. While, the 575 is clearly more modern (also heavier) the 550 feels much more like I expected a V12 Ferrari to feel.

My first 550 did not have the Fiorano package and was softer and less aggressive feeling than this 550 with Sport mode on.

My understanding from 575 owners, is that the 575 with Fiorano is like a stock 550.

I have never driven the 575GTC, but I have heard from former 550 owners who have them, comments like "that's more like it".

John

 

Drive them all...and buy what you like and can afford. Forget cylinder count: just ask those 246GT/GTS guys.

 

thats exactly what I plan on doing! I am now 20 and a junior in college and have a 355 about half way saved up for so im well on my way. It can be done!

 

Sounds good.

 

If you're going to cruise up the freeway, get a 12. If you're going to go on twisty mountain roads, get an 8.

On a recent mountain trip in Tennessee, I was following a Testarossa. Boy, that thing looked unwieldy! Kinda reminded me of a duelie pickup, the way it filled up the traffic lane.

Also remember that any service on a 12 is likely to be 1-1/2 times as costly, since there are 1-1/2 times as many cylinders. And it seems they are likely to use 1-1/2 times as much gasoline. But, all other things being equal, they certainly sound better!

 

I dont mind at all. Well I really started back in my junior year of highschool and i have been working 2 jobs when ever i can. Although this summer i made my big deposits (probably 10 grand) I worked construction and then i also worked another job. Its all about making the money and, the hard part, not spending it. Plus every paycheck i get now i put 25% of it into the account and that piles up quick. Also i sit down before every school year and figure out how much money i need for school and then what ever i make over that goes into my Ferrari account, its a pain to figure out but it will pay off in the end.
College loans, yes I do have them and that is another reason why i started this account it will be my Ferrari/emergency/loan debt fund. I am currently enrolled at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks ND (great exotic car location...not ) I am working on my Major in Comercial Aviation as well as english and a minor in literary arts and hope to become an airline or corporate pilot (if anyone on this site needs a corporate pilot look no further)
Me Im a goal orriented kind of guy if I set a goal for my self i get on a one track mind and do what ever i can to get it. Getting a Ferrari has been a goal of mine since god knows how long, But i will achieve it and i have told my self by the time im 28 i will have one, but hope to have it sooner.

 

Holy cr@p we need to get you a guest spot on Suze Orman...

Good going, I'm impressed.

 

suze orman?

edit: i had to look that one up, but nah im not that extensive.

 

Somebody better tell Schumacher

 

Why do you think he's retiring? He's ready to become a real man

 

To paraphase an old saying:

Once you have had a V-12, you will never go back.



12 cylinders or walk

 

congratulations. very impressive. keep up the good work. you will deserve your car, and appreciate it more.

 

I will start right off admiting I have never driven a V-12 Ferrari. I once rode in a TR, but the owner never allowed the car to rev above 2500 RPM and it was almost the most boring ride I could have had. But what I can do, is read.

I presently own two 308's. I have first hand evidence of how they drive, and it pretty much matches everything that was written about them over the last 30 years. How they handle, how they shift, how your sit when driving, all of it. It is a difficult car to learn to drive well. But as you master it it seems to come even more alive, almost like a motorcycle in some respects as to the sounds it makes as it responds to throttle. So what about a V-12?

A lot has been written about the Boxers. I have spoken to a few who have owned them. The basic consensus is it is almost "to much" car. You cant pull to redline beyond second gear really, without being way over the speed limit. Third will carry you way up. I can only imagine the newer V-12 cars are more of the same. So personally, I think the motors are to powerful, and the cars are geared to high. I think I could just die and go to heaven to drive that tiny little 166MM Barchetta with that tiny little two liter V-12, and a top end of "only" about 130mph or so. Then you would have a motor you could take more full advantage of, to hear it sing, and not be so fearful of attaining such rediculous speeds. But the song a V-12 can make, that alone would be worth it all, if you have the means. I've heard that its highly recommended if you do.

 

You have the early stages of a rampant incurable malady. Asking theese questions is a clear sign that you are infected. Prepare yourself. 8 cylinders, 12 cylinders, 6 cylinders, even 4 cylinders and of course the ultimate buy - a used 10 cylinder F1 car. You will want them all, Desire them, actually crave them and if you are fortunate, you will have them. The process never loses its thrill and each car is just like the first. If only it was that way with the fairer sex.....

 

The owner of that TR should have to forfeit the vehicle!

There is nothing like the sound of a 12 cylinder TR (especially with X-OST or Tubi exhaust) winding up to 6 or 7k rpm.

12 CYLINDERS BABY !

 

Considering the precept that "Real Ferraris have 12 cylinders", it's rather interesting that all of Ferrari's early world GP champions drove cars with 4, 6 or 8 cylinders; not until Lauda in 1975 did one drive a 12-cylinder car.

And since all the '70s champions drove cars with flat-12 engines, that means that there has never been a Ferrari F1 champion with a traditional V-12 engine! I guess Prost came the closest in 1990.