2009 Ferrari "Dino"

hello,

according to this weeks autoweek magazine (october 23, 2006) ferrari will be building a new "dino" to compete in the porsche 911 range. Car is to be based on the new 2007 maserati coupe and be built at the new maserati factory in modena. annual production is expected to be 4,000 units.

this equates to ferrari raising the self imposed 5,000 cars manufactured per year by 80% annually. this may please the masses, but i don't think the purists will be thrilled.

kind regards,

joseph

 

I don't like the idea. The F430 (or equivalent model) is the most common a Ferrari should ever be.

 

I don't really see a reason for it. But those will even pull a huge premium just because of the pretty badge on the hood.

It won't be called the Dino though. It corresponds with the time of the replacement of the F430. So I'm betting on a simultanious unveiling so that the people who wish they could afford the F.... can buy a "Dino", base-level, instead.

Peter Hatch

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124508

 

Exactley.

If true, thia is a true disaster! The point of Ferrari is exclusivity.

Please Ferrari, don't destroy yourself!

 

I believe that Ferrari is denying that a new Dino is being developed. However, could we be seeing a new Maserati?

 

Totally agree. Maintain the exclusivity, please. Don't increase production numbers to that extent.

 

if an auto manufacturer can't raise production to increase revenue, then what? racing is not a profit center. ferrari has already licensed out its name to just about everything under the sun. i don't like the idea of seeing a ferrari on every corner, either, but when other automakers are not restricted to production limits, ferrari has to do something to keep its profits growing. already the V8 prod numbers are huge and will likely just get bigger. maybe it's a fact of life that as the world population grows, there will inevitably be more ferraris built every year than ever. either that or be prepared to pay 300K+ for V8s as a matter of course. i guess the small niche players like zonda will become the really exclusive manufacturers.

john

 

I believe Ferrari does make a profit from the racing series, along with the branding of the name and logo.

 

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Ferrari in the late 60's developed the DINO (don't know how correct my history is here but) and it was quite the little Ferrari. It was actually Enzo's late son who wanted this and it was put into production. For those of us who cant afford a $250K brand new Ferrari, it would be a pleasure to jump into a $90K-$100K Ferrari named the dino. With Ferrari's radical design as seen on the newer cars and the DINO thread of a concept done by an artist here on F_Chat i think it would be great!!! Especially with the AMV8 Vantage around, it would be a nice bonus to have a little more competition in the Porsche territory...

 

If they badge it as a Dino, not a Ferrari, I don't see a problem. After all, the Boxster/ Cayman is doing well for Porsche and is actually more of a pure sportscar like the old Porsches used to be. It'll bring in money for the race team and Ferrari in general. And we all know it's only a matter of time before they develop on SUV, if not Ferrari badged, then possibly Maserati.

 

The Ferrari and consumers of the 1960's are vastly different than the Ferrari and consumers of the 2000's.

 

They should call it the Dino II. Like the Mustang II. It worked for Ford

 

ok, i assumed F1 racing wasn't adding to the corporate bottom line. but i guess selling customer 430s would. but i don't doubt that brand licensing isn't bringing in money, my point was that it's already a big part of their financial success.

i'm not too keen on seeing a 90-100K ferrari-built car, badged as a dino. the whole point of ferrari is exclusivity and lots of aspirational appeal. introducing the lower priced car just makes the dream too attainable, the mystic too commonplace. you just gotta make good money to buy a new ferrari...what's wrong with that? (i can't afford a new ferrari, but it wouldn't have the same appeal if it only cost 100K. it's part of package with these very high end brands).

john

 

That would be nice - a real Maserati sports car slotted to compete with Porsche, but...

Alternatively, if BMW can have a massive success like the MINI, why can't Ferrari resurrect the Dino marque? Put a six under the bonnet and no one will confuse it with the V8-dominated Ferrari side of the house.

The key is the cachet of the Dino brand. The 206/246 are legendary designs, so there is some equity there. Sell the cars in the same dealerships. Just keep the prancing horse off the new Dino.

There's potential here to have a real Italian sportscar (not GT car) that people would actually drive on the street sometimes. Most people I know assume they have zero chance of ever owning or driving a Ferrari. A $100K-$110K car is dear enough that you won't see them everywhere, but 'affordable' enough that the very rich might drive them every day. How cool would that be...

 

Yes, i know the story of the Dino. Actually, the engine used in a Dino model (i don't know which one, though) was a engine developed by Dino himself - It was his graduation project at some school he attended.

As for your point on not being able to afford a Ferrari - I think a Ferrari is all about exclusivity. In fact, in my perfect world a Ferrari model should never exceed 500 produced. Now, i know that's impossible if Ferrari should also make a profit on their business.
But what appeals to me about Ferrari, is when i see one on the street, the WOW factor kicks in, and I'm usually unable to move the next 3½ minutes, and stunned the next 5 days. As I'm living in Denmark, i don't see much expensive cars (we pay 3 times the price, courtesy of our lovely government and their taxes). In my lift, I've only seen 3 Ferraris on the road in Denmark - A 308, a 355 and a 360. Imagine if i experienced this every day, because Ferraris were just another semi priced car - I would go looking for something else; because with exclusivity comes bringing joy and pleasure to others. I'm sure at least ½ of the joy of owning a Ferrari, is to see people smiling when you rev the engine, and waving to you when you pass them on the street (No matter if you drive a V12, a V8 or even a V6, Bart ). And i don't see that happen to a rather nice Alfa, with a tweaked exhaust.

As you can hear, to own a Ferrari is, for me, the ultimate achievement. And my goal in life - So a Ferrari would not be the ultimate achievement, if basically everyone could go and buy one. Now i know that i could then just buy an older Ferrari, but i have too much love for the marque, that i think i would cry if Ferrari did this 911 competitor.
So please Ferrari, I'm beggin you: Don't! But my faith in Ferrari tells me, that this is never going to happen.

I know i don't share everyones opinion about this, but i really love Ferrari. And who can explain love?

 

And all this time i thought the company was about motor racing....Gee how wrong i was.

 

In my opinion if Ferrari were to make a 90k car it would ruin the brand. I have an idea that they should market a 60k car branded solely as the Dino with the same formula as the Elise (except with a very high revving 6). The car would only be offered as a manual and would obviously be stunning to look at. No connection with Ferrari whatsoever though. A 90k car is too cheap for Ferrari, but too expensive for a tiny, lightweight, racebred monster.

 

I'm talking about the road cars - Unless you have ever seen a Ferrari F1 car driving to your local shops?
And, NO, not ALL Ferrari road cars main purpose is racing - Of course all are supposed to be raced, but as it being a road car, its whats its made for.

But thanks!

 

Not true. The Dino engine used in the 206/246 was designed by Ferrari engineer Franco Rocchi (source = Alan Henry's book "Ferrari Dino 246, 308 and 328" page 16).

 

I think is a good idea.
First of all $90K is not pocket change. Even if it was ½ they will never be as common as a Honda Civic.
Exclusivity is relative. I bet that you see way fore Ferraris in Beverly Hills that in middle of nowhere USA or worst, middle of nowhere Africa.
Back in the 60’s when Ferrari was making just a handful of cars per year; there wasn’t all that may people in the world, and less people who knew about Ferrari, and even less people who could afford one.
Now we have way more people, and with the emerging markets in China, Russia, etc. There are also more people who can afford them. But I bet that the ratio may still be the same.
I bet if we owned stocks in Ferrari we would be in favor of doing it.

 

Ok, thanks for the correction.
I read this once, and i never really had it confirmed, but i asumed it was true.

 

I would go on to add Ferrari is a for profit company.

Many of these arguments about exclusivity were no doubt expoused when the Dinos came out and (especially) when 308's were introduced wearing the Ferrari badge. Yet, the company was struggling at the time and a very plausible argument can be made that 308's actually saved Ferrari from the fate that befell Maserati and Lamborghinis. If I were head of Ferrari, I could easily see the need for expansion and joint projects with other companies. There is a lot of current and upcoming competition in the exotic market coming from much larger companies who can use economies of scale to produce great products with reliablility and durability unheard of up until now. This new entry leel car is more likely to cost 125-150K, not 90K. I don't see these cars as a threat to the exclusivity of my 430. In fact, I welcome another relatively massed produced model to the lineup. With more units to amortize engineering and tooling costs, the product line can only get better and more competitive in the marketplace.

Dave

 

I see your point Challenge. You make a good arguement...
I sure wouldnt mind seeing the DINO come back again. Maybe if they make them in small numbers???????

 

i don't understand why ferrari didn't stick with maserati as its "baby" brand. seems there would be a lot of overlap between dinos and masers. introducing a new brand isn't cheap; they could have used the money to improve the image of maserati instead. there's so much more history to pull from with maserati vs. the dino--it makes more sense to me to stick with maserati rather than introduce a "new" brand.

john