Could a newby handle a 599?

Damn good thing you're here!

 

I don't think you will have any problems with the 599. All you have to do is start slow and stay well within your comfort limit, and just gradually build up from there.

 

Agreed. Ive never driven a 12 cylinder fcar but I can say that the V8's are not difficult to drive. Difficult to drive fast, yes, but not around town. Besides, an V8 bmw has more than enough power to bite your head off!

 

Its an interesting question, one that I could perhaps answer like this, when I get into any car, be it one with 400 bhp or 115 bhp I get into it with the mindset that I have my driving limit and that limit shouldnt be breached, IMHO the fastest way to crash a car is to have no respect for it and to try and show off.

At the end of the day perhaps I am somewhat biased, living in a country with exeptionally poor driving standards on the whole but I feel that in most accidents there is a commoninality: the fact that the driver wasnt thinking while they were driving.

Exotics demand respect and if you do this you shouldnt get into too much trouble, but also be aware that you have to respect the power....

 

Yes. Ferraris of today are EXTREMELY easy to drive.

Even at the limit, there are so many driver aids kicking in (depending on where you have the settings set). When just tooling around town, the cars could not be easier to drive. I think the F430 could do with a little better rear visibility for reversing, but that's about it. They are extremely usable.

 

nice avatar Darth

 

Absolutely. The stability program is so good, it's very hard to get the car bent out of shape. I've driven one quite hard, and was amazed at what I could get away with. Truly incredible.

 

IMO the 599 would be an accident waiting to happen in the hands of an inexperienced driver. Sooner or later your right foot will get the better of you and without some skills the electronics are unlikely to save you everytime. Spend time on the track and learn what happens if you gas before the apex, don't use degressive braking at turn in, etc. On the track a mistake is a trip to the kitty litter. On the road, like you say, a tree or worse if you hit somebody. To me the 599 is too fast for a road car. Well mannered, no doubt, but the power, the handling and the brakes are beyond anything I have imagined for a production car. Gerhard Berger said the same about the F40 at the time and a lot of F40's were crashed.

 

I'd say just constantly fight the temptation to switch the manettino to Race or CST Off settings until you've had some good driving event experience under your belt and you shouldn't have a problem.

 

This post is one of the reasons I've let my subscription lapse.

 

Well it takes all kinds to make the world go around.

The simple fact remains that if one were to get into a position where he/she could afford to buy an F car that person should also be able to afford to go to a quality performance driving school.
Also few if any of the F car owners on the board went from a box with wheels to a ferrari in one leap. They progressed through a succession of autos that increased in performance.
As mentioned above, don't drive anything above your abilities and the abilities of the vehicle.
I witnessed a bad crash a week ago that happened partially because the driver was overdriving her lights. She laid down close to 200 ft of skid marks
(antilock with 4 wheel disk) and still hit another vehicle at a high rate of speed.
There is a lot more to high performance driving than just having a fast car.

 

I do not agree at all. I know your 599 is faster than an F430, but my F430 was the first Ferrari I ever drove, and I am not ashamed to say that I do not consider myself a "good" driver. I have no track experience at all. Nevertheless, I have pushed it quite hard on the road, on twisty roads, etc., and have been nowhere near to an accident. I drive almost exclusively in "sport" mode, and going hard into a curve, I have barely even heard the tires squeak. The electronics really kick in and give you the driver aids. Plus, the brakes and handling are so good, that they can really compensate for bad driving too. And, while I agree, these cars are too fast for the road, that's a good thing too in a sense, because it generally means there's no way you can get the car anywhere near 100% of what it's capable of, which means you can drive fast without driving on the edge or near the limit. And, even as a novice, I have to say that it's not hard to figure out how fast is too fast. The feel on these cars is so good, it's pretty easy to tell how fast is too fast, when the car is going to let go, and when you need to back off a bit.

 

LOL! That would be the day!

Based on my experience, perhaps 5% of F-car drivers actually get somewhat serious about their driving. Same goes for other sports car drivers, too.

You wouldn't think so, but there's a good reason why this is the case. Men's fragile driving egos get in the way. Not only do most men think they're Fangio reincarnate, they also wouldn't ever stoop so low as to be taught how to drive.

 

I would highly suggest you take a Skip Barber race school or other similair quality race school before jumping into a supercar

I think this should be required by law like the FAA does w higher performance aircraft

Ponder this, over 30% of new Corvette Z06s have been crashed, I would guess mostly bcus of low performance drivers in a 505 hp supercar

The brakes & handling & electronic aids may be great but if you are doing 150 mph + & you dont know what a line is, well just write me into your life insurance policy please

Regarding these electronic aids, do you really want to bet your life or bodily integrity on these electronics ?

I have seen drivers in the 360 challenge series driving over their heads & when the computer has a glitch, they eat the fence at 100mph +++

Have you ever owned a computer that never malfunctioned ?

 

...or worse, ask for directions how to get to the track!

 

ROTFLMAO! I've been in that situation with a student trying to find his way to the track!

 

Modern Ferraris are cars, almost like any other, in that you start them, use the gas pedal to propel them and the brake pedal to stop them.
These days any competent car, including econoboxes, are capable of speeds fast enough to be dangerous, but unfortunately don't have the level of engineering to handle as well as a Ferrari at elevated speeds, which makes them far more dangerous to drive than a new Ferrari.

 

Great, great point, one that should be read by many teenage drivers.


Forza,


Cavallini

 

Excellent post.

 

Well if you have never been close to having an accident you arn't pushing the car very hard at all. Anyone who has ever driven a car hard and walked that fine line knows they were very close to the edge and they respect that! I'm no andretti, but I drive somewhat quickly because of my age and immaturity which has been exacerbated by driving pretty quick cars since 16 and I have had plenty of close calls.

Even in the safest of situations accidents happen, that's why they are called accidents. I don't know many people who woke up one morning and said "I'm going to kill 5 people today by loosing control at 180mph and destroy my car by hitting a gaurd rail." Do you?

I'm sure I'm not the only guy here who has tried to go an extra 10 meters into the braking zone, or tried to enter a turn a little faster to keep up momentum and gotten in over my head. I have also gotten into the marbleing on the side of the track and had the back of the car fly out from underneath me despite PSM's attempts to bring it back into line.

The other issue most people have, and maybe you don't, I certainly do, is they like to push harder and harder until they reach that limit. I know I'll turn off CST in a Ferrari and I know I'll drive the thing in race mode, those are risks I take but you should never kid yourself and act like you're invincible to accidents. Even with all the computer help in the world you arn't stopping physics, or unexpected changes in the road. What happens if you hit gravle at an apex or a patch of oil? Sport mode isn't gonna save you then, in fact rain or ice won't either!


I have gone to a few driving schools slash DEs and I still make mistakes. Also this talk of Ferraris being too capable to get into trouble on regular roads is nonsense, any car can get into trouble on any road. Most of the owners on this forum know they could push their cars within 5 minutes of their homes. It's really just a matter of how dangerous you want to be, but these cars can exceed their limits easily on public roads.

Now I apoligize if I singled you out, i'm not really trying to do that. Your post just sort of made me think of some things I wanted to say on this topic. I'm sure you are a fine driver and safe as well it wasn't my intent to discredit that in any way. I do think one of the most unsafe types of drivers are the ones that DON'T think they will get in an accident or can't get in one.

 

Too true. You buy a sports car to drive it. Of course safety first but anyone who hasn't had a scare should stick to a CLK. The big difference now is that the absolute pace of the 599 is of a different order of magnitude. The 550/575 just became a classic car. I have a CGT so fast cars are not unknown to me. It is the split personality of the 599 that is so dangerous for anyone - especially a newbie IMO

 

No