evo magazine car of the year

When you see the car in person, and even better, if you have a 612 parked next to it, you can fairly easily compare and see the differences - to prove that the cars actually look differnet.

Its a very nice car, i like a lot of cars, but its in my top 3 favourite Ferrari's (599, 430, Enzo).

 

I agree with you .in my opinion i think 599 is more beautiful than the 612.

 

great looking, well balenced gt car, extremely fast yet still a gt cruiser, and strangely doesn't look great in red, reds too harsh and sporty for it, needs a grander color for it like deep red, looks great in that like the promo pics.

 

but i think what his main point was that does it look better than the F430 in person?Does it have the same strong road presence or is it better or worse?

 

Yes.In my opinion at the first looking of pictures 599gtb is not looking as beautiful as lambos or f430.But in person maybe that can be more attractive than others.I wonder ıt.

 

Well, I really like the looks of the 612 in real life. Pictures don't do the 612 flowing lines and understated beauty justice. The 599 looks more agressive in real life then in pictures. It is quite a big car though.

 

dificult to say. I've only seen the 599 on the Spa Francorchamps track and in the paddock. The F430 has great presence.

 

would you all agree that Ferrari have it right now? the 430 is the manic, frenetic young member of the family - a mini enzo; whereas the 612 and 599 are the more mature female and male versions of the big GT V12? As for Enzo, et al, well the name says it all...

The only area for possible improvement? - is surely the slight difficulty in the 599 to look good in simple red - we always tend to expect the 456 & 612 look better in deeper colours, but the main V12 flagship (sans F40 - enzo et al) should look blistering in red, no? - like the 512M does.

Any views?

 

In my opinion, the 599GTB looks really nice in Rosso Corsa with a Cream / Beige interior (I also like Black, TDF Blue and Grigio Silverstone). As long as the right colour combinations and options are chosen to suit the car, it should look nice.

Heres my opinion on the current Ferrari line-up:

F430 - The agressive sports car, although it can be used every day. It has quite a presence on the road.

612 - The big, Grand Tourer. Comfortable and long journeys, but with the Ferrari name and the power to make it one.

599 GTB - The car in between the 430 and 612, designed around the GT style of the 612, yet has the differences to make it like a 430 - with a presence and agressiveness. The ability to switch between comfort cruising, to a sporty car (I could also tell this from having sat in one earlier this year).

Enzo - the pure hyper / super car. Powerful, extravagant styling and exclusivity.

Rosso Corsa would probably be my 1st choice or consideration for any Ferrari, I like it on our F430, and I've seen many other Ferrari's in Corsa, it just appeals to me more. Although I do like certain models in Grigio Silverstone, Nero and TDF Blue.

In my opinion, the current line up of models is pretty good, and Ferrari is Ferrari to me at the end of the day. There is the history and prestiege about it which appeals to me, which is why i like the cars.

 

You are so wrong IMO. A 599 is many times the car of the 430. It is a full generation ahead. F1 Superfast alone is a quantum leap. The 599 is much faster than the 430. The 430 is a great car, no doubt, but it is the entry level car.

Just think of this one point - when Ferrari launched the 599 they benchmarked it against the F40. Why would they pick an aged supercar? Because the F40 was the last no compromise performance machine. The 599 is over 6 seconds faster at Fiorano.

I have a 599, an F40 and I just sold my 430 Challenge. I did not buy a 430 Berlinetta because the car was lame on the track. It was no faster than a 360CS which handled much better but was slower on the straights. The 430 was evolution over the 360. The 599 renders the 575 HGTC a classic car overnight.

Also, my 599 is in Rosso Scuderia with beige and it looks breathtaking

 

Its my opinion at the end of the day, so its not wrong, it just differs from your opinion.

I wasn't refering to the cars in track times and speed and all of that stuff, i was simplying expressing my opinion of the structure of the Ferrari model range, not how different and better each of the cars are.

So i think you got the wrong end of the stick by my post.

Sounds like you like your 599 GTB, have you posted any pictures, I wouldnt mind having a look?

 

I think 599gtb's design could be more attractive like lamborghinis but I hope to see it on the road.At that time maybe my idea may change about this car.

 

???

If Lamborghini made a front-engine GT car that's more attractive than the 599, maybe this would make sense.

 

I'm hearing some sacrilege ... We love the Prancing Horse, not the Stumbling Bull... lol

Lamborghini's long-bonnet style isnt where Pininfarina's is at for the times - disregard 'mid-engined' and note the look of the Mura prototype for 06'... Its just not as bold... Sexy, but not vicious enough to make 'uber-wagen' grade.

IMHO I see Jason's design as being one of the most skillfully executed in the front engine GT niche. It blends both aggressiveness at the rear vent and A-Pillar - with a great sexiness in the back end, and the convexed hood-line. The door alone has the shape fit for a car to hold you at 200+...

It is a style that ... makes sense for its attitude and purpose, where as with the 550 you were left saying -

"What am I supposed to do with this again?"




Regards

 

Also we love prancing horse but we are sharing our ideas about this car. I m not saying a murcielago is better than a 599gtb its impossible but the 599gtb's design could be more original.

 

The people who will buy this car are going to love it.

For the rest, who cares?

Opinions are plentiful, but 599's will be very limited and those who are able to get in line and actually pay for one are very fortunate and will be well satisfied.
Nothing negative in this thread or any other is going to change an actual 599 buyer's mind about the car.

 

Exactly!

 

Very true! I can't even comprehend owning a 599 at present (it costs more than my house!), and even if I could afford it, there are other cars I'd chose first. Does that make the 599 a 'bad' car? Of course not - I've never understood people who are passionately against a particular car or brand of car - especially when you look at the current selection of supercars available - is there a bad Aston, Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsce currently made? IMHO there isn't!

 

I love the F599, and I'm looking forward to getting one very much, but I also like my F430, and I think you're not giving enough credit to the F430. The F430 and F599 are very different cars; the F430 is a lighter car with the traditional mid-engined V8 that enjoys being thrown around a track. The F599 is a heavier car that compensates for the extra heft with a heavy V12 mounted up-front. If I was going to be doing a lot of track work with my car, I'd want an F430 (or a CS version of it, if is ever comes). Neither the F599 or the F430 is the "better" car -- they're different cars and will appeal to different people for different reasons. Also, a lot of people don't care about superfast, or F1 transmissions in general and choose to row their own gears at their own pace...

 

Couple of points:
- Why was the GT3 even in that contest? GT3 is a $100k car. When the 997 GT2 comes out, there should be a rematch.
- For those knocking the LP640, don't. After driving it last week, I have to say the 599 better be all they say it's going to be. That Lambo is incredible!!

 

Many who've driven it, say the GT3 is a heckuva car! i don't think price was a huge criteria in choosing the candidates, but it says good things about the 'less expensive' car for being able to hang. and as far as those comparing the F430 to the 599, i think they are both at the top of their classes...what they were designed to do, so yeah, i agree with the sentiments that 'you can't say one is 'better' than the other'. it would be a dream come true to drive any of those ECOTY candidates.

 

As the other gentleman said it does not matter to those who can afford the 599, it is what it is, a top Sports / GT Car made to do what it does better than the rest. Many times the greater production car (i.e. 430, Gallardo, Continental GT) will be superior in many ways over the Higher Priced model as it has to have a bigger appeal for its intended audience.

 

That's the point of Evo car of the year - they take all the best cars from the year and first off do an 'affordable cars' test (i.e. cars costing under £40k - those that committed petrol heads can realistically aspire to owning), then the top 2 from that test go on to the ultimate test with the more expensive cars. Did you not see there was a Lotus Elise in there (the new S version we have in the UK - not sure if it is available in the US yet with only 134BHP) - it came top of the affordable class and 5th overall against the supercars - beating some much more expensive cars.

I don't think this link has been posted here yet, but there are more pics available at http://www.owenbrown.net/coty/

PS: The test I'm relly looking forward to is Aston DBS v F599!

 

It will be even worse butt rape then Vanquish S vs 575...

 

I believe that THIS is more accurate:

"Ferrari don't care about the views of anyone who doesn't have the means to purchase their products" - I would also add the following: "The vast majority of the people who will buy this car don't **REALLY** care about what Ferrari build"

The former part of the sentence is essentially paraphrasing what you've already said. It's a classic recipe for corporate complacency as people who CURRENTLY don't have the means to purchase Ferraris products may not always remain that way.

It's my belief that Ferrari have such a tremendous brand that they could build a distinctly below-par product and the HORDES of the "less-than-discerning wealthy" would flock to purchase it. Cue huge sales of the ridiculously ugly 612, the clumsy (and obnoxiously styled) 430 and the unbelievably UNDERwhelming 599. We've only got ourselves to blame.
Terrible pity as the 599 no doubt will be truly biblical to drive!


Edited to say: please don't hassle me by judging me from my handle - it's just a name - not a indication of any "loyalty" toward Lamborghini. I LOVE Ferraris but have a real problem with the styling of their new cars.