I think Jeremy Clarkson once said that, and to me it appears to be true. Spotted 9 Ferrari's this summer so far (all of them V8 mid-engine ones, except one mighty 550...). Whenever I see one in the city, they are squirting the gas pedal and brakes all the time. Just saw one 355 and he did it so often it irritated me because I was driving behind him; Accelerate for 15 yards, brake, accelerate for 15 yards, brake. Even when our roads separated I could hear him going like that... Noise it made was awesome though. I don't see V12 Ferrari owners do that. Different breed? Young at heart in the (MR) V8, calm and cool in the (FR) V12? What's up with that?
I'll admit I do it occasionally. Usually as frustration for being stuck in traffic - I'll hang back just so I can scream up to 3rd gear and actually MOVE for a little while. But I don't do it all that often. I think it's just cuz it sounds so nice and feels great to accelerate 1-2-3 Remember that a lot of us live in crowded urban areas where finding "open roads" on the way to run an errand just ain't gonna happen. Jedi
That's why. I don't tend to drive in spurts, but I will blip the throttle a bit when downshifting. Not just to match revs, to be honest, but because it sounds so good. And there's something about a V8 flat crank rumble that just seems to be good for my digestion. I always feel better after a drive in the Ferrari. It unknots my stomach. I do tend to slow (not on the brakes, though) when approaching a corner, to let the mundane drivers get clear. You know the ones: the drivers who think that the steering wheel won't turn if the vehicle is moving. The ones that come to a full halt to take a fourth gear turn. I keep trying to strike a deal with the other drivers: I won't insist they drive like they have a clue, if they don't insist I drive like I don't. The drivers around the DC area don't seem to go for it, though. They seem to insist that nobody else have a life, either. That, or they figure that if they're not holding up traffic, they must be driving too fast.
I'll admit, I do that when I am in a tunnel or going under a long bridge to hear the echo of the exhaust....makes me feel alive !!
Usually when I see a Ferrari being driven, it's the slowest moving car on the road. Maybe the don't want to be "That Guy".
V8's are for the most part the "Image car", so it's the "Image guys" who only talk about and show off their exhaust you're referring to.
To add: There are a lot more of them so it stands to reason there are a lot more yahoos driving them..... One guy I know only gives his car gas within 300 yards of red lights so he won't have to show anyone he can't drive outside of a controlled environment.
That's me most of the time. Hat down, sunglasses on, right lane... movin' all the time. What do they do with all the cell phone pictures anyway? I open her up for me.
This made me laugh, and laugh hard... but underscores my fear. Right now I can drive a ghetto 348, but by the time I can afford to add a 12 cylinder car... I think certain functions will definitely have shut down. Oh, wait... what were the lottery numbers tonight? Ah well, I'll enjoy the "cheap" Ferrari here and now while trying to angle for a 12 cylinder car at SOME point in the future...
Maybe the new ones, but the 308/328 are street legal racing karts. Remember: Ferrari only ever made the one *mid-engine* V12 street car. (Well, two, counting the Boxer -- which are all gray market ... and hardtops.) And the TRs need way more room to run than you'll find in most suburban settings, much less in the city. A 512TR in the city is like keeping a dobermann pinscher in an apartment. Or like hunting rabbits with a bazooka. The newer front-mill V12s like the 550s are sometimes called the "old man's Ferrari". (More mass out at the ends means a kinder, gentler car -- slower turn-ins, less inclined to spin.) Urban legend. Old men don't lose function. They just lose interest in the dumb young women. (Generation gap.) Sure, they're okay in the bikini thread, but they're the post-verbal generation, beyond post-literate. Compare Lauren Bacall in "To Have and Have Not" to a matted haired, tattooed 19 year old today.
I can imagine driving like that for the sake of the noise, but these fellas do it in the city in the evening. Cafè racers...? Knew that would come Hahaha Good one... Tunnels are in my book something different... I know that feeling, makes me feel alive too! Convertible with the right noise in tunnels could easily be the best thing you've done that day! That's the perception I have of V12 guys... Very under the radar driving style... Probably! True, there are a lot V8 Ferrari's on the road (doesn't make them less attractive though)... Do you really want to know?
Nail, head, hit = Job done!. They are just sharing the joy to the less fortunate! I was in Nagoya, Japan and there was a guy driving around in a 430 Scuderia, pretty much redlining it in 1st and 2nd round by the railway station and when he went under the railway bridges!, My face= (Slightly off topic: I read an article a few years back about a 246 Dino owner who said he was forever having people racing him away from traffic lights around town because they thought he wanted to race them. The cause of this misconception was due to the fact that he had to rev the car every now and again round town to clear the spark plugs of oil fouling!.)
Wasn't the 365P a "prototype" (e.g. racer)? And I thought the F50 and Enzo were corporate lobby ornaments, rather than street cars. (Okay, I forgot about the limited edition "supercars".) Smmmmokin'!
In case some haven't noticed, there number of threads in the 360/430 section exceeds all the other models and almost the General Ferrari Discussion itself....
The TR is one of the "cheap" Ferraris right now. (Until something breaks...) They built ~17,000+ 360s (Modena/Spider/CS) alone, so that's not unexpected.