458 Spider

i also cannot get passed the front of the 458 its just un ferrari like , looks to japanese almost like later model acura nsx , 430 spider is a perfect italian looking car , for that reason i cancelled my 458 order .

 

Come on.. give us the real reason. It's the money.

 

That's like dumping Cindy Crawford because you can't deal with her mole

 

For me its because they never look as good with the top up. A targa generally retains more of the coupes profile plus I still get the open air experience.

And I also love the 80s

 

I've had targa's. I had an X 19 and a 308 GTS. They are just over glorified sunroofs. You don't get the real open air feeling.

Plus, they are a total pain to put on and off as well as store.

I owned and Alfa spider at the same time I had 2 targas and believe me, a well engineered top (like the Alfa) is vastly superior and enjoyable. On the Alfa, just two clips and throw the top over your head --- voila'. With the targa's, 5 minutes of straining later I'm wondering what all the fuss was about.

I really could care less how they "look". To me, it's about the driving experience. A targa and a sunroof are kissing cousins.

 

Ill counter your experience and say Ive had a Viper targa an Elise targa and spent lots of time in a Camaro targa. Ive also had a F355 spider, a corvette vert and an M Roadster.

So Ive had plenty of seat time in both targa and full vert. Maybe more than you

I still prefer a targa and feel the open air experience is 80% of a full vert but keeping a better appearance.

Anyway..not denying you your opinion. Just saying I have plenty of experience in both to form my own opinion from.

 

You really think Ferrari would engineer the 458 as well as it has and then put a targa on it that took 5 minutes of straining to get on and off?

 

Yes... where do you put it? That's the issue. If you put it behind the seats, it's a total PITA. The front is not big enough (like at least the X19 was). You can be like the MC 12 and not have it stored in the car... but it's a joke.

You can't argue with physics. There is no magical shrinking fairy dust. That's why a hardtop convertible is perferable to a targa.

Like I said... if people wanted targa's, they'd still make them today.

 

My last Targa was a Carrera GT. What a PITA. Driving from HK to Shanghai, nice weather, canot take off the top because our luggage is where the panels need to go!!! IMO there is zero chance that the 458 will be a Targa. Unless there is an engineering miracle beyond my ability to imagine, it will be a traditional soft top

 

Now that is a reason that nobody can argue with!!!

 

Why cant a cloth targa fold into the same space a cloth top would have ? This would keep the shape of the car intact yet remove the roof and still keep it automatic.

 

it's the money !!! let me see , i own a 2008 599 , 430 spider , 512 tr , 2008 612 oto , 2009 granturismo s mc shift , 1984 pininfarina spider 18k miles , 2002 alfa romeo 166 and a 2002 alfa spider autodelta that i imported from italy , now for my american cars 2 custom 2008 h2 hummer convertibles , 2 2009 hummer h2 final editions ,2009 hummer h3t alpha pickup , muscle cars 2010 dodge challanger custom , hurst series series 4 with 572 hp and turned into a convertible by droptop customs in florida 0-60 3.6 sec number 7 of 30 built , 2009 cadillac cts-v 556 hp 0-60 in 3.9 sec , final year 2006 pontiac gto john ligenfeler revenge edition #2 of 15 built 530 hp 0-60 3.8 sec , 2006 ford mustang convertible cervini 500 with a novi paxton supercharger with 540 hp 0-60 3.9 sec , and 2 range rovers , so do you still think it's the money ? just because ferrari comes out with a new model does'nt mean its better or i should run and go buy one . my favorite ferrari that i own is my 1993 512 tr last production 12 cyl mid engine ferrari and that was replaced with 550 maranello and we all know 512 tr is the better car and still looks great after all these years unlike the 550 . two of my close friends already sold there 458 italia's and cashed in , because they felt after 3 month's that they had the car it lost its appeal for a $300k car .

 

In all fairness...

Maybe you do own all those cars. Maybe you dont. We get lots of people here on a daily basis claiming they own cars that later are found to not exist. For the record most people who do what you did (throw out a bunch of cars they own after only a few posts) turn out to be liars. Thats just a truthful observation not an indictment of you.

So... maybe you dont care if anyone here believes you or not. Thats fine. But if you do care or desire to be taken seriously when you throw out a list of cars like that...you are going to have to prove it.

Usually what we ask is to post a pic next to some of them holding a piece of paper saying "Ferrari Chat". I was once questioned about some claims I made...I didnt get offended as I understood they may seem hard to believe. So I gladly proved it. My ego is strong enough to endure some doubters and I dont feel as if I am too good to prove something.

This is if you desire to be part of the community. If you dont, thats cool.

 

Problem is that is is difficult to tension the cloth enough to work on a performace car. Series 1 Elise was a major PITA when the top shrank a bit and you had to stretch stretch stretch. CGT was the ultimate targa IMO as the CF tub was so rigid that there was zero flex.

 

when i get a chance i will post my pics of my collection of cars , and would i mention some of my rare american cars if i was b.s ing , and i didn't mention my cars until a poster said my dislike for the 458 is really a money factor , so the point of mentioning my cars is to let him know it's not the money , i own my own car dealership and i love cars , plus would i also mention that i own a fiat spider and 2002 alfa 166 and a 2002 alfa spider auto delta . if i was trying to b.s. i would say i own a enzo or f50 , which i don't have . when i post the pics than you will probably call me a show off !

 

sorry anunakki , u sound like a straight up guy , i just don't like that Bdelp made a comment that my dislike for the 458 front end is really a money factor !!! and that comment drove me crazy to hear from a ferrari guy.

 

Yes, certainly a hard top convertible - approaching the best of both worlds there. You retain all those nice flowing lines into the back end when the top is up (rag tops look universally awful when the top is up, all sort of prematurely truncated and chopped off at the back) and my wishful thinking hopes that, top up at least, a hard convertible would be a little closer to the hard top as far as rigidity is concerned. Not that the rag will be too far from the hard top if the F430 is anything to go by, but it is still noticeable if you step from on to the other (I'm nit picking, of course!). A hard folder will still have some of the problems of the targa, though. Those panels have to go somewhere so they'll probably eat up that precious space behind the seats, even if there's a motor doing the stowing for you. In fact, with all that metal and all those joints, it's going to take up a lot more space than a couple of targa panels. So on a long journey it's still going to be a compromise as that space is always full of kit.

On a side note... Is there anyone else who thinks that hard tops sound better than open tops? Yeah, I know... Contrary to what I've read in every review I actually think that the hard top F430 sounds better than the open top (of course, we don't have the 458 to compare yet so this is by way of example). Seems to me that if you're going anything over moderately fast then you're almost leaving the sound behind in an open top (though it might just be the effect of the extra wind noise etc), whereas in the hard top there's all that noise trapped in the car with you. I do, though, wonder if I'm imagining this as it seems at odds with every review I've ever read...

 

First you rag on how the 458 isn't worth it compared to other used cars (which is only slightly insulting to those here who have bought one) and THEN IN THE VERY NEXT POST claim you've decided not to buy it only because the front "looks Japanese". You can't get over it --- so you cancelled your order.

And we're supposed to believe that-- especially from a guy with all of 16 posts? You didn't think it looked "Japanese" when you ordered it? I'm not even sure what "looking Japanese" is really. None of us see it. Please find us a Japanese car that even vaguely looks like the front of the 458. That would actually be an interesting discussion.

Now, if you had read any of the testimony of the many here who have owned the 430 and Scuderia and traded them in for the 458, you'd find that everyone who has received one believes the 458 is superior by a huge margin on every level to the car it replaces. So, when someone says out of the blue that they "cancelled" their order simply because of the front of the car, that looks really, really strange to us. Unbelievable in fact.

I would have believed you if it weren't for the two posts right next to one another. Go back and read what you wrote. The fact that you dropped in out of nowhere into a discussion about the Spider also looks very suspicious. Why not just start another thread about why you don't like the 458 coupe instead of interrupting the conversation about the details of the spider?

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you are who you say you are. But we get a lot of 15 year olds here who just mess with us and you sure sounded like one. If your post doesn't sound like a kid trying to screw with our heads to start an argument, then you haven't been read Fchat much.

Here's the upshot: Your posts looked like someone trying to start a firestorm. That's fine -- we have arguments here all the time. Just rational ones (hopefully).

Best of luck to you and I hope you understand where I was coming from now.

 

With that great collection of cars worth millions, how about chalking up $20 to subscribe to FChat?

 

Agree, it is a rag top. 16M was a rag too. Expect something special on the F70 Enzo followup if it were to have an open top later.

Mr. Fioranbardi (spelling) showed us the 599 (Super America suggestion) but for the 458, always a rag.. Space, weight, heat, Cd# all say it is a rag..

 

soft +1

 

"That's just what they'll be expecting us to do...."
http://www.entertonement.com/clips/zrtyywzdjr--That's-just-what-they-will-be-expecting-us-to-doAirplane-Fletch-Robert-Stack-Rex-Kramer-
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All I know is he has a big account at Interstate Batteries.........LOL!

 

What the hell is a 1984 Pininfarina Spider?

 

sorry did not mean to insult anyone on there 458 , im still a ferrari guy thru and thru , it's just my opinion , i think the back is hot , but they could have maybe painted the center of the grill the color of the car and maybe it would change the front , but anyway maybe the front will grow on me . Back in 2005 i hated the 612 and now i own a 612 oto and i think the car is gorgeous now , so people change and maybe i will come around , and again sorry did't mean to insult any 458 owners , so good luck with your cars.