Ferrari LaFerrari - the next Special Limited Series

Marketing fluff is exactly what it is. It exists because they know people eat that **** up. Do you think Bentley mentions that they use 37.8 different hides for the Mulsanne just to fill up space in the brochure? No, it's because even though no one drives naked and they rarely come in contact with the leather, people need to be fed that crap. They need to know they have the world best leather, even though you could give them any leather and they'd believe it was the best. They need to know CF is used in race cars to save weight and that's it's very expensive, even though it actually saves next to no weight in most cases and in some cases might even add weight.

There is a sucker born every minute. They include this fluff because they know for a fact it sells cars. You think they waste time and money just for the hell of it?

BTW, you've clearly never been to Ferrari's new most important market -- China. You don't think something like a lap time or a 0-60 time is important? Go ask a car salesman in China how important it is to have the best car or the most fancy leather, or a limited special edition that isn't actually special. It's very important to people here. It's all about face and having something better or more special than everyone else. That's why China is a super important market for luxury goods. Not only is it a new source of customers, but it's a source of very self conscious customers who are willing to spend to be the top dog.

You underestimate just how important bragging rights are.

The performance of a modern exotic is absolutely irrelevant to even the vast majority of buyers on Fchat, but there are still constantly thread about it. Hell, look how many people there are talking about adding 50hp and dropping 200 lbs from the 458 Scuderia, as if half of them will ever even reach speeds above 90 or even make use of any improvements. I've seen plenty of Scuds sitting in traffic downtown, or just cruising down side streets at 30 mph.

It doesn't matter how pathetic it is. It is what it is. Lap times sell cars and it's a fact. You can deny it all you want, but it's true.

 

Boils down to this.

 

I don't underestimate bragging rights at all.

I think N'ring lap times constitute a very, very small part of all the things you can brag about when it comes to the Ferrari brand, and having the nth time or not will not affect the vast majority of buying decisions. Therefore, N'ring times do not affect sales at any appreciable level. If they suck, the owners will focus on the other things they can brag about. If they don't suck, they will be included in the bragging. It's like the stereo. When it's great, people talk about it. If it's not great, people still buy the car. Those who care then change the unit out, just like the people who care about track times modify their cars to perform better.

If you have a ferrari, you have plenty to brag about. Dragons painted on, limited edition plaques, Schumacher and F1, the red colour of the racecars and its various associations in Chinese culture, etc., etc. I know this because I was hanging with a bunch of Ferraristi and their wives in Shanghai earlier this year--I go to China almost every year.

 

True.

 

Under 7 minutes is GOOD ENOUGH to be a world class supercar. Whether the time is 6.48 or 6.53 or someone else is a hair faster might be disappointing to some but it really does not matter when it comes to buy/don't buy for 99.99999% of the market. Spin it any way you want, that's the truth.

And when supply is so far short of demand, it absolutely does not matter.

 

This is a total myth. They talked about reaching 10K cars not too long ago, and now they talk about wanting to drop to 7000 and increase exclusivity. It's total BS spin.

The FF is not selling well at all, and the California isn't really in that much demand. F12 just came out so can't comment on that, but the market is flooded with 458s. I can buy Spiders a good deal under MSRP all day in Europe.

The supply/demand is a NA market issue. They are not hard to get anywhere else in the world. In 2010 I asked the dealer in Shanghai how long it would take to order a new 458. He said 3-6 months.

If 2000 people walk into the dealer on the day Ferrari takes its 7000th allocation, suddenly they'll find time for another 2000 cars and room in their pockets for another $600M. They are a business at the end of the day and want to sell cars. It may not be a lie that they'll always supply X - 1 cars given demand X, but while the - 1 will be constant, the X part of the equation will be as high as it can.

 

Man, I can't believe Ferrari is still in business after reading some of the posts on this forum.
I'm actually scared to take my car out now, hoping no one tells me that their new SUV is faster than my 30 year old f-car.
Life sucks

 

LMAO

 

That may be true enough. But what you say about the lacklustre California and FF sales has nothing to do with their N'ring performance. It has more to do with the styling, how it fits into and conveys the brand, the economy, consumer perception of a host of factors, etc., etc. N'ring lap times? Nobody cares beyond the fact that it is good enough to warrant the high performance label. That's all that matters. Nobody is buying or not buying because of lap times set by seasoned professionals.

I was talking about the LaFerrari supply and demand. They have absolutely nothing to do with whether or not it will set a N'ring lap record.

Ferraris do not sell on the basis of N'ring times. The N'ring times do not make buyers switch from "Yes, gimme" to "Umm, no, do not want." It is as simple as that.

 

Ferrari haven't had the fastest road car since the F40. That they've managed to peddle a good few since says the red shoe crew is okay with that.

A three-year old ACR still holds the 'ring the record. Dodge wishes they'd have sold more of those.

So maybe the 'ring record doesn't carry much weight after all?

Though if the Ferrari The Ferrari is able to take the crown in this upcoming round, it will.

The mind boggles ...

 

A Kia SUV is faster. Sell the kids.

 

Well, that too.

My point is that the particulars of watches and cars just don't matter to those who want only to tell time and to get somewhere.

 

Ferrari stated that they would up their production to 10,000 units some time ago. Since then they realised that this was the wrong thing to do and had a change of heart. Companies change marketing strategies on a daily basis. What really matters is income and profits. Ferrari has been having record profits year after year. Screw the 10,000 units output, it's the bottom line that counts!

As for LaFerrari, no doubt it will be on top of its game, like its predecessors were.

 

Nurburgring time is not like the stereo. Nor do most buyers want to destroy the value of their supercars through modification.

If the LaFerrari has a comparably slow nurburgring time, that means it's a comparably slow car. The point of it being Ferrari's supercar is that it's their fastest car.

If by some chance the car posts a dismal ring time but blows away the competition at every other track, then sure you have a point. However, nurburgring times are inherently correlated to the performance of a car, and the performance of a car is the cause of a good nurburgring time. A bad ring time wrecks the image of the ferrari halo supercar.

 

It is rumoured that they are, according to German publication "auto motor und sport".
Their reliability, at least on the F1 side of things, seems reasonable. Still seems a bit far fetched to me.

Ferrari plant Le Mans-Comeback: Entscheidung noch 2013 - AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT

Article is in German and was published today, 31 jul.

 

If Nring times were everything, why has Ferrari sold out and Macalren not before a time is posted, just under 7 mins being an adequate indicator? Is the market not telling us something, like it doesn't really matter or are you expecting that if/when the P1 is quicker, everyone will be sending the keys back?

 

Yes I saw that and hope it's true. It would be great to see Ferrari Race Porsche, Audi and Toyota for First Overall at Le Mans.

 

Resting on the Laurels of past glory alone will not sustain the Ferrari brand indefinitely...

 

I bet that many tifosi wouldn't be interested in endurance racing. F1 is Ferrari's mainstay nowadays. They should concentrate on winning in F1 instead as that is the pinnacle of motor racing!

 

Is anybody really really interested in endurance racing? Of course we are, but I mean, normal people, not car nuts.

I bet Audi has to spend as much in advertising as in the cars to let people know they´ve won at Le Mans.

 

Indeed.

 

You'll be relieved to know that Ferrari has an active racing program and is not content to rest on its laurels. They also support gentlemen racers through the Challenge program as well as other events and race series.

 

Consumers pay more for their cars,watches,clothes, etc base on their perception of the brand image/positioning. In the performance car market, Ferrari is top dog. This brand image took them a while to get to. It comes from it's racing heritage, great cars over the years, etc. One of this etc is also it's ability to post fast ring time. To continue to enjoy this image, ferrari has to win F1 races,continue to produce great cars and post the fastest ring time in the category the car is in. Over time if they don't continue to do the above, they will lose out. Ferrari is not taking McLaren for granted. They are very wary about McLaren and probably more then any other brand. A perfect example is Sony, the top dog of the electronics world, today it is playing second fiddle to Samsung. Can anyone imagine this 10 years ago. NO. What was Red Bull 10 years ago in F1. NOTHING. It's top dog in F1 now. If P1 post a faster ring time, it's not the end of Ferrari, it's another step forward for McLaren. It's bragging rights to McLaren that it beat THE Ferrari. Trust me, that is the last thing the guys at Ferrari need and will be a big step forward for McLaren. The market just got more crowded and at a very difficult economic time. Otherwise Ferrari will be selling 10,000 cars and it will still be very exclusive with at least a one plus year wait list for models like 458/F12. The world is changing and Ferrari know it. While this is a Ferrari forum, and there will be many die hard supporters here, but it is not wise to blindly support Ferrari and ignore the competition. I hope Ferrari does not go the route of Sony. I love the cars it makes but I am also open enough to enjoy and buy cars that it's competitors like Lambo or McLaren. Its a changing world and it's tough to keep being the top dog.

 

Apples to oranges. An ACR was never a competitor due to price, just like a Corvette wasn't, or a GTR.

The 12C and Gallardo are direct competitors, as might be the next R8, and the upcoming mid-engine Porsche. Price makes a big difference because that alone can create exclusivity. The other cars aren't really exotic looking enough either in the eyes of the general public imo.

 

And Porsche wins! Everything would then be okay again...