first Ferarri ... A 575M, a 612, or a 360 modena

I would recommend you the 575. Great GT with a lot of potentials.

 

How bout' starting with what you want out of the car. If you just want "a Ferrari" then why not get a mondial or 348 and save yourself $50-60k. That you have all these cars that are so different in their character with no indication WHY you want these cars makes me wonder.

Do you want a sporty little coupe? A refined GT cruiser? A sporty 2+2? This will determine which of the above listed meets your wants. If this were a BMW lineup.. it might be do you want a Z4, a M6 or a 5-series GT. Each car offers a different driving experience. What cars did you like before?

 

575M

 

Nothing wrong with an F1. Don't know where you got that, assume you mean early F1's, but still not a bad thing. The 612 is the value of the three, and the most useful. The 360 will get you more attention, a lot more. A lot of personal preference in this. Do you want a mid-rear? Do you want a v12? Do you want a back seat? Do you like attention ALL the time or just some of the time? If you lean 575 and really want a stick, look at 550's, too. Nothing wrong with F1's. Clutches go a little faster in earlier F1's, but these cars are pretty much fully depreciated. The savings in property tax alone will more than pay for the extra clutch wear.

 

You have 3 totally different cars to chose from. It will depend on the way you would like to use it and how many seats you will need.

 

Yes.

I have (2) 456 = 2+2 cars. About equal to the 612.

I also have an F-1 575M.

I prefer the V-12 for traditional and "audio" reasons.

I'd go for the 575 as being the greatest "Ferrari experience."

My $0.02

 

The 360 doesn't have alot of low end torque. It's designed for the higher RPM ranges... its a different driving experience. Totally different than the V-12 Ferrari..

I hope you experience them and share that experience with us. BTW.. go for gated if you can find one.. Soooo worth it.

 

Yes, of course you should drive something that costs $70-100k before deciding to buy one.

I would not place any of these cars in the sentence from your quote...the 360 is obviously the closed to "extremely well handling". But that is relative...so we have no idea what your standard is...

The 360 is a relatively small, agile mid engine sports car with a small v8 that loves to rev and sounds great, but has relatively little low end torque.

The 612 is a fairly large v12 GT 2+2.

The 575 is a smaller v12 GT two seater.

Apple, orange, and pear is what you proposed there.

Getting a gated manual 360 is doable, will take some looking. Gated 550 will substitute nicely for a 575 if you really want to row your own.

I think we are all suggesting a more detailed "list" of your criteria of what you want in this car and rank those attributes. That will lead you to a choice...

 

360 and F430 are going to get you constant attention. Constant. They're also not going to feel a thing like what you're used to, no torque. I've had one of each. The v12's are much better around town. Problem with the v8's is you have to generate such RPM's to get going that you can't help but make a ton of noise. Always in the spotlight.

 

Based on your current DD, I'd say the manual 360 would be the best "fun-weekend" car simply because it's going to be quite a different driving experience.

True, as others have mentioned, the 360 doesn't have nearly the torque (nor the horsepower) of the 575, for example, but I think you have to put that in perspective.

The 360 is significantly lighter than the 575 and the 0 to 60 times for the two cars are essentially identical. And while the V-8 in the 360 is wonderful at high RPM, it's quite happy way down in the rev range. This is contrary to others have posted but if you're in a situation where you must be stealthy, or at least not piss everyone off, it's easy to do. It may not pull stumps at low rpm, but it's very smooth and you can certainly putt putt along in traffic in a relatively high gear at low rpm without fear of being run over from behind when you accelerate. In other words, you need not rev the guts out of the engine to be happy although when the mood strikes, the engine is more than willing.

It certainly is a great looking car and there's no hiding that, so expect people to look. Nobody mistakes it for anything other than a Ferrari but there is no need to act like a fool just to keep up with traffic. "No torque" is a comment which is simply not true. Of course, you have to know something about how to use a clutch and throttle together, but if you're an accomplished driver there need be no fuss at all when easing away from a dead stop in a situation when you prefer not to be mistaken for a pimply faced teenager.

For a Ferrari, it's relatively sane when it comes to maintaining it and the price is right at the moment. In addition, you have a choice of a very nice, low mileage, newer one at a higher price or an older, less than perfect, high mileage example for less money. And, as you say, there are plenty to choose from so you are more likely to find a 360 you really like without having to settle for a color your wife hates or having to travel to the other side of the country to find your ideal car.

Full disclosure: I own one and I like it.

 

I have had 5 Ferrari's: 2 ,12's -512 BBi and a Testa, 1, 6(my first Ferrari-246 GT Dino) and 2 8's ( 308 and current 360 F1). All have been sticks with the exception of the 360. My favorites were the 246 and the BBi. I do enjoy the 03 F1 Modena 360 as it is a great car to drive, it sounds great, has plenty of power , it's lines are very nice and I consider it a keeper in my collection.
I almost purchased and unbelievable 575 a number of years ago when we lived in Denver. It is a wonderful car with great lines and plenty of power. It is comfortable,dependable and it's lines are forever a classic in the collecting world. Again certainly nothing wrong with the 550.
I believe any of the 3 choices will make you a happy first time owner.

Docf

 

I have a 612 and a gated 360, and given your above description I would say gated 360 all day long, or try find a gated 430 (the 430 is closing in on 100k). The 612 is a great car, but with a 500 HP 5-series in the garage I think you have that base covered. Only catch is that if you have family they won't all be coming along on the F-ride, which may take some of the fun out of it... To me the 360 is a more true, hardcore, sports car (by design) than the 612 (or the 575), and it shows in the driving experience. Try see if you can find somewhere to drive them all. I think that will make up your mind.
Jes

 

Some of my most vivid memories of my 360 are disappointment over the lack of passing power sans double downshift and the engine screaming. Beautiful sound, but. DD needs low end torque.

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Love your choice between 575 and 360. I am a big fan of the gated manual cars so the 550 is also high on my list of favs. If you didn't have that M5 I it would be harder for me to choose. I think the 360 is the more radical departure so I would say that should be the focus but they are both so awesome. If you could drive both I think the choice would be self evident for you. Looking forward to any reports on your journey!

 

While there might be a 430 near $100k (cars.com is your friend here btw), it will be relatively higher mileage, early year and perhaps accident history. A good one, especially a gated one, will be $120k to $150k.

 

Again, you are getting comments about lack of torque for daily driver needs...telling us about your intended usage and criteria would get more relevant replies.

 

360 is a silly car to DD IMHO for all of the obvious and often stated reasons. Doesn't mean it can't do many of the DD tasks (like get you to work) but it isn't ideal for it....

I mean why not ding it for not being a hatch back with loads of storage rooms and space for the soccer team?

It's a two seat mid engine high rev v8 sports car. It wasn't designed for grocery getter or any other DD chores and thus wont measure up well on those.

Dinging the 360 for lack of DD capability is like saying your pitching wedge doesn't hit it far enough to be a good driver.

Snapping off two down shifts and screaming to redline is a large portion of the fun in owning a 360. If that disappoints, you are right...it ain't the car for you

 

If you could find a late model 550 Maranello with a stick, now we're talking.

 

something tells me you could count on finding a gated one

 

Well, he said he was coming out of a BMW, so I assume he's going to expect it to perform the same functions.

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Here's my two cents -

One cent, do A LOT more reading of threads on this forum and the model specific forums. You don't even know what you don't know.

Second cent, old saying - "The question is not whether you can afford to buy a Ferrari, the question is whether you can afford to maintain a Ferrari".

Be careful you don't over extend yourself.

 

Stock from the brochure.
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