I posted this on the 458 section, but it is a very general Ferrari topic as well, so I thought I would post it here as well. I am currently going through the exciting process of building my 458 Italia with the dealer, and I was hoping to get input on the following: - I want to have THE classic Ferrari color combination (I know some may consider it boring, but I am very traditional). I am assuming the following fits that description, but I wanted your opinion (most importantly related to the leather carpet combo): - Rosso Corsa - Beige interior - Castoro carpets I believe the above combination is the way to go, but I wanted to know opinions of cuoio leather and carpets, in place of beige leather and castoro carpets. Which is considered the traditional and true "classic Ferrari look". Is anyone on here an authority, or does anyone know an expert that can tell me conclusively which combination I am seeking? Thank you.
If you're simply worried about what a "typical" Ferrari looks like, you also have to take into consideration the country you're dealing with. I prefer black interiors. Harder to come by in American models, pretty damn easy on the European ones. What are you concerned with what everyone else has? Resale? "Fitting-In"? I like Rosso / Black and Blue / Crema (Black too). It makes it harder for me to find an American car on the used market, but they're definitely out there.
Thanks for your response. My concern has nothing to do with resale, or "fitting-in". I already know I am getting red/tan. My question is - what specific colors that are offered by Ferrari, if any, are generally accecpted as "the classic Ferrari red/tan look". Rosso Corsa is a given. As for leather, beige or cuoio? Carpets, castoro or cuoio? Obviously, it is all my choice, but I wanted to see if there is a generally accepted standard for that Ferrari classic look we are all familiar with. Thank you.
Other things you'll need to consider in trying to achieve the most classic look: - color of the brake calipers (this has a significant effect on the car's overall look, IMHO) - SF shields or not on the front fenders - carbon fiber trim pieces - color of the center wheel caps (I see more and more newer cars using colors other than the typical yellow). - color of the tach on the dash .
Thanks you. I plan on going with rosso corsa calipers, shields, full carbon interior, except the door panel, standard yellow wheel caps and a yellow tach. Just want to get the leather and carpet choices down. Thanks again.
Actually the most classic Ferrari was first based in the race cars, which was red/blk.....if you look today, even the f1 cars still carry red with blk interior.
good point. it seems as a rule: US: rosso corsa, beige, beige carpet UK: rosso corsa, crema, red carpet Europe: rosso corsa, black, black carpet not sure what, if any, trends there are in Asia, South America, etc.
My '83 euro 308 is Rossa Corsa with beige seats and center console but black carpets and dash. The doors panels are tan leather uppers with lower black,carpeting. I recently say a 458 specked this way and it was beautiful. Very classic. The tan leather had black stitching to match the carpet.
Given my taste and my desire for the most traditional Ferrari look, I am leaning towards rosso corsa, beige leather, castoro carpets, full black dash (upper and lower). Also, full carbon fiber accents throughout.
Since my car has almost those exact specs, I heartily support your choices! The only difference would be my dash is black upper, beige lower, and I have Daytona seats. It is no coincidence that rosso corsa translates from italian to English as "racing red". In my neck of the woods, it's also called "resale red". With a piece of automotive artistry such as a Ferrari, you should get the color that you love no matter what others might say. For me, as I've told a few folks, I would never have another car in red, but had to have rosso corsa for my first Ferrari...
I have beige leather all around, and beige carpet to match the seats, but am strongly considering an aftermarket set of mats in a darker tone (perhaps black) to hide the scuffs and marks I get on the lighter color. If I were to order a new car (now that I have a rosso corsa one), I'd look at Rosso Fiorano ext/Cuoio int with matching carpet in Cuoio (if it was a California the new Rosso California is also a beautiful color, so that would be in the hunt). It would have enough of that "traditional" Ferrari red, and the Cuoio, to me, is a great natural leather shade.
I personally love the rosso corsa with beige but prefer cuoio with daytona seats .. personally like black carpets much more this this combination especially if you are doing carbon fiber and black dash it really pops.... regarding which is the classic I would bet beige vs Coiuo is more the classic now a lot of the beige interior cars have black carpets.. no wrong choice in your list. either color must have the daytona seats to be classic .. on a 458 consider the diamond tufted ceiling which is available ... very classic ... look at all the old ferraris evan some 250s with diamond work
I really prefer the rosso corsa with black seats / red piping / yellow calipers... For a little glitz try Daytona seats with red belt inserts .... I'm now looking for a 599 in tdf blue with culio ! Anyone out there looking to sell ?
Here's my take; whether classic or not I gave it a lot of thought. My 328's original interior was the usual tan/brown carpet, light tan (beige) seats, door panels, and center console, beige textured cloth rear "shelf" area at rear window including targa headliner, and black vinyl dash, and door handle dash extensions. The tan leather on the flat switch panel (the part with cutouts for the switches) on the console had shrunk away from the large rear switch, leaving a very visible gap, so needed to be replaced entirely. The beige cloth at the rear window was soiled, and also needed to be replaced. The forward part of the console (near the pedals) was somewhat damaged, so needed to be either repaired or replaced. I finally decided to keep the leather on the forward part of the console (no switches) and instead repair the scuffed leather and dye it black. I decided to replace the tan leather of the console switch area (with the locking cubby), which was heavily scratched on the sides and could not be repaired, as well as the tan cloth at the rear window with black vinyl, to match the texture of the black vinyl dashboard. That material coat $12 per yard, so I got 3 yards. I also decided to dye the tan armrests black, as well as the forward part of the console (the part with the stainless steel kickplate and pocket on the passenger side). Personally I think that although it's practical, an all-black interior is boring. Too much like so many Porsches. Also, in an open car in the Summer, black seats get very, very hot, so I chose a darker tan leather for the new seats I made to fit me (notice that they go all the way back to the rear bulkhead, but "skip" over the crossmember at the back). To carry the tan color to some of the rest of the car I dyed the light tan upper part of the door panels to match the new seat leather, but inserted a piece of black vinyl behind the extendable door panel pockets, something the factory didn't do with the tan/black door panel combination. If you look carefully at the factory version of that color combination you can see that the tan extends behind the black door pockets, which I didn't really care for. Lastly, the carpets: red is not a common color in US cars, but it is in Europe, at least on red cars. To me it makes the interior "pop"; so so it doesn't feel like you're driving around in a coal mine or something. Anyway I dislike the more typical tan/brown carpets, and didn't want black, so there. The photos: the first one is a stock '88 328, so you can see that the interior uses a not-dissimilar suite of colors as those I chose, though my version of "tan" is a bit darker. I used leather from Douglass Interior Products near Seattle, by the way. The 55 square foot hide cost about $400. The dyes- spray and hand mixed- coat under $100, total. The second photo is of my car when finished, showing the combination mentioned above. I might also mention that the center stoplight above the rear window has a cloth-covered fiberglass cover, which blocks even more of the rearward vision than the light itself, so I simply got rid of it, leaving only the black stoplight itself. After re-covering the upper trim panel in black vinyl, it is tight enough around the stoplight housing that no filling in was necessary. It makes a noticeable improvement in rearward vision at the center of the windows, which is where one is generally looking in the mirror. Why the factory chose to have such a rearward-vision robbing cover is beyond me. So there you have it, lots of ways to go, aren't there? Not everyone will like every possible combination, of course, but personally I see no reason to be limited to every detail the factory chose. I especially prefer that the console match the switches, so they don't stand out so much; I also really despise the fabric they used on the rear window area and headliner. It matches nothing else, either in color, texture or material; of course. To me using black on the rear window area makes sense, and the black console visually ties the front and (now black) rear areas together. And, the black vinyl is MUCH easier to keep clean. Try cleaning soiled tan cloth, especially heavily textured cloth that collects dust, dirt and so on. Especially after nearly 30 years! Have fun choosing... Cheers, Rich Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks for the post. I think your car is great. The most important things is that you like it. Personally, I'm very dedicated to Ferrari purity, and stick to only stock elements. Same is true for my color choices. I think it's great that you see so much custom variety ordered from the factory on today's contemporary cars. Still, I'm probably guilty of being a bit boring in my choices, color combinations being one of them.
Hope the pics help. However, it comes down to what color combo and look you want Image Unavailable, Please Login