Correct, except the cost of their options are a fraction of ours.....and if you look at the 911 Turbo S you will find it's pretty loaded from factory, or at least the CH cars are...
On the F12 there is a little button in the door panel to open the fuel door. Not so in the 812 SF. No button anymore. All one has to do is push the fuel door with the finger and it will open up. Which means that the entire mechanism from driver's door to right rear (fuel door) is no longer needed. Production costs saved. Air vents in the dashboard are definitely cheaper, poorer material, haptic is very lousy (surface feel) and yes, there is one less now, four instead of five (as in the F12). More production costs saved. Bean counters.......... Marcel Massini
I never had an issue with the fuel door button on my F12. However, I have had several times the situation where the entire rear deck lid could no longer be opened, which is not convenient when you try to unplug the battery tender. Marcel Massini
It's also easier that way. There is no need for a dedicated button when you can just push the cap open. It also locks when the doors lock. I have this system on some of my cars and it's better/easier than the button I have on some others. The worst are a Ford and a Land Rover that have a lock that requires the car key! Crazy!
I have that issue with rear boot lid after car sits for a long time on tender....after pushing down on the boot lid and pressing the key button simultaneously it pops open....ghosts I guess...
You are not alone. There is way too much plastic everywhere (even black styrofoam on bottom of A-pillar near hood). I spent many many hours touching, feeling, looking, smelling at every little detail. All very cheap, a shame. Even when considering that the two Geneva Motor Show cars (real pre-production prototypes) have been much abused by approximately 10'000 asses during the last two weeks, the red car has now massive dents on the front lid (looks like after a hail storm!), from opening and closing (pushing) a hundred thousand times. I personally hope that production cars will have much higher build quality and materials used. I am somehow under the impression that everything was assembled quick quick quick for the GVA show, under massive time pressure and in a big hurry. Let's see how quality and materials of the brand new California will be at the September 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. Marcel Massini
Anyone crystal clear re LHD and RHD client car deliveries. Is Q1 for RHD realistic, not if GTC is yard stick ?
It is if the build dates are correct and not delayed. I was offered a November build for NZ which, would be an early 18 delivery given holidays and shipping distance.
Couple of observations re materials: 1) manufacturers are increasingly using rapid prototyping techniques to speed up the builds and cut costs, e.g metal powder 3D printing that gives plastic with a metallic look. I was recently invited to try out an airline's new premium cabin and was shocked by the plastic everywhere including wood effect, metal effect etc. All 3D printed in no time to allow different configurations to be trialed. Production cabins will end up with traditional materials. It would not be surprising to see production cars with standard materials with a higher perceived quality. 2) Auto carbonfibre prices are coming down with better production techniques and volume from the $90/kg area towards $30. For non structural parts like interiors even more so. All the CF interiors we drool over today will be tomorrow's Bakelite - nostalgia inducing, yes, but premium material, no. A high quality hand crafted leather interior will continue to remain so.
I spend to much time here chatting with Gentlemen from London. In the same time I turned 36 years old. Yesterday I was a young parisian gangsta, the spirit full of agressive combos and yellow calipers. The fact is that I am officially an old fart, it can be seen in my combo if I had to spec a 812. I suspect traveller to have been invovlved in the Configurator process because it makes the black tdf wheels look really awful, like black holes litteraly...
My exterior config if I were to order. Basically every CF option in and out...This color is suppose to be GT. Of course the configurator is not even close when it comes to shades of grey. In the end I would have to trade in the F12B. Not going to happen. I simply prefer it to the 812 both inside and out. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Funny to read that, it has to be so true... I never thought of it with your perspective but the fact is I already don't give a **** about decorative CF.
I'm of course a big fan of Ferrari, and they've been a leader in dual clutch transmissions no doubt, but I wonder if in 2017 they really do have "the best"? My most current F car is the F12b delivered in mid-2015. And while the DCT on that car is really, really good, the PDK on the 2016 911 GT3RS is noticeably better (faster, smoother, more consistent and decisive shifts - its really insanely good). Of course, the Porsche transmission is coping with only a 500hp engine, so it's not apples to oranges - but still. I'd be curious to hear from TDF folks about whether Ferrari DCTs post-dating my F12 have improved.