Prospective Owner question

How do you plan on driving it? Cruising around? Track days? Looking at it in your garage?

 

Modern Ferrari's are very versatile and drivable cars. Using one as a daily driver is entirely doable.

I'd say pick whichever one seems most exciting to you at this point in your life. Since you've already had a bunch of Porsches, maybe try a Ferrari?

I love Ferrari's and Porsches. I'm a vintage guy 99% of the time, but if I were to buy a new car between the two it would be a Ferrari.

 

I've owned a few Ferraris, and spend most of my time looking at them in the garage. Is there a particular model you could suggest that would be best?

 

Because I know you're cheep, I suggest cutting a picture out of a magazine and gluing it on some cardboard.

Actually, if you just want one to look at and it doesn't have to actually run, I'd suggest a beater 308. Slap a paint job on it and enjoy.

 

That's a good idea. I have a picture from Symbolic I took many years ago when they had two 250 LM's sitting there. Of course that was before the very pretty but also very snotty young receptionist would not unlock the rest room for me so I pissed out in the parking lot. Can you send me some cardboard.

 

Damn, next thing you know, you're gonna ask for glue.

 

Duhhhhh............I do have Flour for Christ sake.

 

Back to the OP's question. Frankly, anything a Ferrari can do, a comparable Porsche can do better. The only exception might be a F550. I dunno of any car that has a big gated shifter like a Maranello and a front engine V12.

Bottom line, the only reason to buy a Ferrari is because you want to and you can. For me, the line in the sand is the F360. This is the first modern Ferrari owners actually drove. We're now seeing F360s with over 100,000 miles, which is something that never used to happen. So if you want "old school," start working backwards with the F355. Just make sure you understand what "old school" means, i.e., be prepared to write checks if you drive the car. Granted, even newer Ferraris can have this "throwing dollars out the window as you drive" problem, but less so.

If I was in the market, and I'm not, I'd pay close attention to the F599. I don't care for the looks, but it may be the last front-engined V12, and it is still depreciating. I'd also look for a stick.

Finally, make sure you sit in a specific model before buying. The "old school" Ferrari owner is short waisted with long arms. At 6'2", long waisted, short arms (I was a lousy boxer), and I like to sit straight up, I don't fit in any of the eight cylinder cars before the F360. I never had a problem fitting into any Porsche, including a 365. YMMV.

 

I chose Cali T, mine is a 17 with HS. Not missing my 991tts at all and I owned it for 2 1/2 years, tracked it, took it to the drag strip, modded it and had all kinds of fun with it but the Ferrari is so much better to drive and it's a good looking convertible which the 911 cab isn't.

If you want a 10.5s 1/4 car then the 991.2 is for you but if you want something that sounds really good, has a lot of torque and corners fantastic, the Ferrari is it. I think the Ferrari will handle way better at COTA than the 991 but I passed on taking it to the dealer event since mine was only two weeks old at the time.

Both cars are great but I do like my Cali better than my Porsche. I was told on 6speed that only retired ladies drive Californias in SoCal.
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I dunno. That turbo looks pretty sweet! What year was that?

 

As a 2013 California owner who has owned numerous 911 (even an 87 930) and test drove a couple of Turbo S cabs (and a 2017 Turbo just Saturday) it depends on how you want to use the car. The Porsche is, without question, the "better" car going by the numbers -- power, acceleration, on the track (AWD). It's is also pretty much bulletproof, as referenced by that Motor Trend video where they did launch control starts 50 times in a row on a runaway and it did not blink or break a sweat. He even launched it without holding the wheel and it went straight as an arrow every time.

However, even after driving the 2017 Turbo on Saturday I got back in my own California 30 and had a bigger grin driving it (I took the same route) for all the things that make a Ferrari more of a special occasion to drive ... the sound, the feel, the aesthetics ... the sound ... did I mention the sound? Even though the Turbo was significantly faster than my 2013 Cali, the Cali is fast enough for the street and the experience driving it is much more engaging. The Turbo is so powerful and so complacent and so easy to drive and, unfortunately, so quiet that it's not as much fun. It's clinical. Yes, you can beat that sports bike off the line at the light. On the track, Turbo, no question. Staying "under the radar" so you're not noticed as much? Turbo. Want your pulse to quicken and have it be an event every time you hit the start button and it snarls into life when you take the car out? Ferrari.

I think those Rennlist guys who like to say that Ferraris are unreliable and too expensive to service (and that the California is a hairdresser's car) secretly wish they could own one and would probably run through six lanes of traffic just to sit in a California. Most reasonable 911 guys (like myself) have always admired Ferraris, just as most Ferrari guys have a healthy respect and admiration for Porsches.

 

It's a 2014, I got a great deal on it in August 2014. It was a launch car and only 9 months old with 3k on the odo. I got it for 157k and it had a 192k sticker. That is the car I was driving in the Youtube I posted in the track section. I have a whole channel full of videos in that car. It is/was a sweet car, no doubt.

 

The rear end has a Lotus look to it and matches the front. I like women and cars with curves.

 

If I had just one car and one car alone.. it would be a 991 turbo, but with a stick.

Cali's are nice and all.. but if it were my choice it would be a 991 turbo personally. If a 991 turbo or a 458, I'd do the 458.

 

That would make it more exciting ... but unfortunately the 991 Turbo is PDK or nothing.

True, however, that the 991 Turbos should be more closely compared to the 458 and 488.

 

You want a stick you have to get the GT4 or the new 2018 GT3. No 991 turbos with a stick, only PDK but I don't think a turbo would be any fun with a stick either. Way too powerful. I saw a GT4 at my last COTA event and the plate was LOL PDK.

 

Drive both, whichever ever car puts the biggest smile on your face, buy it.

 

The 991.2 Turbo is better in lots of subtle ways, none of them to do with speed, than the 991.1 Turbo. It's a great car. (I speak as the owner of Ferraris.)
I'd take the Cali T over it for just one reason, it's a convertible. (911 Cabrios don't do it for me.)
If that doesn't matter, or if practicality as a daily driver, still better in the 911, matters a lot, then go for the Porsche.
And if practicality doesn't matter so much, go for a 458 Spider with factory warranty.

 

The 458 or 488 is more sporty. I don't think the Cali would do it for you so I would get a porsche.

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Where'd the OP go?

 

Unless your wife will never share, you already have a 911. Get the Ferrari. (You'll probably end up driving the Porsche that way anyway.)

 

I had one of the first PDK models in a Cayman in 2009. There's absolutely no question this is the why to go for the track. In fact, don't fool around with the paddles, just drive. The car is a LOT faster than you. It is also really cool when you figure out how to downshift using the throttle. For the street, though, I still like to shift. There's something about making a smooth as butter shift that is so satisfying. So if I was going to buy a Porsche, I'm guessing the Carrera S would be the way to go. This is also my personal problem with a newer Ferrari. Is the F599 the last car with a stick? If so, I'm guessing this is the end of the road for me as far as possibilities go.

 

Best advice! [emoji3] I own both, I love both. 911 and Cali are so different, you need to drive them both. Then decide. In my case, they're different enough that one makes me appreciate the other. Better yet, find good used ones, which are abundant, and buy both. Cali 30 and 997.2 are sweet spot in terms of price to performance ratio. Modern enough not to be annoying and safe, old enough to be engaging and fun. Get a stick on the Porsche, F1 on the Cali (manuals are unicorns).
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