488 Pista - qualifying demands

Isn’t ‘soul’ in relation to motor cars that little something that turns the driving experience into more than the sum of its parts? It’s when you feel that the car is ‘talking’ back to you and suddenly takes on its own personality, interacting with yours? It is easy to see why cars that sound amazing are thought to have this ‘soul’, but it is not only about sound. The F40’s sound was not like the F50’s, yet it was the later car that was initially thought to provide the lesser, you might say more soulless, experience for the driver. So it cannot be just sound.

It can’t be just appearance either. Not every beautiful car was great to drive - a number of Jags spring to mind here but also a number of Lamborghinis too. Even Astons, beautiful cars almost to a one, but mostly brutal and unresponsive things (ok, in context). And yet many 911s have soul, and I personally quite like the way they look but many deride its appearance as akin to a Beetle.

The Senna shows that it isn’t simply grip and handling either.

I don’t believe anyone can definitively say a 458 has soul because it looks good and sounds good, and the 488 doesn’t because it doesn’t. Firstly those are both subjective elements - most would say the 458 sounds better but in my view it’s marginal and with my Speciale there is even less difference - and the 458 sounds nowhere near as good as a 355, which also looks fantastic (to mine and most eyes I would wager). So does the 458 have a bit of soul and the 355 have more?

The obvious answer is no! I believe soul is the compilation of all those elements - sound, appearance, performance and handling - in addition to the mood a car catches you in at a particular period in your life and further influenced by the little intimate details, good and bad, that mean it still depends on you to be patient with it so that it can reward you. A friend of mine loves pre-war vintage cars. He has also had later cars; 911s, Ferraris, Astons. He loved owning them, but to him they didn’t have soul, at least not in the same way a Bentley 8 or a Fraser Nash does. They break down all the time, sometimes in horrible circumstances such as when his Bentley was due to take part in the Le Mans driver’s parade yet it ended up in some cheap hotel car park for the weekend with oil underneath and about three teeth left intact in the transmission! Did he still think the car had soul? Even more than before...!

It’s totally personal and unquantifiable. I did two long trips this year, one in my Speciale and one in my 488. For the first time, I probably enjoyed driving the 488, over those particular roads, on those particular days, more than the Speciale. Don’t get me wrong, the Speciale is my favourite ever car. But I just cannot see how that 488, that took us all around the Alps, engine screaming, pushing two people firmly in the back, flinging us up the road at high speed, with faithful and wonderful handling, forging smiles on my face (but not so much on my wife’s) has no soul.

 

Next year I believe will be a good time for buyers not so much for most cars. Lots of product out there and few buyers. Mnfrs are building too fast trying to make numbers.

 

It has soul if you would like it to. I made this point many moons ago, it's all personal and subjective. To each his own. Don't worry people will argue this as well.

 

A car with "soul" makes you adapt to her.
Simple.
You love her; triumphs and faults alike.

 

Finally some objective commentary....

 

“a 458 has soul because it looks good and sounds good, and the 488 doesn’t because it doesn’t. “

 

Nonsense. 488 sounds just fine and drives even better.

 

Just quoting someone. Car drives great and sounds decent.

 

Just get a phone call from the dealer saying that finally i could get a spot for a Pista even if i already have a pista aperta on order.
Was told no 6 months ago when i asked for one.
FYI i had a Lusso that i just sold and have a portofino on order.

 

All I know is when I drive these cars it refills my soul.

Carry on.

 

But not the 488!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

How much did you lose on the Lusso?

 

The 488 is a better car in nearly EVERY measurable metric.

I'd further add that most 488 critics have never been in one nor properly driven one. Actually most have never been in any Ferrari for that matter. A bunch of closet YouTube reviewers....

 

i spent all the time i needed in a 488, and Caeruleus11 can vouch for it!

 

Sure but looks and sound are subjective matters. The 488 scope of performance vs. the 458 is measurable. The 488 is just a better performer in every measurable metric.

 

Kind of like 720s comparison to 488.

 

Yes but in that scenario, you would have to want a McLaren more than a Ferrari.

 

All I know is that the 488 has to be better than the 458 because in Chinese the “488” is a luckier number than “458”.

 

Its a higher number too. Higher number = better.

 

Except the 488 retains the character of a Ferrari, whereas the 720 has the character of McLaren, people tend to prefer one or the other.

 

Serious money BUT i doubled down on selling my speciale aperta and a lot more on the f12 tdf.

I play their game buying almost every new model, enjoying them but driving ferraris for free ( even making money) buy buying and selling rare models for a fortune.
As somebody said i am not making the game but playing it.

 

This is very hard to believe, as my dealer will only buy back LE cars at MSRP. So even having a Speciale Aperta only yields MSRP, sell it yourself on the secondary market and they'll pass you up next time.

Is this true for others as well?

 

No thats not true. They will pay more than msrp if for a laferrari or tdf if they can sell it for a profit

And if you keep an LE past the required holding period you can sell to someone on another planet if u want


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

It's a way for them to make sure you don't side step them on the sale. They really just want you to consign with them and they take their commission off the sale.

Now; if you sell it outside of your dealer during the holding period then they might come after you for the amount that you sold it for above MSRP.

Sell it outside the dealer after the holding period then it may be more difficult for you to get future in demand cars.