To what degree is customization frowned upon in the Ferrari community?

A Ferrari is probably the one car I wouldn't modify. I have all my other cars though.

 

Tub it, Mickey Thompson’s and a wing, definitely a wing.

 

As someone that grew up with #8 red horses in the stable including a 250LM & 2-275 GTB (long nose's) a 365 gtc plus a few others....I say leave the originals alone but anything after the F-40 ... widebody it throw gold BBS's on it and have a blast. There are no laws when it comes to the mass PROdoced (15,000 plus). AfAga, do what you want to on anything past the F-40. If you mess with the originals your an idiot! Is

 

When I first came to this board changing wheels was considered taboo, now there is a thread in the 360/430 section about mods to your car. A lot of people tend to put a great deal of thought into what their car will be worth. Personally I could care less and I have said this before, I only care what its worth to me now. Classic example buy brand new Porsche 997S (warranty lasted less than 24 hours) in 2006, drive Porsche to garage take Porsche completely apart and spend a year and a half redesigning it and after everything that was done all in is around 335K, my favorite car, but it is consider a Porsche in name only (to dealers it is a kit car), and worthless to anyone but me. Thirteen years later it is in storage up on the lift, with less than 18K miles, can only be driven it perfect conditions (no traction controls), but those times when I can make me realize I am still alive. Cannot put a price on that. I am putting an exhaust, and a ECU piggy back on the California T while it sits in storage, and it can be controlled by an app so I can determine what the stock setup can handle. I am used to taking expensive cars apart (turning Gallardo and 996tt into RWD), and I built a few Corvettes over the years. I have learned the hard way that the more modern the car the more complicated it is. Pull the seats, your are going pop codes, so you better have someone you knows wiring (and how to reprogram if need be) I don't know how much power the California T can handle (on stock suspension), but I have always believed that everything you do to a car effects more than what you just changed. I like cars that are balanced and that means just going fast in a straight line is never my goal. I have done some crazy things in my day, but mostly because I just wanted to see if it could be done. I guess I have an advantage over most people since I am totally incapable of caring what anyone else thinks. I will say this, it if is your car it should be your car, and if it can never be in stock form then change it. Just realize that you may end up with something worth a whole lot less than you paid (and put into) it.

 

Indeed, Ross is 100% correct. But I think you will limit the numbers interested in your car, when or if you come to sell. Of course, it will sell, but for how much? Moreover, I very much doubt that you will recover the costs of your modifications.

 

One thing I'm 100% in favor of is a quality repaint of a Ferrari in another color. It's your freaking car. If you want to paint it day glow pink, go for it. The factory paint job sucks anyway.

 

Do what you want. I got my 360 with the early 2000s Fast and Furious treatment and couldn't be happier (I was just becoming a teenager in that era). I could turn it back to stock but I like it the way it is. A lot of people make fun of it having a TV in it, but at least I get to enjoy watching a movie in it when it's broken which is often. As long as it isn't rare, go for it. I think everyone would frown upon putting an air ride suspension in a 250...

 

When I first entered the exotic market, I was actually shocked by how prevalent mods are.
I think most of the general public would be surprised at the idea that in some ways, these cars “aren’t good enough” for their owners, as they come from the factory.
In the case of defects such as sticky buttons, or poorly engineered parts, I’m all for mods. But otherwise, I think a “cleaner” OEM look is classier than looking like a tricked out Viper or vette. I could’ve bought one of those if I wanted to.
And I just can’t take any car seriously if it has a massive rear wing.

 

Ready for the Junk Man.

 

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That was one of the first things I did to my Lotus as I didn't think the car looked right with out it! I caught a lot of crap when I did it, mainly from my wife, but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

 

I can’t lie...when I had a c3 vette I also put a big ass spoiler on the back...but I was maybe 22 at the time. And that car was meant to look corny.
If anyone is old enough to have seen the movie Corvette Summer, they’ll know what I mean

 

To the op, just wait for the first service, and see what happens with the warranty. Buying a Ferrari is one thing, and being able to maintain it is completely different. Voiding warranty of a Ferrari is not fun.

If you are obsessed with horse power over other stuff, then I think you may want to reconsider whether Ferrari is for you because it's about balance, elegance and taste, just like a fine watch. You wouldn't paint a new crown color of a watch, would you?

 

Your response is full of wisdoms. Your room of knowledge growth apparently is fixed and your financial ability is unlimited. Why bother to solicit our opinions and what others think of your toy project? It's your money to throw away, right?

By the way, no one is attacking you by stating Ferrari is about elegance and taste. So chill out. You should keep your comments of what you think of Lusso and future SUV to your self because no one is asking about it.

Please post the dyno of your tuned Portofino and how fast it run the drag race. Can't wait.

I am done with this thread. Ciao.

 

With cars like my 328, I've found that the only areas people tend to customize are wheels and exhaust systems, and even then, the wrong wheels can be a mistake. The newer models have a lot of factory optional parts available, and those should be okay, though the wrong combination of parts can be a mistake too. And there are a lot more color options now than there used to be. If you use any aftermarket parts, be sure to keep the originals, and make sure you can put them back on the car if you need to.

Aside from having my wheels painted gold (which pays homage to Ferrari race cars of the past) and an aftermarket cat (which can't be seen except from below the car), the only other part I changed was the gearshift knob (from black plastic to chrome like the newer models) and the gearshift gate (to one of Hill Engineering's slick shift gates). But I still have the original shift knob and gate.

 

Personally, I like the current wide-body trend for late model exotics.

http://libertywalk.co/product/ferrari-488-body-kit-works/
http://www.rarecarsforsaleblog.com/2015/11/04/liberty-walk-widebody-on-a-ferrari-458-italia/



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Looks like somebody got a bag of self tapping screws for Christmas and got drunk in his garage!

Not to my taste at all; but then it’s not my car so who am I to say anything!

Each to his own; but for gods sake leave the classics alone please.

 

The originality of the vintage cars is a must. Never cars which are depreciating anyway can be modified to make the car yours. Ferrari does factory customizing and I think that kind of opened the door.

 

Shotgun - Your original question was basically what does the Ferrari community think of customization? It would seem by most of the responses - not much, unless it is relatively minor. Most Ferrari buyers like the car pretty much as it is designed and built to spend that much on the car to begin with. Even used the Fcars go for relative big numbers if they are in reasonable condition and the second or third owner is usually buying a more or less stock version as that is what appeals to them and what they can afford.

There are a bunch of more plain Jane cars made in volume which are a relative blank canvas to do extensive modifications and you may come out with a real show stopping vehicle. The chances of coming out with a moded Ferrari being a show stopper aren’t high, IMO (check out the ugly Ferrari F12 thread). But if money is no factor, the Ferrari factory does do one off cars which is more likely to be something really special and still be considered a “real’ Ferrari and not a kit car.

As many have said it is your car, your money and your choice to do anything you want. If that is what you want go for it. But then why bother to ask a question which you really don’t care about the answer?

 

I would think the lighter touch the better. Why change the paint color when you can order hundreds of different colors (I once saw a Ferrari color paint chart which was over whelming) or paint to suit. Same is partly true of the seats several options usually. Not sure about the wheels but keep the original wheels in any event you may get tired of the custom wheels.

I was lucky I got my car second hand but it has all the options and pretty much the exterior color and interior I would have ordered – that said it took me 18 months of looking to find the exact car.

 

I doubt there is anyone on here that has owned as many cars as I have, and even less likely that anyone has redesigned (as I like to call it) as many cars as I have. Oh the final bit of that is that I doubt anyone has lost as much money as I have doing it all. I remember being asked why did you buy a Gallardo if you could not stand the way it drove. My answer was because I was pretty (that is when you start down that road that could end up costing more than the car) sure I could make it a better car, and I did. I tried to do that to a 07 M6 and after about 32K I realized you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig. Just one example of one success and one failure both costly, one brought a smile to my face the other did not. There are a lot of reasons I have told people maybe a Ferrari is not the right car for you, but what you want to do is not one of them. I leave you with this though, you may end up with a car that would have the same appeal as a salvaged titled one, and whatever money you spend you will never see again.