I looked around Ferrarichat and could not find a good answer. When did Shields become a must option on the car?
Ironically on the new Roma you can't even order shields. Shields were a marketing gimmick from Luca De Montezemolo and started it in the early 2000's. And, it probably brought in millions of extra $$$ for selling $1800 shields that costed $10.
Luca is a smart guy.. but if you really want to look like you know the secret handshake, order the hand painted shields - about 5k per side (must buy 2) .. They don’t deboss the fender like the standard scud-shields, so the car’s natural lines remain intact. Hand painted shields are slightly bigger, so they really look the business on larger road cars like the sf90 and 812. Order the way Enzo himself would. You won’t miss the 10k and you’ll earn the unstinting respect of those in the secret club of hand painted shield ballers and tastemakers Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Any car where there was a factory option for them....as dumb as it may sound, I bet if you polled a group of prospective buyers on what is the single must have option, I bet shields and red paint finish 1 and 2.
That's a rather gross generalization. When I was looking for my 360, I had shields and rosso corsa on the list until I was presented with my car. It didn't have shields. It wasn't red. I bought it anyway. A serious buyer will consider the car as a whole and not write one off because it's missing a non-functional trinket. One does not drive a shield. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes you can but it seems like most ordering the Roma are not. That's a new trend because its been the opposite.
I prefer Roma's without the shields but still, a number of our customers are ordering their Roma with Shields - I would guess at least 60-70%. The majority of early Roma's that have delivered in the US have been Demos. Dealers tended to not go with shields following Ferrari's launch of the Roma without Shields. You will start seeing a lot more customer Roma's moving forward and expect to see a lot more shields on Roma's for better or for worse.
We just took in a 458 Italia on trade with no shields, and I think it looks really good without them too. Image Unavailable, Please Login
IMHO, the farther a Ferrari is from a race car, the less appropriate it is to have shields. I've had two with stick-on shields, but both were race cars with substantial racing livery, so it made sense- at least to me. Frankly, the shields seem particularly out of place on the many GT cars- as opposed to sports cars- that Ferrari builds these days. They're barely Ferraris, much less race cars, so shields smack of poseur-ism (if that's a word!) to me.
From the Roma thread, no shields seems to be more popular in Europe than the US delivered cars, although the latter are few thus far. Wow. That must be rare for a mid-engine V8! I had mine covered over, and combined with the low key color, the # of people who recognize it as a Ferrari has dwindled down greatly, which is fine by me. I agree w/ the comment that if you are going for the shields, go for the larger painted ones. I saw my first F-car last week in the metal w/ the painted shields (812 SF) and it was sharp looking; good fit to the large flanks of a car like the 812 IMO...T
I love the shields. It’s a Ferrari after all. However i would never get those on a classic Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You are a definate outlier, not getting either option. No, most serious buyers seem to be attracted to those 2 options like a moth to flame. Things like "resale red" and aftermarket shields being available and popular prove my point. There are so many Ferraris of most models available at any one time (there were like 16,000 360s produced) that buyers can easily skip over the non-red, non-shield cars. When I was shopping for my Lamborghini Diablo Roadster there was only 142 world wide so it took a while to find one in a desirable color.....and thank goodness ALL of them have shields And even you had both on your list....
I ordered my Roma without them. The car has such clean, classical lines I think shields would detract from the car aesthetically. I do like them on my Scud.
They were on the "want" list, not "must have". For me, the only "must haves" were gated and condition.
I like the look of the shields on race/track focused Fcars like the Scuderia, Speciale,and Pista. Beautiful GT's like the 812 and Roma look better without.
While my car has them from the factory, I consider the shields to be tacky and downright ostentatious. Almost as bad as having a license plate frame that says "My other car is a ________."