Personnally (not that my opinion would be of any value) I really cannot understand converting a 575 F1 to manual. The price for an original manual 575 is only justified by its rarity, otherwise it has no real reason to be significantly more expensive than a 550 - it's faster and more modern, but considering how outdated both cars are now the differences are marginal. A converted car becomes not original, so I don't see how it could be valued more than the addition of the cost of an F1 car and the cost of the conversion - minored by the loss of originality. For other cars (360 Modena, F430, 599) there is no alternative to the very rare and very expensive manual cars, so the conversion makes more sense.
Agreed on the price for an original manual 575 is driven by its rarity. Agreed that the conversion of a 575 SHOULD only be the value of the conversion....but....this is the Ferrari world (weird things happen). I've noted I personally prefer the "analogness" of the 550 and the gauges of the 550 vs 575 (with the exception of @tazandjan modification which is the cats pajamas).....but the evolutionary upgrades of the 575 over the 550 generally are great and hard to ignore. When I was hunting I didn't know if I would be able to find one of the "Alicorn" MSW-550's with the evolutionary upgrades already done so finding a "driver 575" and doing the conversion would have been a great 2nd option. If my wife's patience, my already maxed out parking problem with my small collection and of course time....allowed.....I'd find a way to do a 575 conversion with the forthcoming EAG kit. I got an enormous amount of satisfaction building my '69 Meyers Manx in the garage from a bare shortened naked VW pan (with help of course) and that level of "intimateness" is one of the things that so intensely drew me to the concept of acquiring/modifying and then owning something special and unique. On another note....life has been busy and I still intend on doing a quick breakdown of the last Maranello sold a week ago on BaT just haven't had the free time yet to give it the attention it needs. There is a beautiful Rosso Barchetta euro 550 right now that will be interesting to see where it lands. Love this community -- so much fun. Be safe out there and enjoy the weekend.
LV- Note that over 25% of 360s were three pedals, 4745 cars, and there were likely around 2000 three pedal F430s. That is more 3 pedal 360s and F430s than total Maranello production. The post-550 V12 manuals are the rare ones, including the 575M (246), 612 (~200), and 599 (~100). Even rarer were the 9-10 three pedal Californias.
Post 32 https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/yellow-tachometer-the-hard-way.237643/page-2#post-143665207 #AlicornStatus #carporn
Very interesting. I wonder if 430 overlays work on our car. Red and yellow were available, and likely still are
Terry’s tach is a “neck snapper” for me….when I first saw those photos I was….”whoa”!!! His 575 is very close or the top of my own personal 575 list when I was hunting….carbon….Fabio…..wheels….brake upgrade…..#drool….. I’ve said it before as well….I think when his is done at EAG @dhalperin13 will have one of the sexiest (in my opinion).
Drive the paddles, then drive the gated. Some people convert just because they like to row the stick. As far as originality, I think it’s hysterical that people pay millions of dollars for “original” cars, that have hundreds of parts on them that were not on the car when it left the factory. I see “original” Ferrari from the 60s and 70s that have non-original: wheels, tires, brakes, brake lines, shocks, springs, fuel lines, fuel tanks, radiators, glass, tops, carpets, leather, gauge faces, door cards, fenders, bumpers, shall I go on - but they’re still original? What a joke! Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Our Australian friend with the orange 575M has a yellow overlay on his tach that looks very nice. Only difference with mine is the color of the instrument needles. Some of the 360/F430 owners have even painted the tach needle.
Was done before he bought the 575M, but likely a 360, CS, or F430 overlay would fit, with the F430 most like the 575M instrument face.
I have enjoyed doing these BaT auction breakdowns.....and even more so have enjoyed the forum participants thought/commentary......but since this auction ended.....between traveling for work, family and tax time obligations, i've just been too busy to allocate sufficient time so this one is REALLY late. This '99 Argento 550 SOLD 3/24/22 by our friend @2HotShoes at what felt like a reasonable number for all parties given the environment? SOLD for $166,000 on 3/24/22 out of Cary Illinois 1999 550 ZFFZR49A8X0115375 and assembly 32480 +) 51,047 miles (bought by seller in 2015 and he put approx 10k miles on the car) +) Argento Nurburgring over nero with shields and OEM standard wheels +) Tubi exhaust, red calipers, JVC head unit, Immobilizer code sheet; standard seats +) 2021 maintenance included overhauling the steering rack +) belt service June 2018 with a "buy the seller" amazing binder with receipts back to 2000? +) Tires date coded from 2012 -- stickies addressed by prior owner +) noted paint protection film discoloration behind the wheels and driver side wheel paint chip, and what looked like a few small chips on drivers fender. +) I think this car had Dave @ferraridriver "forever fix" sun visors done +) 2016 FCA Ohio region award +) 5 prior owners per carfax +) 115375 +) https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/our-550-photo-gallery-for-the-girls.655261/#post-148372836 +) https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999-ferrari-550-maranello-12/ Looked like a real good/honest presentation. Loved the color combo. Lot to like on this one...again....perhaps a reasonable result given the current market strength. Next one up is a crowd favorite Rosso Barchetta Euro located in California https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-ferrari-550-maranello-19/
Europe is very far from this kind of price - I wonder whether there will be some alignment one direction or the other.
If you are referring to where the Rosso Barchetta is currently at.....compared to European prices.....then I agree with your statement. Things in the US continue to seem very strong. I'm really interested to see where that one 550 lands.....very desirable color.....lots of other "non-traditional-US-Ferrari-buyer" foibles.....but this strong market feels like the perfect time for that seller to bring it to market to maximize his situation. Will be interesting to see what other questions get asked on the auction between now and close.
Yesterday was the aforementioned Rosso Barchetta Euro (non-federalized) 1997 550 on BaT...... Reserve Not Met at $121,000......it had the unique color going for it.....like most Euro models it was very light on options (non-existent?). High/Driver miles, modified, Euro to Japan to Canada to US, registered in South Dakota located in CA. Simsimma is the BaT handle, not sure if that is one of us here or not.... he is familiar in the BaT commentary and I recall several of his historical comments being "value add". To me what smelled weird on this one was the specific lack of info.....no reasonable photos of any issues, no reasonable video, no live "on" shot of the gauges. I have to assume that it had a CEL for suspension (modified) and the receipt for belt service seemed real inexpensive to me ($1,200 labor -- is that enough in SoCal? -- and the parts were "customer supplied")? I didn't want to roast this guy cause it was a super desirable color and the provided photos looked good..... but as you peel back the layers it seems like this was one where he should have let the reserve loose and sold it at the $121k.....BaT is insane....not sure where you sell a car for more? A Euro, non-federalized car with effectively zero history and 53k miles is a tough one? Car had a "Clifford" fob with truck release (nice to have trunk release) but seller said no standard ferrari fob's which I thought was interesting/weird. Would be perfect for those 430-look integrated key/fobs from @gobble RNM for $121,000 on 4/13/22 out of Malibu CA on a South Dakota title. 1997 550 ZFFZR49B000108058 and assembly 24880 +) 85,583 kilometers, AKA 53,178 miles purchased by seller in 2019 (I believe in Canada and then imported to the US in 2022)...wonder if it sat for 2 years? Feels like it was an investment purchase in 2019 at a low price and then waited for the 25 year to bring it to the US? Auction noted seller put 4k miles on it so that had to be during the Canadian holding period? +) Rosso Barchetta over cuoio OEM standard wheels and some noted light leather lifting on dash (from what I saw the seats looked great for 53k miles? +) Aftermarket (un-named mufflers with OEM included in sale), Japanese market/frequency Pioneer head unit, standard seats, looked pretty if not "no frills". +) Fortune Auto adjustable coilovers +) 2022 maintenance included belt service, fuel tank service, standard fluid service and engine mounts (price paid for all work seemed extremely reasonable). +) Tires date coded from 2019 -- stickies addressed by prior owner +) 108058 +) https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-ferrari-550-maranello-19/ Just for giggles I typed @Niteroi known/prolific BaT commenter and he was value add on the auction....and has been in our subforum historically https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/beware-of-550-for-sale-in-nj.647857/ I don't know who "3ponies" is on BaT but also liked a few of his comments... I think this result for us shows what the bottom of the current market for a 550 looks like. Pretty car, thought it would go for more in this market but totally understand why it didn't. Welcome thoughts.....
Agree with @ferrari550whoa. Usually I’m impartial re: shields or no shields, but it didn’t look right to me without shields in this case. Otherwise love the color Personally I got distracted and stopped watching when the gated f430 started picking up steam!
Most of the Scaglietti options were not available on the 550 until late 97/98 timeframe. Good thing about an early 97 550 is it passes the 25 year import exemption.
True but it still wouldn't pass California emission requirements which takes a good portion of potential buyers out of bidding. Many others probably don't want to deal with having to go through the process of federalizing it. Should've been done by the seller to take a lot of the risk out for potential buyers before listing it. Like Eric said, I think $126k (including buyer fee) was fair amount for it given the unknowns/buyer's risks associated with it. Sure pretty car though even though I'm not a big fan of light color dash.
Probably not federalize as the car is already registered in SD but you can’t register it in California unless it is older than 1975 model. I was mixing my response with a response I had to @LVP488 regarding price difference between US and European cars which may be driven in part by number of potential buyers who are willing and able to deal with the process of bringing imported cars up to federal and state requirements for registration as I believe there are still some steps, costs and risks that need to be considered even for cars older than 25 years old.
Agreed with Root on all the above. Just because a car is 25 years old doesn’t mean it will be registerable legally in many areas like CA or even NY state or other smog tested areas. The common work around is known and often discussed in the silver or Rosso private areas. That car looked nice and heck might be nice but the buyer pool is small for a variety of the listed reasons. The nice thing is (in my mind) that it presented decently with an attractive color and had driver miles so that car is for an enthusiast that doesn’t live in a restrictive area like CA and that isn’t concerned with reselling. I would think/hope the current owner of that car acquired it at an attractive level and I would have thought $121k before buyer premium would have been enough to let another enthusiast have a turn. just one guys 2-cents…..
For those of us that live in the flyover states, 25 years works fine. Washington is doing away with emissions testing since it is now largely a waste of time. Maybe the two coasts will eventually catch on.