This could be part of the Disappearing thread but I don't want to divert that, so.. This weekend, on an excursion with my 575, my wife and I were speaking about how perceptions of the car have changed quite dramatically over the eight years we have owned it. I bought our 575, TDF blue over tan, gated manual with FHP, in 2015. Back then, 575s had been on sale new just 10 years prior, and it seemed like a used car. A slightly out of date shape. People didn't look at it much, and I have to say I didn't love the design. I bought it for what it was and the way it drives. This weekend, touring the southern UK, the car received so many looks, had so many pictures taken. Interestingly it was cross generational. There was the 70 year old gentleman from Florida who asked which model it was, admiringly. Groups of 18 year old guys taking pictures, who wouldn't have given it a second look 8 years ago. Most interestingly, my wife and I, looking at the car, said it looked better than it did before. Obviously that's impossible, I said. But my wife pointed out that culture and cars have changed, and this car now looks more exceptional. Not old, exactly, but not new. Oddly the young adult generation seem to love it, even though there are numerous much flashier Ferraris and Lambos everywhere. It gets admiring looks, never hateful or envious looks. All of this is from someone who has owned a 550 and 575 simultaneously but never claimed he loved the looks. But they are growing on me. As for the driving characteristics: in the Disappearing thread, we spoke about how these cars have depth, grow on you. I am still learning new things, ways of interacting with the 575, eight years in. They actually share one characteristic with a 275 GTB4. With the 275, you need to keep them on cam. A 575 has a lot more torque, but actually if you keep the revs much higher than you need to, drive around one gear lower than your instinct tells you, you are driving a different car: an angry V12 monster as opposed to a gentlemanly tourer. FHP car, sport mode, manual shift, fast out of a junction, wagging the tail..I would never do that, but if you did, what fun. And it's still a car to turn up at La Scala in that evening. Image Unavailable, Please Login
"FHP car, sport mode, manual shift...." **** Pretty much how I have driven my 575 for the past 18 years and 107,000+ miles.
Such a beautiful photo! IMO the Maranello is one of the most beautiful Ferrari's ever made. However, when parked next to other Ferrari's the looks can change. I definitely prefer the look of the 575 over the 599 however next to each other I prefer the 599, but not in isolation. From certain angles the Maranello is unbeatable! especially the rear! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login View attachment 3585302 Image Unavailable, Please Login
IMO people have become desensitized by the "new/modern" car design where every other car looks, not exactly the same, but similar to every other car. The 550/575 stands in contrast and people gravitate to them simply because they don't look like every other car on the road.
I looked at few 296’s, Roma’s, 812’s etc over the weekend and what jumped out to me was the lashings of decorative, none functional carbon fibre they are covered in. My 575M is beautiful with zero carbon fibre decorations. Probably the last Ferrari that way?
Yup, the Superamerica came with standard CF in several places. Not the 612, though. A lot of the CF on late models was optional, not standard.
My take: what was considered boring in-period is now emerging as timeless. When Maranello deliveries began in the early 2000's, the revolution of overly gratuitous exotic design was starting to gain steam; the subsequent 20 years developed to extremes in terms of aero and liveries. As @poljav said, people were captivated-and-incrementally-desensitized by the wild new sports cars and the chasm between the quiet Maranellos and the new exotic design grew. This era also ushered exponential growth in production numbers among 911, V8 Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, and AMG while our Maranellos totaled 5K, so they were rarely seen and largely forgotten - when they did show up, the PTS GT3RS and bang-pop Huracan contingent controlled the eyeballs. So what changed? A few things in my opinion: the analog obsession, the emerging reverence for "tasteful" content (for example, Petrolicious) and modern connection to the past (for example, Singer), the gradual convergence of modern exotics into one blueprint (doubleclutch, Screens, turbos, regulated exhausts, etc), the enormous supply of mostly interchangeable used cars that were once cool but are now played out, and the allocation games for cars that are no longer worth navigating. So, how do you stand out now? Drive a gentlemen's vintage car! While a 550 or 575 doesn't feel vintage or meet vintage criteria to those of us who live in this obsessed bubble where we think of a 275 when we hear "vintage," most people see them (for the first time in many cases) in stark contrast to a new 911 and not in terms of sport car lineage from the 1960's. The connoisseur image. Frankly, just recreate this scene from 2000 for 2023 (amazing how accurate the sentiment was... also funny that he's pointing to a Maranello with disdain ): In summary, I think Maranellos - the last evolution of the classic V12 design - were delivered just on the far side of the threshold where consumers became inundated with design extremes and are just now emerging as timeless as the new stuff becomes less interesting, clad with non-functional design elements, and, frankly, pretty obnoxious.
I agree... Carbon is going to be the plastic of the modern era! Unfortunately my 575 has spades of it and I certainly would not have chosen that if I specced the car. The only car that looks perfect with Carbon is an F12 TDF. Suits the nature of the car. My Purosangue that I just specced did not have one single piece of carbon on the inside or the outside! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I totally agree! Maranello's are the last of the true classics. After that... things got a little out of control. Not only in a design sense, but in a manufacturing sense too. The tubular space frame and manual gearbox...... These will go down in history.
Great post! I often find myself reflecting over how the 550/575 shape exudes a timelessness and effortlessly withstands the inevitable aesthetc comparison when sat next to either any classic or modern Ferrari GT. It also remains a relatively modern car to drive yet predates the bloat of later models, with their loss of analog tactile feel in favour of (arguably) largebly irrelevant performance gains. My 812GTS is huge in comparison and far less nimble, sometimes even unwieldy, than my Barchetta and 575 HGTC on European roads and cities. Yet both Maranellos, while obviously slower, are the more rewarding drive (at least I expect they will be once I convert the HGTC from F1 to OEM manual) For this 40-something year old, they are sweet spot and I firmly expect that conviction to continue to gain traction in the community at large
Agreed, I would not have any non-functional CF in any car (I'd take an F40 where it is functional, of course). Same for all the gratuitous aero features. Nice Purosangue! Have not seen one in person yet.. they seem to have toned down the aero on that design. I similarly prefer the smoother FF/GTC4 lusso to the other newer cars.
I’ve also been lusting over adding an FF but I think I’m going to wait until our girls are more responsible passengers (teenagers?)
Give me this any day of the week! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The Purosangue is such an impressive car to drive. And it is a car not an SUV when you are driving it. I also feel the proportions are so much better than the Lusso.
That has been my observation too. Used to get a lot of thumbs up from the younger generation. I think the Maranello's shape and quite elegance comes across as approachable, real and organic not exaggerated and loud in a look-at-me way. The photo below was taken while my car was being photographed for sale. Should've canceled the shoot and auction right there and then, but I didn't. That kid couldn't be more than 10 to 12 years old yet he left the group of older boys he was walking with to take a picture or two of a red Maranello. Felt like offering him a ride in the car but we were running out of light. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Speaking of carbon fiber components, they can have their place, and tastes will differ on the aesthetics of interior trim in particular. Once upon a time several years ago, I was chatting with another 550 owner who was strongly encouraging me to install some carbon fiber interior trim pieces on my car. He noted that the ones he had on his car -- gear shift knob, center console panels, and a couple of other small do-dads -- "transformed" the handling. Mind you, this guy was grossly overweight, and the car had fast food wrappers in the passenger footwell. My thought was that a few salads per week instead of Burger King lunches would have had a more tangible impact on the car's weight distribution and handling dynamics. In the end, beauty, and enjoyment of a car are in the mind of the beholder.
From a non-Ferrari owner prospective, it is a handsome cohesive design that will age well. New car design in the exotic realm is characterized by aerodynamic design concepts which makes cars look similar and the addition of busy features to try to stand out. Ironically, regular cars look better than ever
