Has Ferrari Lost It's Luster?

I’m sure if Ferrari could get away with it they would charge for every screen background you decide to try- yellow tach, red etc. They no longer nickel and dime you for every option- they are $1K and $10K…ing you for everything. The base cars are decontented to force people to spend upwards of $100-200K in options(and that’s not including Tailor Made) which other luxury brands include in the price and offer a limited number of packages. And yes I know multiple people will states” oh, it’s a customized car…yada, yada, yada” Well then why not only offer Atelier or TM cars only for these exorbitant prices.
The market will eventually tell us what it thinks of these fast but not fastest, edgy but atrocious looking cars. Emotions indeed.

 

Anyone who’s actually followed Ferrari for more than five minutes can see the pattern — every time a new design drops, there’s a whole parade of jokers racing to one-up each other with “this is the ugliest Ferrari” takes. It’s a tradition at this point — predictable as the sunrise.

I mean, I would be embarrassed to walk into a room full of real gearheads and announce how “ugly” the LaFerrari is today. Or how the F8 is a terrible design? Or that the SP1/SP2 are hard to look at? I’d get laughed right back out the door.

Yet, here we are=

• LaFerrari? ugly
• 488? - bad
• F8? - terrible
• F12? - hideous
• 812? - sacrilegious
• 296? - send it back
• SP3 Daytona? - trash

Give it five to ten years and watch how quiet these most of these folks get about their “hot takes.” I get it — some people genuinely just think any modern car smells bad, and that’s fine. But claiming a new design marks the end of Ferrari? That’s a little dramatic, no?

It's like clockwork, today it's the 12Cilindri, F80, 896 — the latest examples in the eternal saga of “Ferrari is doomed the car is so ugly”

I’ve always wondered what drives that mindset. Maybe it’s because the Ferrari they own (or sold) just happens to be their personal “peak,” so everything after that has to be worse by default as some sort of hard cope?— folks being clowns, or probably kids that are upset the latest design didn't match their sketch they scribbled on their toilet paper.

 

I don't think anybody is disputing that there were people that spoke out against previous Ferrari designs. There isn't a car out there that doesn't have at least somebody who hates it. I think what is different now is how many more people are speaking out now. The F80 and 849 have threads going on with multiple posts a day discussing the disdain for the designs. There are multiple.threads about Ferraris perceived lackluster designs and Ferrari losing their way. I think that it is a lot more prevalent now than a stray post here or there.

While mclaren and lamborghinis recent designs haven't been very highly praised, I don't think that they have been met with the same level.of disdain that has been directed at Ferrari. I think it also speaks volumes when a lot of that disdain is coming from owners.

 

LOL. The irony.

 

On a recent visit to the factory, I learned about Ferrari's initial plan for 40% of their production to be electric, another 40% hybrid, and 20% internal combustion engines. I have since heard that they've changed that ratio to 40% i.c.e., but it still brings their judgement into question.
Personally, I don't care if my new Ferrari is the fastest hypercar in existance, but I do want it to be the most exciting, engaging, thrilling car to drive with looks like a supermodel.

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A good chunk of that is, rightly or wrongly, people expect more from Ferrari. Unfortunately, Ferrari specifically is gonna get extra hammered anytime they don't knock it out of the park.

If Lamborghini or McLaren came out with their own version of the F80 or 849, I'd bet they'd go over better with their clientele.

 

Forgot the Mondiale?

 

" but it still brings their judgement into question."
****
How many of those decisions are "their" desires and judgement vs trying to survive as a company with the EU's draconian "Green" mandates and regulations?

 

They sell less than 10k vehicles pa into Europe, so legally they could still build those old school, high emission / NA models between now and '35 if they wanted. Like a new take on a 512m, 458 speciale etc. but non Icona and around 296 pricing.

But, I think they are focused culturally on getting ahead of the post 2035 world and convincing us all to accept the hybrid era etc.