What was the the last Ferrari that was "Hand-built" ?? metal shaped by hand, no automation in the assembly process etc...... was is the 328 ? It was the last car NOT to have a computer system onboard right ?? What did "hand-built" intel (sp?) and when did it start giving way to automation ?
Boxers......although it could be argued there is still hand work involved... Many of the Micholetto racers as well as the Prodrive cars.......
F40s were hand built, they were relatively high production at 1311 also but a special limited production car,concerning regular production Ferraris it would be the Boxers which were completely hand built at around 10 a month for the 365 and 512BB, the BBis they increased production to 25+ per month for the last 3 years, and the last to use wooden bucks to hand hammer the aluminum panels, 2323 total Boxers were made The 308s on used stamped panels but were hand fitted.
It depends how you define hand built. In the very early days, artisans would pound out the body panels on dollies and fit them. The chassis was laid out on jigs. By the time of 328 manufacture, the panels were stamped out, but still hand fitted and welded, often with lead fillers. I can look at the seams on my 328 and see minor differences from one side to the other and from car to car. From 348 on, the exteriors appear cookie cutter to me. I imagine the TR's were built the same as 328's. Perhaps the 512M is the last car built this way. BTW, 328's have primitive electronics in the ignition system as do injected 308's. Dave
do you feel that the cars lost a certain something after going to a automated system of production ? Anyone remember the car that when riveiled (one of the last Enzo personally saw) he shed a tear and just mumbled, "bella" or is this a myth ?
I really apprecate my 328, its a great car, you can see the care and hand work put into it, but the Boxer is on a different level and you can see the hours of work welding each little piece to make a lattice frame and all the different detail into its manufacturing and design, its very impressive, you can tell its totally hand made by craftsmen. Where the 328 has a more mass produced look to it in its parts the Boxer looks more raw and produced from scratch, the same way Ferraris of the 50s would have been fabricated.
Just to show you that the 328s were at least partially hand-built, consider the idiosyncracies on mine: 1. The side mirror fairings were installed backwards, with the small one in front and the big one behind. 2. The "328" and "GTS" badges on the rear do not line up vertically and are farther apart, and higher up, than most other cars. 3. The "Slow Down" light is in the top row of "idiot lights" and the fog light indicator is in the lower left corner, opposite to the other 328s I've sat in. So at least through the 328, the old adage that "no two Ferraris are alike" still applied!
My 'slow down' and 'fog light' indicators are laid out like yours. It has always bugged me becasue how I sit in the car I can not see any of the idiot lights at the top due to the postion of the top of steering wheel. I always have reposition myself to take a glance at the lights.
jimpern, 328s were hand "assembled" but not hand made in the way cars from the Boxer and earlier cars were. The Boxer was the last Ferrari whose body panels were hand hammered on a wooden buck rather than stamped out like 308s and newer cars were made. They are all great cars nonetheless.
Have you read "Inside Ferrari"???? It was written about the time F40 production was winding down...it's a trip thru the inner sanctum!!!
nope don't have that one. I ordered Ferrari f1 (400pgs) and when it arrived it was a mini looking book like 4x4. My wife stills laughs at me "little 400 page book"
PLEASE CLARIFY I thought ALL Ferraris were "made by hand"... Regarding the 360, I've been told at the dealer "it's made by hand." My Dad bought one and I've been around the Ferrari block... I've heard over and over again that it's "made by hand". I have a 348, and I've heard over and over that "these cars are made by hand." I understand that this doesn't mean that I've heard correct information. Same with the NSX--conventional wisdom said it was "made by hand." Can someone please explain why I've heard this? Maybe we can identify which parts of the production process have become automated. I'm sure Ferraris are not completely built by robots like, say, Hondas are. EXPERTS, WHERE ARE YOU?
That's certainly still true, they travel through a process with many hands on fitments......you wont see a robotic welding line for example. But the term is most often applied to the old cars that were literally hand hammered .....I'll bet they still smack 'em, sometimes!!!!!
i was under the impression that even welding has been done by robtics since the 348 ? wheres bueller ?
I think you guys are getting confused about what constitutes a hand built car. Take FIAT for example, I believe not a single hand touches a car as it is assembled ... thanks to unions FIAT had no choice but to fully robitise their factory or NOT make a single car. Companies like Ferrari still have somebody putting the cars together. Yes they may not make the panels anymore by hand but the car is still assembled by hand. I do think that with modern Ferraris the assembly is no more 'by hand' than say an Aussie Holden, where the cars are assembled by hand operated welding equipment (usually spot welders) and the major assemblies are installed by hand. The difference is that most engine, etc. assembly is automated at places like Holden ... I imagine Ferrari engines are assembled by hand. Somewhere there is a good video on the building of a 456 Ferrari, you should watch that. Bodies are still hand fettled ... but then in a way so are Holdens, just more approximately Long gone are the days where Luigi lovingly beats out a panel over a wooden buck and every single car has FLAWS Pete
Ferrari engines are indeed assembled by hand. From my visit to the Ferrari factory last November I also learned that 12-cylinder engines are completely assembled by one worker while the 8-cylinder engines are assembled by teams.
According to an interview with Scallieti the Boxer was the last car built in the "old way" ie by hand. It is also supposed to be the last car enzo was directly involved in the development of as well.
Ferrari uses machines now for pretty much everything. The welding is all done by robotics. The interiors are hand stiched of course but the rest of the car is assembled with pre assembled sub-assemblies and installed in the cars. Much like anyothe car builder. Yes lots of hand work is done..but with the help of automated equipment. No more panel beating and hand racheting goes on at Ferrari.
I realize that "hand built" is supposed to be a sign of true craftsmenship. But, personally, I think that it is highly over rated. Think about it. How would you like to fly in a "hand built" airplane? Having owned a number of old cars and motorcycles, I'd take a robot over Timmy or Wolfgang or Luigi any day of the week. Timmy, for example, was a pretty good lad, but he sometimes had a wee bit too much at the local pub. And when Timmy was in his cups, well, the lad had a tendency to get just a tad rowdy. To make a long story short, the Bobbies might not carry guns, but they sure know how to use a stick. As a result, some days Timmy had a small problem seeing out of this eyes the next day at work... Dale
I have a book called Ferrari The Factory, by Karl Ludvigsen, which shows the boxer, 246 dino, and 308 GT4 being produced at the same time at the factory. Were all three of these models considered hand made? A quote from the book on the GT4: Vaccari e Bosi sent its chassis frames to Grugliasco, a suburb of Turin, to be bodied there by Bertone. Bertone is seen here fabricating the body panels for a 308 Dino. From there the painted and trimmed bodies returned to Maranello in preparation for final assembly." The photo just shows the fron portion of the frame with some body pieces clamped in place, and some welding appartus resting on the frame. Dom
Exactly, and one only has to look at the quality problems that Ducati have to understand that people fnck up and machines do a better job. Pete
