Goobye F430..hello CGT

The very idea that a 430 Spider is market-priced within reach of the market value for CGT's reveals exactly how brilliant the Ferrari Brand is. It has been managed so welll as to create real monetary value way beyond its intrinsic value, whereas the CGT, a brilliantly conceived and executed car has diminished in real monetary value, bringing the two cars in question very close to each other.

This doesn't change the fact that the CGT is altogether in another league. It is simply a supercar at the highest level. The 430, even in Spider form, is just a really good production car being produced at high volumes, relatively for Ferrari anyway.

To answer another question, the CGT transmission, especially the very light clutch, is nothing that any reasonably competent driver won't get the hang of in ten minutes. At a Porsche Club track day at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix last week I let my 16 year old son try it out in the parking lot - wide open spaces with nothing to hit if he squirted the car forward.

He stalled it three times and then got his brain to figure out how much gas he needed to get it moving. After that he had it. It's as easy as that. Practice for a few minutes and let that marvel known as the human brain make the necessary adjustments and hard wire the data so that it will work in the future.

 

Congrats on the car and the deal, Leweyb. The future may show it to be the last of its type in terms of driver focus/mechanics v electronics. Today it has to be the Zo6 of supercar values - and my pick of the current lot, regardless of $. Nice.

 

I have a 2750lb boxster with a 3.4 carrera engine. It will outhandle my 360 in the curves all day and (I bet) in tighter curves up to maybe 70mph a CS as well. Race clutch and lightweight flywheel which is very touchy, similar maybe in speed of engagement to CGT, and I still stall it occassionally when getting in after driving other cars for a while.
I keep a close eye on CGT prices and would trade everything I have in for one if possible. I had hoped Porsche would continue to make too many and drive prices to the $250k range but since production has stopped I wonder if they will ever drop that far. Seems like a car a lot of people want and unless the maintance is simply too high, price support will likely keep them out of my range.
Well, even if I can never afford one, I love the idea and props to those that can. Enjoy the ride.

Lewey, congrats on the new ride.

 

Alex, I don't mean to pry and you don't seem to secretive about showing your new arrivals, could you post a pic of your whole garage sometime. YOur collection is amazing and I love your style. Is the cgt black too?
I woulld like to be your neighbor just to hear the cars go by!!!

 

Hi Leweyb,

Thanks for sharing with us. It always gives me a thrill to see folk who have bought such cars as I just cant imagine what it feels like although I will be purchasing a diablo soon but still a different class.

I would rather these folk posted than didnt but sometimes the nosy detectives jump in and interrogate for proof and if you are not quick enough to reply, you will come back to find a whole pile of crap where people have shot you down in flames, posted your ip address, claimed you are a kid etc. Sometimes its true and yes, there is bullsh1t on this thread but bullsh1t is sadly a part of life and always will be. Best way of dealing with it to to ignore it, not aggravate it.

I really hope you enjoy the car and it makes a fine addition to the others you have.

regards,

Matthew

 

Congratulations, sir! I trust you will not miss the F430 very much (since you’re upgrading to one of the greatest automobiles ever made ). I wish you all the best and enjoy the CGT in good health!

 

I never been a real fan of the styling of this car. I am more of a GT1, 959 kinda guy. But I really love the way they sound. Now that I understand the flywheel set up I know why.
But maybe it is growing on me. They are all over the place down here. It is common to have 5 or 6 at Crystal Cove on any Sunday.

Can anyone that owns one tell me why I "Shouldn't" buy one???

Are there problems with the brakes?

Do you think the price will drop much more any time soon or now that they are not in production will the price go up?

Any maintenence issues?

Thanks.

 

Don't own one, but would. Styling's more conservative than others in the category, but that could be deemed a plus. The details appear well thoughtout mechanically and aesthetically. Couldn't sound much cooler, either. Sort of see it as Porsche's take on an F40 (w/some current tech and carpets). Down the road some might be surprised (lament?) that these were actually discounted when new.

 

There is an outfit for every occassion. Women have shoes and diamond jewerly, not to mention lingerie for every occassion. Men we just want a different car for every drive. We want our cars like accessories and not be limited to 1 or 2. If we could have it our way we would have a car for every day of the month. Most of you become delusional when reality bites and you are stuck with 1 exotic car.

just a thought not directed at anyone or not meant as personal attack

 

Right. SO I am thinking 288GTO or Stradale, But why not CGT instead??
Just not real crazy about the styling.... I guess I need to go drive one.

 

And that reason would be???

 

The CGT is a helluva car...thats the reason!

 

It bottoms out easy. 3.4" clearance vs a 430 4.2" makes a big difference. Less clearance than the Enzo, and the Enzo front end lifts up with a button to get you to about 5", this one doesn't, 3.4" all day long.

I have never heard of any of that. Brakes are incredible design IMO

Once all of the new inventory is sold, the dealers will not be fighting to unload the cars. Then it will be difficult to find the right car for the right price since the production was limited. Similar production numbers to a F40 and you dont see many of them on the market. Eventually this one will be like that -- they will be in people's garages and not available for sale.

The Enzo is more collectible, but of course it goes for 900k-1mm. What else is of this caliber and has such a limited production? I can't think of any other modern supercar ... anyone??

 

I couldn't agree more. I have had 3 Porsches and am purchasing my first Ferrari in the next couple of days. When I told two of the most respected Porsche mechanics locally I might be selling my Turbo and buying a Ferrari, all they asked was what car? When I said a 512TR, both (in separate conversations) said, "What a cool car." I like the respect you get for switching it up. As one of them said to me, you have to fuel your passion. And with all due respect, my 1991 Turbo which has been modified quite a bit, does spank many Ferraris, even a 360 CS, hence the plate. It is not all about 0-60 times and top speed. It will be fun to have the Turbo and a 512TR parked next to each other in the garage.
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Alex, he was putting it down. He said there was a reason for the 100K price drop.

I know the cgt is a great car as are most porsches and most ferraris! I just don't like when people put something down w/o a reason. Now do you understand my post above????????

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84017

 

I'm pretty sure he was suggesting that there was some mechanical problem with the car that merited the significant price change from other CGTs. I could be wrong, however.

 

Try to just read the words, not what is or isn't between them O.K.?

I appologized to Lewey for my first post that you jumped all over. Did you not read that far?

And when I wrote "Can anyone that owns one tell me why I "Shouldn't" buy one???" What I mean is "IS THERE ANY REASON WHY I SHOULDN'T BUY A CGT??" But I would like to hear from an owner not just from someone that thinks they know everything. Know what I mean? At least my profile is filled out...

The ride height thing might be big a problem for me. My F40 has adjustable ride height and is O.K. for my driveway. I had also heard the ceramic brakes were a problem on the Porsche but not on the Ferraris. Doesn't make sense because they are all made by Brembo. So I would like to hear from an OWNER. MAybe there are other problems, I don't know. That's why I asked. I guess I should go lurk on the Porsche board.

As far as my comment on price goes, I'll let you tell me....
How much was a new GT2? What's it worth today?
How much was a Stradale new? How much are they today?
Why are F430's $35K to $100K over sticker?
Why is an Enzo 50% more used than it was new?
Why was Lewey able to buy the Porsche flagship car for a 20% discount after only one year??????


Rick

(Answers on the back of the box)

 

Thats actually a very good question. Certainly in the UK there are a number of CGT's which have been bought and then after 6 months have appeared on the used market.

I would like to know why owners have chosen to part for them (at a huge loss circa $120-140k). Given that the cars are not cheap (the wealthy have acquired them) why are they choosing to sell at a huge loss?

I ask this question because I want to know whats wrong with the car (from a buyers perspective).

So if there are any CGT owners out there, apart from the ride height, is there any reason for choosing not to buy one? Or is there any reason why you would sell your CGT?

And is it actually possible to buy a CGT for $350k in the US?

 

OK Rick, yes your second post was good. All your questions can be answered superficially by your own first post. There are a large number of enthusiasts who wear ferrari blinders. You are certainly an enthusiast and i assume that you are not a teenager judging by your profile.

But at the same time if you did not have the f-car blinders on you would already know the answers to those questions. 1 - Ferrari marketing is just amazing in the same way abercrombie can charge a fortune for wal-mart like shorts and tees ferrari can charge 2X the price for its product that the same car would fetch with another badge. Because of artificial caps on production(which are getting bigger) and the above marketing an aura surrounds f-cars out of proportion to the considerable value there.

Porsche on the other hand produces just as good and often better product but will produce as many as it can sell. That combined with the fact that they don't have a marlboro to subsidize to the tune of hundreds of millions an F1 team led by a superstar leads to an impression by non-enthusiasts of an everyday car. So the prices drop. The prices have NOTHING AT ALL to do with engineering or performance. Also Porsche has a longer and more victorious racing heritage.

As to the cgt just go over to rennteam.com to learn about every point that you bring up. I learned all those things from actual owners when the car was first being delivered. I drive the car i always wanted, it to me is still the coolest car on the road and can perform amazingly well. The uninformed are usually clueless about it until it leaves them behind on a curvy road. Nothing personal to you, but i like to see fully informed comments especially from guys who drive cars such as yours. I appreciate all marques and have had the good fortune to experience many examples.
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IMO, the reason in the UK (as well as the US) the reason that there was a huge number of CGTs to come back to the market quickly was that the car just is NOT for the poser crowd. Its a real race car that is not as forgiving as something like a 430 gallardo, etc. As to losing 120K, thats just bad luck, but fortunately a real drivers gain!

 

Based on my limited experience behind the wheel of a CGT so far, and knowing a little something about the exotic car market in general, I can hazard the following guesses:

The CGT's prime attributes- high power to weight ratio, very pure inputs, a level of almost primal quickness in the upper speed ranges, and its amazing 'flatness' in cornering, may not translate well into a car for the street: it is low, is probably alot more unforgiving to drive on the street than a production Ferrari, has virtually no storage space, and offers little comfort factor getting in and out of the car. Its high price of entry for a 'mere Porsche' is not going to appeal well to the 'parttime' enthusiast who wants a more useable car that, in addition to street warrior duties, also can be taken to dinner, to the golf course, and away for the weekend with the wife or other without much sacrifice and can get all of that, and more- including 'mystique,' for half the price. I would think living with the Porsche would take more of a commitment, and its benefits would not be revealed in the harsher environment of crappy road surfaces, limited high speed driving opportunities and stop and go travel. This, in addition to its price, may explain its limited appeal to a large number of otherwise potential buyers and owners who may have found that it demanded too many compromises to fully enjoy as a GT.

And in answer to Harry's question, I don't think the cars have reached 350 yet on the used market in the US- i think the low mileage ones are probably trading at least 30k dollars more than that, and demonstrators, or standing inventory, higher still.

 

Exactly. The poser crowd has moved on to the next latest greatest.

Ian

 

Which is?