Dan, have you actually driven a F40 on the track? Just wondering. I have and it wasn't at all what I expected. It was much closer to a passenger car than a race car. That is to say if a car like a 550 was a 1, a 355 about a 2, and a race car was a 10, the F40 would be about a 4 At least that was my impression. BTW, the F40 I drove did not have up graded brakes and it showed.
I'm with Bobafett and Murci Boy - the 599 is definitely an old man's car IMO. Its big and boring, instead of aggressive and sexy in looks. Its better than the big Scaglietti, but not much. These new cars may be a fast, or even faster than the F40 or many other Ferraris for that fact, but they sure aren't prettier. I really feel that Ferrari is getting away from the beautiful and making more somber and mundane looking cars lately. Please don't shoot me or anything, but there's not ONE car in the Ferrari Showroom across the street that I lust after the same way I lusted after the TR, the 355, the Maranello or even the 360 from their recent past. These cars I mentioned look sexy and fast just standing still - the newer cars do not. What happened??? I'm only in my thirties, but I'll be in my forties soon enough and I wouldn't buy these new designs. I love Ferraris, and all the passion that goes with them (including the headaches), but I'd prefer to buy a gorgeous older Ferrari than an ugly newer one at this point...
For the same reason why you wouldnt buy clothes or shoes which were made for old people unless of course you were old. The 599 may well be phenomenal in the performance stakes but from an image and styling point of view it is an old mans car.
Just for the record, I really like the the 599 GTB and I am pretty sure I will buy one with the HGTC package, but, and this is a big but, The F40 is an ICON, a SUPERCAR, a PRODUCT DIRECTLY FROM ENZO'S MIND. I'm not sure that there is any rationale, in any scenario for comparing a series production car with one of the most historically significant Ferraris of the last 20 years. if Ferrari's current V12 offering, in 2006, can't blow away a 20 year old design then we have problems at Ferrari. It doesn't change the relative ranking of the cars in the hierachy of Ferrari, but the more modern car should at least outperform the older one. That fact alone is simply not enough to make it more desirable.
Excuse me, but I'm correct....the F40's Fiorano lap time has been beaten by many a production F-car....including the CS.
I would also, but thats due to the 430 being a dissapointment which IMO is because it is nothing but a transitional model. Would you also have taken a 550 over a 355 in 1996?
I don't see how you think the 430 is a "dissapointment". Makes me wonder where your coming from....to be honest.
Not sure it does, except that 40 year olds tend to be more affluent than 20 year olds. But I think too many people here are thinking of the 599 as a kind of Buick instead of as very exclusive grand touring Ferrari. It would be interesting to know the demographics of Aston-Martin DB9 buyers. I could see a 60-something guy in that just as easily as a 30-something tech mogul. Ditto the 599. It's a power suit-type of car. Sometimes you need to wear one of those. I'm getting dangerously close a new age bracket (one of life's little hazards), but FWIW I've always had a place in my garage for a hardcore sports car (currently a 328) and a comfortable GT car (formerly BMW 3 coupe, now sold and I need to replace that). I won't be buying a 599 anytime soon because I can't/won't spend that much on a car. But the 550/575 are in the same niche, and drifting down to appetizing price levels. I could see having one of those parked next to the 328 for longer trips. It's all about income and purpose, not age.
i DO excuse you, but you are wrong nevertheless. The track at Fiorano has significantly changed in both resurfacing and the track layout btwn when the F40 was tested there and the CS and 430. I can absolutely assure you that the 430 will not lap a track as fast as the F40. Think power/weight...apart from the fact that you're wrong, it's not even logical! We have a track here called Calder where I've done a 63 second lap in an F40. A driver of similar ability did a 66 in a 430. 3 seconds is quite a lot, really. Also, I can't remember the exact numbers, but it was quite a number of seconds at Phillip Island too. Both cars stock
The cars to which you're comparing the 599 are entirely different types of cars- not just different demographics. Even the Ferraris you mentioned, the Testarossa and BB, were the only time Ferrari made a production V-12 model that was not a true GT. If one owns a Murcielago or a CGT you're probably not driving it everyday under every conceivable condition, esp. not the CGT. These are weekend blast cars, especially for those who like louder design statements. One probably has an MB sedan or Cayenne or something like that for the daily driver. With the 599 Ferrari has created the first world-class, all-around, everyday, GT, that I'm sure will more than hold its own on a track. Thus, when one buys the 599 you can toss the daily-drivers-- Porsche's, MBs, BMWs, and whatever else-- out with the trash. To make an all-around, world-class car in the Ferrari tradition, you make certain engine-placement concessions that make it less extreme. The Maranello, 550 and 575, returned to this tradition. The 599 takes it to new heights. And the car is stunning, and I'm 35 and plan to own at least two of them. By contrast if I ever own a Murci it will be because of its engine, not it's exterior, which certainly has presence but is too flat and too angular for my tastes. The Gallardo in black or silver is far more attractive. But Lambo's, since the Countach, have always striven to be "louder" than Ferrari, in every way. The CGT, by comparison, is the "quietest" car in almost every way, in this discussion. For those who want to make a louder statement while in traffic, the Lamborghini dealer will gladly take your money, or you could find an F40, F50 or Enzo, or a Zonda if you're in Europe. Forza, Cavallini
LOLOLOL. Just in the name of good taste, one reads what Ferrari people themselves have to say about the car and sees it in person before putting words in people's mouths. You're a comedian, that's what it is. LOL. Forza, Cavallini
I have a different opinion. The 599 is not quite the first all-around daily drivable GT from Ferrari. I drove a 575 for three years as a daily driver. I also drove it long distances and I drove hard on weekend blasts. Quite the perfect car, if only two seats or less were required. I replaced it with a Superamerica, which gave me everthing the 575 had, plus the GTC package with those incredible carbon-ceramic brakes (really shine on a track - you can't believe how deep into a corner you can go before you need to brake!), and an open top when I feel like it. The trunk is spacious, the car is supremely comfortable, and it is wickedly fast. It too gets driven at every opportunity - to the office, to the store, to the golf club (yes, my clubs fit quite comfortably) I'm sure the 599 will do all of that, and hopefullly in a convertible version as well. I know I will buy one when it becomes available, but don't minimize the 575 as it really is a well built, very accomplished GT that does it all.
Dan, we have talked about this before. As then, as is now, I'm afraid you're wrong. I'm not as lucky as you are. I have never driven an F40. However, I have talked to a lot of people who have. Simply put, this is not a car for the public roads. So if we're talking about a car for the real world, I'm betting that 99.99% of us will enjoy the 599 more than the F40. Even on the track, I'm afraid that 99.99% of us will have faster lap times in a Stradale than a F40. I'm afraid that there is a reason that there are so many low mileage F40s. Bacon strips are hard on clothes. Dale PS I gotta admit that I like the looks of the F40 more than just about any Ferrari other than a Cal Spyder.
Agreed Alex. I used the SA to take my daughter to pre-K the first day I had it. Use my Maranello daily, alternate with SA, and use dirt car when it rains. Carbon brakes are great, no noise, I am probably going to fit a set to the 550. I may put 550 nose on the SA, I like the smile better. I think 599 will be a great car, and most of us that buy them don't really give a damn whether anyone else likes them or not. I think it is hilarious that lambo guys say Fcars are for old men. Average age of Enzo owner is north of 35-40, save for the few morons who have proceeded to stuff them, or use them to get Tara Reid's pants off(actually takes less). Lambo guys use their cars to score, I know few current lambo owners who are married, and even fewer who use daily. So knock yourself out with conjecture, we'll enjoy our cars in the meantime.
From reading all replies, to my surprise, many 20's in respond of liking the 599GTB. I thought the age group would be in the 50's up. But, then, 20's seem to make sense now. 20 something had grown up with 355 or 512TR poster on their bedroom wall. For a 40 something that would be a countach, 308 or 512BB. If the 355 is their childhood dream, then 599GTB may be enough to be their ultimate in design, body, shape and speed...
I love it when naysayers see the child seat in either of the cars. I get grins out of people who would scoff...they have told me they never see anyone using the cars, just posing. Not me, freak flag allowed a sport mode burnout and tailwag session leaving Benz dealer today. Sniffing @ E55 wagonqueen. Needs woodgrain though.
Look its turned into a "I Love/Hate 599GTB" thread, who could see that coming Its great to see alot of young people in the world making money at a young age but the majority of ppl that have large incomes to afford these cars(not talking about ppl being born into wealth) are the older generation, soo it makes perfect sense that this would be directed towards them.
Yeah, woodgrain on the side. An elevated wrap around window on the top. Just like my old man's Vista Cruiser. Laugh all you want, but that was the very best date car during high school. The rear seats folded flat and all that...
so I guess you'd say CCB's give you a much shorter braking distance, then? Is that right? Or is there something else about the car that lets you go "deep into a corner" over the 575?
newsflash...you better talk to less people and drive one. whilst not as "every day" as the 599 is bound to be, there's nothing wrong with how an F40 drives on the road. I found it just the same as a 328, with just a little bit more power If you can't get a better lap time out of an F40 than a CS, then you've got a bit of a problem, I reckon.
