Besides the size diference between the 550 and 599, I really appreciate how well the older car is holding up aesthetically. I find the 550 more pleasing to the eye. If one then considers how inexpensive the 550 has become, it really becomes an attractive prospect. -Peter Oh
Fchatter from Australia recenty took this pic over in the USA just the other day. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I think so Jay. He was there and a few other places also. Here is his thread from the Aussie section. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=295310&page=2
a 355 is only 20mm longer than a 308. but much wider at the back. sitting side by side, they look very similarly sized. inside, practically the same.
Ferrari 550 next to a Ford F150 pick-up truck. 550's roof height = truck's door handles / top of wheel wells. 550's length = truck's running boards / end of back door. . Image Unavailable, Please Login
I always find difficulty explaining to my friends why I hate newer car designs so much. They see a brand new car and their jaws drop, mine stays shut. Coming from a design background I always judge more in depth than others. I hate today's BOATS that keep coming out of factories. This thread is a PERFECT example of what I'm talking about. I love Ferrari and other car brands that are still producing beautiful works of art but why in the hell are they becoming more obese as the years go by. I'm a sucker of 90's sports cars, where everything was small and compact and the size was just right design wise. I stood next to a brand new Camaro a few days ago and I felt I was standing next to a yatch. When I stand next to my 300zx, I feel like I'm standing next to a supercar (which it of course isn't) but that feeling alone can't be beat. Stepping out of it is hard and guess what I LOVE that.
Safety, technology (fancy gearboxes, E-diffs++), bigger wheels (for some reason the smallest BMW today will tak 18" and even 19" wheels!! - 10 years ago you were a baller if you had 18" wheels on a 7-series!), gadgets, more luxury (sat nav's) and so on... Basically, it's our craving for cars that can do everything, that made them fat... But it's a sad development, it has to stop somewhere... 599 and 612 should be replaced soon. If the new replacements are bigger than their predecessors (in true car evolution tradition) we got no hope...! Anyone got the length/widt/height numbers for the 458 Italia and F430? Is the Italia bigger??
These are huge so I just linked them. Didn't want to clog up this thread. Check them out: http://www.swisscarsightings.com/finalimondialiferrari2006colorfulparking/Ferrari%20Dino%20251.jpg http://www.swisscarsightings.com/finalimondialiferrari2006redparking/Ferrari%20348%20477.jpg http://www.swisscarsightings.com/finalimondialiferrari2006redparking/Ferrari%20599%20GTB%20Fiorano%20and%20550%20001.jpg http://www.swisscarsightings.com/ferrariclubswitzerlandlugano2007/Ferrari%20360%202723.jpg
So the 458 appears to be much smaller than the 430, is that correct? Looks about the same size as the 355 in the pic of the white ones, which are very nice!
The 458 is in fact .6 inches longer and wider, but the same height. It definitely looks a lot smaller than the F430 in person
It's very sad indeed. Exotic car designers are still producing phenomenal cars but it is scary to see exotics becoming fat and almost identical in height with the regulars. I can, without a doubt, say that cars are slowly becoming UGLIER as the years pass. Look at the R35 vs the R34. It's insanely bigger and that's just one example out of many others. p.s. I said I was a sucker OF 90's sports cars earlier, sorry I meant I'm a sucker FOR. I don't suck on cars. lol
First, my apologies for having no Ferraris in this picture, but remember the closest Formula 1 rival of Ferrari in the 60s was Lotus (which actually led in number of World Constructor Championships won). So I use Lotus to show the eventual divergence in philosophy. Here is a 1969 Lotus Elan compared to a 1998 Lotus Elise. The new car remains light, nimble, and ... small. But that comes at a price - the average man on the street will not want one. Nevertheless the Elise, so narrowly focused at the die-hard sports car enthusiast, proves that, where there is corporate will, it can be done. Image Unavailable, Please Login
355 is huge compared to a Range Rover Proof photos can be very deceiving Image Unavailable, Please Login