My search includes 575's and I sat in one with lovely medium sports seats recently but would be more than happy with the electric seats... Daytona inserts seem to be quite common but is that just a cosmetic difference? e.g. I see 6/7 inserts on the "Daytona" version (occasionally done in a contrasting colour) vs. 4 simple stitched indentations (possibly not inserts?) on the non-Daytona versions. Are the seats otherwise identical? Comparing the 550 to the 575 electric seats, I believe that they are fundamentally different although similar in appearance but is there also a Daytona/non-Daytona variation on the 550 versions? I got the impression that the 550 seat motors are rather noisy (certainly when compared to the 2014 Kia Carens that I had to rent recently!) but are the 575 seats much improved overall in-terms of the electrics? An illustration of the two types of 575 seats is attached. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I now see that the Daytona seats on the 575 were a CHF3,500 option (2.2k / $2.7k) back in 2004 - presumably indicating that it is a higher spec of leather... Were the door cards and dash specced up to match by default? Any issue with durability as certain high spec. leathers can be intoxicating when new but end up looking scruffy sooner than other potentially harder wearing hides.
In my search for a 575 I've also been in doubt whether to search for daytona-seats, the sport-seats or "just" the standard-seats. Driven 575's with all the different seats. Didn't like the sport-seats. Could not be adjusted to my liking (I'm 2m tall en skinny ;-)). Have been sitting on the daytona-seats for over an hour. My conclusion: beautiful, but not comfortable for me. Somehow the stitching annoyed me. Now I have the "standard" seats in my 575 and find them very comfortable. Can be adjusted in every dimension, electrically, except for the width of the backrest (adjusted manually). So, if you have the opportunity to try all: do so! The rest of the interior is not matched with the type of seat. You could order racing-seatbelts with the sport seats however. 550 seats are (as I can remember from earlier test drives in 550's) very different from the 575-seats. The latter are more comfortable.
Speaking for the 550 they have the worse seats on the planet. The seats feel fine act fine and do everything a seat should do. They just weight 100lbs with all the electronics and steel frame. Who makes a performance car with 100lb seats? There aren't even any airbags in there to help justify the weight or encourage you to keep them. If people want a lazy executive GT then pick any seat available from Ferrari. If someone wants any hint of performance the seats should be the first thing to go. The most extreme really nice carbon fiber/carbon kevlar shells can be very comfortable when custom shim padded and can be had in the 8 pound range! A recliner is a silly waste in these cars because the firewall prevents you from any meaningful reclining anyway. But for the privilege of reclining about as much as a cheap coach plane seat you get to carry around a bunch of extra weight. Silly! Just silly!
You are correct when you consider the 550 seat was probably designed to fit small to large people. The sport seat is less comfortable because fewer can fit it. Being small I can fit a stock 550 seat or the sport seat just fine. A carbon shell is nearly custom and must be fitted for the driver to get the most out of it. If you are the only person who drives your 550 a carbon shell can be made to fit as nicely loose or tight as any 550 GT seat and the benefit is you ditch the weight. Mass is what kills the 550.
Agreed but I would say that mass kill all cars. I really can't understand the obsession with electric Dayton style seats. You adjust it once and never touch it again.BUT you get an extra 30-40 lb for the privilege of not having to move the lever to adjust the seat that one time.
In my 550 Schumacher Edition the chairs are carbon fibre (size large). They are not too bad in comfort, secondly they give me extra head space when wearing a helmet. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Michael config his 550 in a way from which he mentioned that he wanted a 550 near to his F1! So he goes with a bucket seats, roll bar, 4-point harness and carbon interior and the car was shown in one Ferrari brochure. Perhaps a car which comes with the same specs is called Schumacher edition by some owners but i´m sure there was no official edition but i could be wrong! edit: didn´t find any infos for a official edition!
Carrozzeria Scaglietti: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Christian- Thanks. Have the 575M Scaglietti book, but had never seen the 550 version. Can you give us the part number on the brochure, please?
Fantastic! I have never seen the brochure myself. I bought the car 10 years ago from a Ferrari dealer in Sweden. According to them only about 8-12 pcs exist in the world. Mine is the only one in Scandinavia. Apparently, Schumacher thought the standard 550 was a bit too tame and wanted his own spec to it. This package is said to have been the "mother" to the future GTC and HGTE packages on 575 and 599. Mine is 1998 with color Rosso Corsa. Interior is Grigio leather and the car is equipped with Racing seats(large) in carbon fibre, 4 point belts, carbon fibre interior, Fiorano Handling package, red calipers, anti-roll bar (road legal), daytona styled rack, CD-chgr, fire extinguisher, Sport exhaust, etc . I am the second owner. I would love to know how many there really are and find more information about this rare specification for a 550. Anyone? Image Unavailable, Please Login
You are absolutely correct in that there were no official Schumacher Edition to order for the 550. So when the rumor spread as to what Schumacher wanted in his 550, a handful of buyers "forced" Ferrari to pick the specification together in exact that way. Owners and dealers called it the "Schumacher Edition", however Ferrari HQ had no official name for Michael´s demanded wish list.
Well said. I have seen various posts regarding micro switches and seats jamming in various positions etc. Whats wrong with reaching under your seat, moving a lever, then sliding your seat back or forward.
Of course poor old Michael was involved in the development of the 550 along with Niki Lauda, so the story goes, and presumably he would have had more than one example available to him over the years and may still have. In April 2014 I spotted the below advert for a 1996 production Swiss registered example that was allegedly owned by him (March'99 -March'02) which seemed slightly curious. This one was Argento with Rosso Daytonas and was priced high for the Swiss market but the advert disappeared soon after.. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Patrik- Can you show us photos of the sports exhaust tailpipes, please? Wonder if this was a predecessor of the HGTC exhaust?
Are these photos ok? By the way, I managed to find additional information about the Michael Schumacher concept car by Scaglietti. see below. I guess the brochure that was presented with the choices of eg. Schumacher triggered a handful of customers to equip the car exactly like the brochure described it. see link 550 Maranello | Mitorosso.com ? Ferrari Online Magazine See below, quotes from the link describing the Scaglietti programme that was presented at the Frankfurt Show in 1997. "The Ferrari stand at the Frankfurt Show will display the first three personalised Ferraris created for three celebrity owners: Sergio Pininfarinas 456 GTA, Michael Schumachers 550 Maranello and Paul Cayards F355 GTS. Buoyant performance in the first half of 1997." "The tailor-made programme by Carrozzeria Scaglietti The Carrozzeria Scaglietti personalisation programme was developed by Ferrari in order to offer its customers a chance to create a car to suit their own individual tastes and needs. The Scaglietti kit system is a way of making each car that comes off the Maranello lines truly unique. The items can be applied to any car in the current Ferrari range (the F355, the F550 Maranello, the 456 GT/GTA) to give each one the look and the functional characteristics desired by the individual owner. All these items meet standard homologation requirements and are of traditional Carrozzeria Scaglietti quality. The series of options created were designed to offer the Ferrari owner various ways of customising his cars performance for racing purposes (drilled brake discs homologated for the F355, special ride set-ups for the F355 and 550 Maranello, 4-point seat-belts, homologated for road use, racing seats) or its looks (colour sampler for the bodywork, coloured brake calipers, carbon cabin trim, removable carbon roof, Challenge type rear grille for the F355, various upholstery and trim options) or indeed its dedicated equipment (luggage made to measure for each of the models, a golf bag for the rear bench of the 550 Maranello, a pesonalised car phone). There is even a special car-care line (a series of products designed to help maintain a Ferrari ). From early October every Ferrari dealer and importer will be able to present the Carrozzeria Scaglietti programme to customers. Every customer request be analysed for technical feasibility as well as compliance with Ferrari quality standards. Ferrari owners will even have access to a special Carrozzeria Scaglietti Workshop at Maranello that will be equipped to carry out their personalisation requests. " Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Those look like the standard tailpipes to me. I am unaware of any sports exhaust for the Maranellos until the HGTC package came out in late CY 2004. No mention of an exhaust in the Scaglietti options, either. Unfortunately, I missed out on the 1998 Scaglietti brochure.
Taz, unless I'm missing something, not so sure. First there is no bypass valve setup. Second, difficult to tell from pics but perhaps Patrik can tell us if those tips coming out of the silencer box are trumpet shaped? The I.D. of the two pipes also look larger than typical OE silencers but again hard to tell from pics. They definitely look more oem than aftermarket. Patrik, thanks for sharing these details... Bill FL
