Yes I looked carefully at that one being in my back yard but did nothing. That might have been the one that got away.
Not a fan of Spider's myself but that car was priced below what most Spider's with that mileage/condition are going for, without the Fiorano.
In the real world, they are still a hard sell. This was a battle of the wallet. 180k is crazy. Nobody in the real world would pony up that kind of money..ever. The car was presented at the right time and place with a fool bidding on it. Sorry.
Thanks TR. I was about to post the same. The F1 option was hardly the norm. Will that make them worth less or more in the long run? Who cares....mine drives well
Well, for one, they were in the real world unless this was beamed in from Mars. Second, fool or not, drunk or not, woman or not, whatever excuse you got or not, it will be recorded as a 355 transaction at that price. Third, despite the best efforts of Fchat, I do think the 355 price is due for a lift over the next 5 - 7 years.
I was there and had looked at the car yesterday (another FChatter that I was with might also chime in here). IMO, it basically came down to two guys who decided they wanted the car for whatever reason. Who knows? Girlfriend thought it was cute? Liked the color? Decided they just HAD to have a Fiorano? etc, etc. More than likely the price of the car was a rounding error for these guys and they were willing to slug it out to the finish - no matter how illogical. It's a data point for sure, but IMO it sets the market no more than other anomalies. The trend for 355s might be positive, but it's not THAT positive . . . at least not yet.
We're living in the last generation of humans that romanticize the 6 speed manual gear box. In my opinion, the 355 F1 will be more desirable in 10 or 20 years from now by the next generation of Ferrari enthusiasts. The fact that there's 1/3rd of the amount of F1 cars out there compared to the manuals will only help their value even more. That said, I'd love one of each in my garage. I've got an F1, and hope to add a 95 at some point.
Agreed. Lol. This. ^^ Garden variety poorly maintained examples are unlikely to benefit significantly from any price rise, but top shelf well maintained cars with good history can only go one way.
Let's put the market to the test. Would any of you be willing to put your car on eBay for a buy it now price of say 100k or higher? Would you sell it at that price? Let's test the TRUE market. Or should I ask..would any of you fine gentlemen pay over 100k for a 355. Let's open the wallets..
So Gents When will the general market for the limited number of remaining 6-speed manual transmissions take off? It may be sooner than we'd historically expect, given the known limited supply (they ain't making them any more) and the fact that they will eventually appreciate. The sale of the limited Fiorano F1 aside, when will the manual F355s and 360s begin to go?
Great point! You have called us all out (us, the 'save the manuals' guys, the last of the manual drivers!) Great point - today, you can't sell a supercar in Asia with a manual (none of the new millionaires there can drive one), and the rest of the world is on the same tact. Witness the latest 991 GT3...or any Formula One car today... the writing is on the wall. Perhaps only the Viper is the last pure manual-only car left? Going forward, there will likely be 'parallel universes' of appreciating Ferraris: 1) manual trans cars, which are recognized as the last of the manual Ferraris, and of course, 2) early F1 transmission Ferraris, which will be seen by the iphone generation as the first of the 'real' computer cars - slow shift speeds and all. Hell, these things shift almost as slow as I do !! I think you are completely right that BOTH will be collectible to different audiences. Until all us 6-speed manual guys die (which will be fairly soon). Then only the F1 cars will be collectible! Enjoy the driving gents, it ain't going to last forever.
To what end? There's nothing out there under $100k I'd rather have. Yeah, I'd make some money, but I didn't buy it to make money. Higher prices are a negative for me, I'd rather them stay cheap so I can drive it without worry and keep taking it to the track or autox. Prices go up, insurance goes up, parts go up....
The Gooding auction car was one of one. It is the only F355 equipped with a factory "heavy duty suspension", able to carry 1.5 tons of Italian brake calipers in the trunk. Hauls like another F-vehicle... F150 that is On a more serious note, is there still a registry of fiorano cars? I remember years ago when I hung around here (before ending up buying a 360 and hanging out in that section of f-chat for years) there was I think a black on black stick fiorano with either accident history or even a salvage title...I think it was for sale once at a reasonable price due to the history and I contemplated it. geeze, it could have been 6-7+ years ago now so my memory may be a little off on the details...
In the long run for collectibility, the ability of the person collecting will probably not be a factor. Although I'd love for this to be the case and all the other manual drivers to "die off", so I can pick up a 275 GTB really cheap when their F1 driving family heirs dump them in the street since they can't drive a manual.
I am waiting also LOL A real collector will and can drive anything he or she is willing to buy. Always have always will A casual buyer that cant drive a stick is not a collector in my book
Well, clearly you would not. You, however, are not the market. The actual cash value of any transaction is the market. Condition, mileage, etc etc etc. Why, exactly, does that bother you?
Lots of strong opinions here but none of them really matter. We collectively only own a fraction of all 355's in the world. I mean really, offer me 100k and watch me say no without hesitating. There is nothing available for $100k that I want more. I don't want prices to go up. It means higher insurance cost and paranoia about driving it. I'm not going to sit here and say that someone paying $198k for a Fiorano doesn't matter. Anyone saying that it won't effect prices or isn't a sign of an upward trend has not been following the collector car market the past 5 years. Rising tide is about to hit 90's cars. It will unless the/a bubble bursts in the whole collector car market.
Yup. I think the argument of which one is more valuable or better to drive is pointless. Pick the one you like and enjoy it. They're both great options.
I would also suggest that if some of you guys really want a GTB with a 6 speed manual, go buy one from Europe. They're cheaper even with exchange right now and there's a tonne of them for sale out there. F1's command a premium there.
I did. We do here all the time. No 355 can be had for under $100k that wouldn't need a lot of money spent on it. But I guess you meant your market.
What a joke. I owned two 355 and with all bills and thousands of miles of use, the combined cost is 72 k. For two cars. Wow.
+1. $100k is not remotely close for me to think about selling my 355 Ch at this point unless I can find a 355GT or Porsche 910 as a replacement.
100% true - I would like prices to go up a bit however - I think 355's deserve it. I've said it so many times in the 355 section - prices should be in lockstep with 993 TT
