How wide is too wide for you?

At a show I saw a 360 next to a Testarossa. I always thought that the TR was ridiculously wide. It less than 2" wider than the 360. Visually they seemed the same size.

Matt

 

It's surprising to me just how big a difference a few inches can make...

Of course, I am a guy saying this...women have known this fact since the beginning of time...

 

The only thing wider than my TR is my
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Hehe, er indoors nearly choked on her coffee when she read this, and is nodding in agreement as I type. I like to think that's why she's with me!

 

Fantastic Photograph!

For me there is no hard rule. It just comes down to the whole experience. I've had some cars that are wide and some that are not.

 

It always amazes me how the non-modern 3xx crowd gets about proportions.
The reason all cars got *big* is a thing called "Crash Safety". Frontal, side and rear.
A "bigger" car gives more space to dissipate crash energy from a 3 ton Explorer barreling down on you driven by a texting teen. That SUV which of course didn't exist in 1988. Ones "sweet spot" is going to vary by opinion..

 

Of course! That's why I'm asking.

 

True. And down here in tourist heaven where they not only drive gigantic tanks, but also have no clue where they are going, I'll admit I get a bit nervous in traffic.

I far prefer the feel of a small car. But one eye is always watching for the soccer mom school bus that's about to drive over top of me.

 

reading the posts, most are affected by the illusion of size over the actual size

the larger width of cars is driven by consumer demand... it is stylish to have wheel / tire sizes in excess of 12 inches in width, in addition the larger contact patch needed for increased performance... take out the 24 inches of tire width, leaves little room between them for the drive train and associated clearances... back in the day the E Jag came with skinny tires and was a success, yet equipped with same tires would not sell well today. We can't have both style and performance and demand a smaller car

 

My 360 doesn't feel wide on the road...just when parking
I've had to put a convex mirror on my lift to ensure I line it up just right, because there isn't much room for error or your tires are partially hanging off the ramp on one side. I didn't expect it to be such a tigh fit.

 

Dude I parallel parked mine today! First shot into the space. Two observers in case I screwed up. Didn't get the curb, pulled out with no problem.

 

Truly, a god amongst men.
TBH, I've never parallel parked mine. I'm the dude that still parks in the back of the lot with at least 3 empty spots on either side of me

 

That's just good forward thinking.... mind you, don't you find that when you do, even if you come back to a 1000 space car park, and there are only 8 cars in it, that the three empty spaces are now filled with loser cruisers or other bangers that seem attracted to the pretty Italian thoroughbred that just wants to be left alone?

 

Or I take that as a reminder that you don't get to control others.

In the US, space is usually generous and wider is better. On a more serious note, they are all the right width since I'm happy to respect and enjoy the designs.

 

I've been lucky. I haven't had happen except if the parking lot fills up.
Some guys deserve it. There used to be an old guy with a Bentley in my neighbourhood...when he went to the local plaza, he would find the 4 spots (2 in front, 2 in back) NEAREST to the entrance and park right across all of them. Even I wished bad things to happen to him as if the rest of the world deserves to be inconvenienced because he chose to drive an expensive car as a DD.

 

A friend was generous enough to lend me his Aventador for two weeks.

80" wide !

It was a blast on the highway but terrifying on city streets.

15 years ago I almost bought a TR instead of the 355, but like the Aventador, the TR was too wide for me. Maybe I would have become comfortable with the width, but I couldnt pull the trigger.

In reality I think its less the width than how well you can see past the width.

 

80"!!! Yowza.

I think your point about perception is right. Driving around in those huge old 60's American cars never seemed prohibitive to me, but for some reason wide sport cars seem huge.

 

Wow, can you imagine driving that car on the roads along Lake Como?!

 

All it takes for me is to drive a 3x8 car and a same year Porsche. The Ferrari feels like a barge by comparison.

 

My wife's pickup truck is 77.9" wide. The GTC4 Lusso & T are even wider; that may be "too wide" for my comfort. Other Ferrari whose dimensions I've tabulated are narrower, so I'd be fine with those...T

 

1972 Ford LTD, passing panel trucks on the Williamsburg Bridge. At age 17, almost anything seems like the right thing to do.

 

Lol. I know that bridge well and I'd never have the stones to pass anyone on it!


But yeah, most of technically impossible "oh my God I can't believe i did that" driving feats happened between ages 16-18 as well.

 

A friend who currently owns a 360 talked me into rejoining the Ferrari clan, but I felt that his car was way too big. I ended up getting a 355 because it felt a bunch smaller, but when I looked at the specs, I found it less than one inch narrower. Short and wide works for me. I can get my '89 911 parked crosswise in front of it, and women love it.