Do Vintage Fans Really Hate Modern Ferrari's? | FerrariChat

Do Vintage Fans Really Hate Modern Ferrari's?

Discussion in 'Vintage (thru 365 GTC4)' started by Rossocorsa1, Aug 22, 2017.

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  1. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

    May 14, 2017
    6,200
    I love all eras of Ferrari's. I love the great vintage classics and I've recently dedicated more time to learning much more about them. I also love the cars from the 80's and 90's, as well as the modern cars.

    Is it true that vintage owners and fans really hate modern Ferrari's? If so, why? Of course, time moves on and technology is represented in different ways. Nothing (not design or engineering) stays the same. I can appreciate the incredible excitement that the older cars offer, but it seems hard to believe that an Enzo or LaFerrari doesn't make one take notice.
     
  2. Jack-the-lad

    Jack-the-lad Six Time F1 World Champ
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    Jun 22, 2004
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    Speaking only for myself, I can't say I "hate" modern Ferraris, but I would not buy one because they just don't interest me very much and I don't have any emotional connection with them in the same way I do the older ones.
     
    Bowzer likes this.
  3. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

    Mar 26, 2011
    11,968
    FRANCE
    "Hating" would be too strong a word, but the modern cars do not do anything for me; my first emotion is always aesthetical, it comes from the shape of the car. The last Ferrari that gave me goose bumps at first sight was the 550 Maranello (and the 355 for the Berlinettas). Since then, that is to say starting with the 360, I find their aesthetics bland: the cars do not do nothing for me; and they are also too big.
    I admire their engines, when it is actually possible to see them (open the hood of an F12, you do not see anything mechanical, everything is wrapped-up). I admire their performance, their technology, but their shape leaves me indifferent. They do not give me any emotion, I don't even double back in the streets when one passes by. (And I find the Enzo just plain ugly; but that's just me).

    So "hating", no. Just indifference.

    Rgds
     
  4. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

    Mar 26, 2011
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    You beat me to it...

    Rgds
     
  5. redfred84

    redfred84 Formula Junior

    Dec 24, 2010
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    I don't care for anything that is modern; especially here in California, where vehicles from 1976 & above need to be smogged.
    RF
     
  6. intrepidcva11

    intrepidcva11 F1 Rookie
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    About sums it up pretty accurately for me, particularly the Maranello and 355 berlinetta references.
     
  7. moriaan1

    moriaan1 Formula 3

    Dec 3, 2006
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    What a question...

    Classic Ferrari's created the myth.
    Modern Ferrari's are just cars...

    In the old days Ferrari was about racing and winning..
    Nowadays its only about making money
     
    Bowzer likes this.
  8. of2worlds

    of2worlds F1 World Champ
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    all of that plus the classic owners mostly retain their Ferrari for an extended period of time.
     
  9. Daytonafan

    Daytonafan F1 Rookie

    Oct 18, 2003
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    #9 Daytonafan, Aug 22, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Certainly don't hate them but there isn't a car in the current range I have a burning desire to own either.

    If I had to choose I would probably go for the GTC4Lusso (with a V12 obviously) as my favourite new Ferrari. However I was parked next to one at an event on Sunday and it looks absolutely massive next to the Daytona and far less elegant. I'm sure the GTC4Lusso is a great GT car but so would a Porsche Panamera Turbo for a lot less money and I could spend the difference on something older and more fun.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  10. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

    May 14, 2017
    6,200
    All good thoughts. Everyone has a personal taste, of course. I look at a 250 LM, a 250 TR or a 375 Plus and they all get me going. I also love the 288 GTO, F40 and 328's. That said, I can't help but get very excited looking at my 488 GTB or a LaFerrari. I guess I'm just a lover of the whole brand.



     
  11. Vincent Vangool

    Vincent Vangool Formula 3

    Oct 6, 2007
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    Basically this.
     
  12. Smiles

    Smiles F1 World Champ
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    Nov 20, 2003
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    I think that classic owners have a bad taste with what Ferrari has done over the past several years with its Classiche program and they way it has evolved.

    Search "Classiche" here for more info.

    Matt
     
  13. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ
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    I guess I'm the exception here. I love vintage cars (own a 365GT), and I also love my 612. And was very impressed with the FF I've spend time in, and the other modern V-12 Ferraris.

    The modern V-8s don't do much for me, but that's nothing new (and I plead guilty to having owned a V-8 Ferrari in the past, and maybe will do so again).
     
  14. TTR

    TTR F1 Veteran
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    +2

    Then again, I feel same regarding any modern, let's say 1980 & newer, motor vehicles.

    Just because some super/hyper car has gazillion HP, can accelerate from here to other side of world in 0.? seconds and stop right on the egde of a dime doesn't impress me a bit unless its performance is being put to regular "as intended" use, i.e. Grand Touring (?).

    I just find it sad when motor vehicles, be they modern or vintage, are reduced to be just display items.
     
  15. Dave330gtc

    Dave330gtc Formula Junior

    Mar 12, 2002
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    A big part of the vintage attraction is the nostalgia attached to these old cars. There is a lot also going on with the senses; smell of the oil, gas, leather, sound of both the intake and exhaust, the feel of the shift lever and the thin wood steering wheel. New cars are very appliance like. Almost like sitting in your chair at home playing a video game. Technologically advanced but a disconnect between man and machine.
     
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  16. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

    May 14, 2017
    6,200
    I totally understand what you are saying; however, I might suggest a different way of thinking about it. Are today's Ferrari's more refined, of course. But, I have been actually a bit surprised how immersed one feels in the modern cars, particularly the mid-engine cars. True, it is a totally different experience, but I find driving in a LaFerrari, and even a 488, a complexly euphoric experience. I guess it's a different kind of "visceral". As for design - certainly beauty is subjective. Personally, I love and appreciate designs from all decades.

    I guess what I am suggesting is this - just because one has their preferences on an era doesn't mean one can't also have appreciate and awe for today's breed as well. I think most would agree, it isn't reasonable to expect Ferrari to build cars with the same design and technology from decades ago. Enzo himself was always enthralled with pushing things to the next level.
     
  17. BarryK

    BarryK Formula 3

    Dec 17, 2016
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    My God....I used to think the Daytona itself was not that small, but the Lusso is a giant next to it.

    Hard to beat the timeless lines of the Daytona.
     
  18. wbaeumer

    wbaeumer F1 Veteran
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    Mar 4, 2005
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    The old cars gave something like a romantic feeling. There was always drama with those cars. The engines were much more developed rather than the chassis so the cars were not easy to drive (today every idiot can drive a modern Ferrari...he only needs the money to buy one!).
    Every car of the 50s/60s was different - even when from the same type.

    Modern Ferraris are industrial products. Their panels are made by the same machines/robots that also produce panels for BMW, VW, Fiat, Jaguars etc., etc.
    And while Ferrari in the old days produced their own engines, gearboxes, diffs etc - this components are designed in Maranello - but made somewhere els (like the 4WD-system of the FF and Lusso that was constructed and build in Austria!). And also the engines were partly designed abroad...

    In the past all Italian cars with a manual gearbox like double-declutching. I owned a 575GTC with manual 6-speed. Double-declutching? Not possible due to the ceramic brakes...

    Particular the fact that all modern Italian Supercars do not come with the manual box anymore takes the drama away (Porsche`s recent/current success with the manuel gearbox in their cars tells the story. I had a 911R and -gee- that was a car!).

    2 days ago I drove a 488 - a great modern car: fast, great roadholding, very well balanced, but with a syntetic feeling like in any other modern Supercar.

    The romance is gone.....
     
  19. Ed Niles

    Ed Niles Formula 3
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    I don't even keep track of modern cars; I'm a certified dinosaur.
    I can't help wondering if anyone from Ferrari looks here, and if so whether it has the slightest influence on their thinking. They still sell all the cars that they choose to make, and are successful at it beyond Enzo's dreams.
     
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  20. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

    May 14, 2017
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    Your sentiments make a lot of sense, and seem to be shared by most everyone in the vintage section. So, this begs the question - what could Ferrari do in this modern age to attract you to modern cars? But, be fair and acknowledge that Ferrari isn't just going to shelve modern technology and revert to making cars the way they did fifty years ago. Maybe they can't do anything? Maybe you just simply prefer cars of the past, which is fine.



     
  21. fiatosca

    fiatosca Formula Junior
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    As an automotive designer I can only say that for me, modern Ferraris fall short aesthetically in areas such as proportion, surface quality, and refinement of detail. I find the modern California to be the biggest offender of the bunch. The wheel-to-body relationship makes the car appear ungainly and the general theme and surface execution are downright amateurish. The LaFerrari is dramatic for sure, but it along with Ferrari's other latest offerings are completely lacking in subtlety.

    As a child I was fortunate enough to be raised on a steady diet of Enzo era V12s from my father's collection. Last month I had the pleasure of housing his '64 Lusso in my garage, a car which has been in the family for forty years. Even after all this time I can stare at the car for an hour and still be mesmerized by its beauty - an absolute masterpiece. I can walk right past a 488 without feeling a thing.
     
  22. TTR

    TTR F1 Veteran
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    Well, in all fairness and unless I'm completely mistaken, most if not all vintage era road Ferraris were also made of mostly outsourced components and services with relatively little in-house labor involved.

    365 GTB/4, for example, I believe was even constructed elsewhere (mainly at Scagliettis) and only brought to "factory" assembly line for running gear installation and final mechanical sorting. Other than engine + some few mechanical and suspension pieces, most of its components were made by and sourced from variety of vendors and subcontractors from France, Germany, Italy, UK, USA, etc.
     
  23. Dave330gtc

    Dave330gtc Formula Junior

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    And I totally understand what you are saying. Modern technology is a wonderful thing. I do appreciate the current models for what they are. The factory should absolutely push forward to be on the cutting edge. I want Ferrari to produce the ultimate sports car. But I am drawn to the vintage models more. Similar to my interest in older motorcycles, furniture design, and architecture.
     
  24. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ
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    My problem with this thread is that you could have made the same case any time between the mid-1950s and today, starting with the Boano.

    It's series production, not unique like the older cars, too luxurious, not competition focused.

    And let's not get started on the Lusso or GTE!
     
  25. wbaeumer

    wbaeumer F1 Veteran
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    Mar 4, 2005
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    A big step -IMO- would be to offer the manual gearbox as an option for the modern cars.

    For the future I am very pessemistic:
    the car driving that we all know today will be gone in about 20 -/+ years!
    It will be very interesting how Ferrari (and the others...) will cope with the new challenges like electrification and autonomous driving etc. As a lot of the big players like BMW, Mercedes, VW, Audi, PSA-Group from France and the Japanese brands will cooperate with each other by founding new joint ventures on this issue, Ferrari sooner or later needs to collaborate with someone. Fiat-Group alone does not have the cars/models to assist Maranello in this.
     

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