As soon as next year with MAN, Scania and 2020 with Volkswagen. http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/vw-to-roll-out-electric-trucks-buses-in-dollar17-billion-push/ar-AAti6yD
Is a faster lap time betetr? Objectively so yes. So if a computer driven car is faster around fiorno than a human one is it betetr? Where do you draw the line. Cars that a boring at road speeds are not better, no matter how accomplished their transient lap time. Fearraris are about the objective and the subjective, subjectively theyr have been slidign since Lucas time. i dotn expect ferrari to be stuck in Bb time at all. I do expect their cars to posess thta magic, in modern relaibe faster platform, thats progress.
in 87 a new ferrari buyer had to cope with a stick, and no Ps, by defintion it required more skill and comitent than any of their cars today and the owner profile reflected that. A ferrari in 87 was not only visualy differentiated from competitors it was in every way different, and while not always a performance bechmark it was certainly a driving experience bechmark. the Paris Hiltons and Beibers of the world were not driving them then. Yes ferrari always had that hey look at me I arrived poseur quoitient, its just that its gone from 60% of buyers to 95% of buyers. Ferrari no longer sees fit to build a car to the remaining 5%. Its a denuded watered down brand in terms of driver cred. Its also my opnion that as the company exclusively makes Gt cars(with a few specials) they are stuck at 8k units beacause fundemantaly thats the +300k Gt car buyer base for them. There are potential another 2-3k units thye could sell of a harder core more driver focussed car. instead they are going SUV for China. Whither ferrari. In 1994 when i went to my first track day, the fcklub only allowed ferraris. Now when the ferrari production is what tripple what it was in 1994 all marques are welcome because so few ferraris show up. That tells all about the changing ferrari owner profile,and the product, as well as future product reflects that, hence the suv.
Panoz announces a couple of electric SUV's https://insideevs.com/panoz-green4u-unveils-pair-of-electric-6-door-suvs/
Cool, lets all get to 60 mph in 1.5 seconds of total emotionless time. I'd wager 6.5 seconds to 60 in a Mustang is quite a lot more exciting that 3 seconds Tesla.
This may be more a function of your Geo region. There is no shortage of hard core enthusiasts in my neck of the woods..so much I routinely turn down Ferrari track days. Also there is a lot of 1/2 mile shootouts if that's your thing.
What do you pick? I've got '70 Boss 302 which does 60 in 6.5 and a Cali T that does it in 4.5+. The Tesla is much more exciting. Much of it is the 100% torque at 0 mph that knocks the **** out of you. While moving zipping around corners window down you can't beat the 328. The Cali T is too uninvolved to be as fun slow twisties as 328, but it's strength is the highways and interstates where most hardly ever drive it.
Great post. Imagine somehting as invloving and viceral as the 328 with Cali T performance levels and abilities, thats the car ferrari seems to be missing producing . As to electrics so many of those who laud paddles and electronics as "better" are strangely against electrics which will be objectively better still. Of course there is this big subjective thing with ferraris, so then its meerly a matter of where one draws the line. Modern supercars are so very bland at road speeds, yet they can still thrill with sheer velocity. Batteries will do that even better, plus they have superb modulation which adds to the road experience. As to an suv, given that other than the breifest of bursts no one is really using anywhere near a modern ferrari or vettes performce on the road, is there really a real world performance deficit in a ferrsri Suv. Well then we are back to the subjective aspects of a sportscar over an SUV and the deicit an SUV suffers there, and that brings us back to how much of the subjective experience has already been blanded out in modern ferraris, a process started and evolved under Luca. Sergio is at best taking the process to its logical conclusion. Ferrari stopped being a bespoke specialized sportscar maker for those comited enthusiasts long ago. We can argue whther the product crossed a boundry with the 328 or 355, or the "brand" los the plot with dealer games and plastic sheilds, but each generation of cars after that lost greater degree of the special magic even if their objective performance improved.
This is what I can say for certain - I have a 1989 328 GTB. It took me three years to find the one I was looking for and I love it. For that period in time, it represents the pure essence of Ferrari. I also have a 2017 488 GTB. I waited two years to get the car (after being on a wait list, designing every detail, then waiting for production and delivery). I love it. For the current period in time, it also represents the pure essence of Ferrari. It's 2017. It has cutting edge technology, as it should. And, yes, it's bespoke, and yes, it's a beast. Earlier I referenced the Ferrari five year plan which will be revealed in early 2018. Aside from an SUV, none of us know what's in that plan, but, if it includes the development of a raw, purist sports car offering, would you still think Ferrari is a destroyed company?
Marchionne like Steve Jobs? “We’ll never make a tablet, they’re only good for sitting on the toilet.” Few months later: “Introducing the iPad!”
I would like that, but I also don't trust what Ferrari says things are vs. what they really are. For example that the Portofino is a brand new model and not just evolution of the California.
What if they do both a SUV and a more purist car like a new "Dino"? Then maybe we won't see so much complaining they have abandoned the more hard core driving enthusiast? One other advantage of electric cars is you can design the crash structure without having to worry about the giant mass of the engine (usually at the front). We've gotten really good at it, but I think EV car architecture will eventually allow for even safer designs. But- and this is just me now- driving an EV is BORING. I've been in and driven Teslas and while fast I get nothing out of the experience. I don't think Ferrari will ever go pure EV. I think fundamentally they are like a fine watch maker who makes their movement. Ferrari's movement is the engine. I think instead we are likely to see some hybrid help. Don't mistake my point of view- I think EVs can make some very interesting cars and great daily cars. Even sports cars- but I just don't think they would make great Ferraris.
If they do a Dino it should be all out hard core. CF tub, turbo V6, and priced the same as Portofino NOT below. In regards to their 'SUV' I have a feeling they know they'll have to do something unexpected. So perhaps a Lusso platform that has adjustable ride height and two gullwing doors (they have mentioned this as a possibility) to access the rear seats and retain Ferrari DNA of two door coupe.
By the way, why do most people constantly reference a potential new purist sports car a "Dino" I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a Dino expert, and I recognize that the cars have obviously skyrocketed in value in recent years. I suppose they're nice enough looking cars, but, it's my understanding that the Dino was a relatively inexpensive car that the company didn't even feel proud enough of to badge it a "Ferrari". If this is the case, that isn't exactly the formula I would hope for them to repeat if they produce a new, raw, visceral sports road car.
I guess my point is - if Ferrari unveils a new purist road sports car, my hope is that it isn't a homage to the Dino of the past that didn't even wear the badge. I would hope it would offer killer design, high performance and a thrilling drivers experience.
I'm not thrilled with an imminent Ferrari SUV, but I will say this much - given that it's coming, please god make it a killer looking vehicle. The Lamborghini Urus is a complete yawner. I'm actually very surprised that they would turn out something so dull.
not my decision to close down. also, what does my personal lack of consumership for this new Ferrari company have to do with FerrariChat?
Quote Nicola Materazzi, ingenere behind 288 GTO & F40; "If Ferrari can survive Marchionne, it can survive a nuclear bomb."
I'm thinking it was a joke Rob. Interwebz is not a great place for jokes mind because often it is how it's said and not actually what is said . However that's my take on how I read it
There have been a few articles about Ferrari considering the revival of the Dino brand so as to offer an entry level car made by Ferrari that is a mid-V6, possibly with an optional manual transmission, priced just below the Portofino. I'd much rather have them do that than make an SUV, but the SUV is evidently coming, like it or not. The Dino question is still up in the air. Here's one of the articles I'm talking about. http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2017/8/11/Ferrari-Can-t-Decide-Whether-To-Bring-Back-The-Dino-7740548/ Image Unavailable, Please Login