456M GT or GTA

A fully automatic Ferrari? Maybe if I lost a leg in Vietnam I would drive it to the VFW hall for wine-spritzers...

Get the gate, thank me later.

 

GATE !!

 

6-speed is no substitution on the 456 but I realize it is damn difficult to get a nice pro 98 456M with the "gate" in the market.

 

Well I would go with a 6 speed every time. If you're less than 100 years old and want to drive it, it's far more satisfying. IMO the auto on the 456 is not a very good 'box

Sorry, can't let this one go! It's just wrong. This is a very fast car, it's just that most owners drive them slowly. Except me and Prancing.

So have I, and I didn't find there was that much in it. I almost traded my Modena for a 550 to have alongside my 456, but while the 550 is faster, the two are so similar in concept and feel it didn't work for me.

The fact than two people can have the opposite view of the same car indicates that you should try both yourself and see which one best suits the purpose you have in mind for it.

Kevin

 

Ferrari makes the only auto in the 456. So their experience is very poor. Stick with the manual.

 

Will your wife drive it and if she does, does she drive stick?

 

i just love the car...doesnt matter, but youll get a far better deal on a GTA i think no?

 

Auto? You'd have to kick your own ass every day for doing that.

I'll be in the market at the end of the year for a 1998 456GTM... 1998 introduced traction control which my wife wants. My wife would kick your ass if you got an automatic ferrari.

Seriously - the auto you lose additional trunk space due to the transmission, you are likely to meet financial ruin if anything goes bad in the automatic, and you're going to feel like you've got to straighten your skirt each time you sit in the drivers seat.

Just my opinion.

-dq

 

Didn't James G. post here that the tranny was a $50K replacement item ?

 

If you can find one.

 

I really like my 6spd. I would have liked an auto in my TR because heavy steering with a heavy clutch is a miserable combination in the city. The 456 has light steering and a light clutch - less notchy, easier shifting than most older Fcars too. I've driven the auto and it's pretty good - I'm sure it's rebuildable if it breaks. The autos seem to be for sale everywhere, resale not so good compared to the 6spd.

 

The autotrans in the 456 GTA is very primitive by any standards, and completely prehistoric when you compare it with a Tiptronic or similar system. It's very cluncky, jerky and slow.My old Jag in '82 had a better auto box.

The 456 engine is so powerful, big and torquey that you can be really lazy with the manual box if you just want to cruise quietly. Go for the manual every time.

 

ditto

 

I wouldn't worry about resale as an issue as between the two options. While I love the car, I think the market is very soft, regardless of the choice. There seem to be fewer standards produced as the production went on (thus very few post-98 slush boxes). If I lived in an area of very high traffic (like in the middle of LA or NYC), I'd get the auto. Otherwise, the fear of rebuilding one of the world's 2000 or so 456 auto tranny's would be too much.

 

Solly, I have never driven a 465, but based on my experince with a 550, I'd definitely go with the stick. The 550 has so much torque that basically you can drive around in 3rd and 4th, including a complete stop.

Indeed, when I drive the 550, I always go from 1st to 3rd very quickly.

I have had some people say that the clutch is too heavy, but these are P-car punks, and not real car guys!

DrTax

 

I drove a 456MGTA almost everyday for two years, 14500 miles... The auto is a clunky design; never in the right gea, slow to shift, r and no kickdown. Very nice car, however I would go with 6 speed. And only get a "M"...too many issues with the early model.