I have red. I wanted blue...like REALLY REALLY REALLY want blue. the red is intoxicating...I get it now. sjd I still want blue.
I too wanted a blue one, still do....but hey, that's why we should have a second one, right? For that occasion when we do not want to be so loud in public. My wife has several pairs of shoes for this very reason... Seems only fair we should have cars for similar circumstances. I'll blame you for this....you blame me.... I love this plan!
H "Honey, this guy on the forum said I could get another one, and compare it to all the pairs of shoes you have." She would take the keys, and I'd never be able to drive it again, as it would be hers...ooh his and hers ferraris. I like this, trouble is, she likes the 50s and 60s cars, and I'm just not there in my net worth. sjd
So my experience was going from a red F430 to a canna Gray F355. The Red one was terrifying to drive on the streets in traffic as everyone instantly identified it a Ferrari (doesn't matter what type), and lots of idiot drivers took out their cameras and filmed or took photos. The worst was being tailed for 30 minutes in traffic with someone with a cell phone... or coming out of a supermarket with bags and having bums surrounding the car eating pudding (real thing). I absolutely hated the attention but loved the car. Be prepared for the constant "how much power does it have?" In the gray 355 it has been a totally different story. Gets nowhere near the same attention, if someone does recognize it, they generally have an appreciation and were a former owner or had a friend who had one. Much more enthusiast. But the camera and attention on the road is very minimal, which I breathe a lot easier about. Color makes a huge difference.
And the only thing worse than a red Ferrari … is a yellow Ferrari, like this one. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I think you'll be fine in La Jolla. In the LA area, I was shocked (relieved) to find that I do not receive much attention. Everyone is used to seeing exotic cars around here and are desensitized. I get the occasional thumbs up, or "what year is that" or "is that a Testarossa" at lights, but not a single person has approached me at a gas station. I will say, during the summer, I notice an uptick in attention. I blame it on the tourists that are not used to the LA car scene.
So I led a convoy of 8 cars (half Ferraris half Porsches) on a drive up highway 9. At the bottom of highway 9, we ran up against two kids in a Mitsubishi who stuck his cell phone out the sun roof to film a line of red Ferraris behind them, the stuck his head outside the sun roof to film us, then stuck his whole body outside the passenger window to film us, then followed us all the way to our breakfast spot. Attention getting? Yes!
Thanks - this is helpful context. I'm actually coming up to Redondo Beach tomorrow to check out a Red/Tan F355 for sale.
One thing for sure, a red F355 will get less attention than my yellow F355 Challenge did when I drove it to Pocono Raceway several years ago... Image Unavailable, Please Login
My red 308 got a lot of attention from men of various ages, some of it wasn't "good" attention. My grigio 355 gets a lot of attention from people, mostly men, who appreciate what it is, but definitely more woman than the 308 did. People tend to hear the 355 before they see it. My blue Porsche Boxster gets a lot of attention from woman, especially with the top down. Sit in the parking lot of a supermarket waiting for my wife to run an errand inside, they come right up to the car and ask about it. My black Mustang scares everyone away, especially the "ricers".
All Ferrari gets some attention regardless of color. The 355 is a visual overload due to its timeless shape. It’s not your typical you see one, you see them all round trunkless cars these days. There has never been a time I take mine out and no one notice. An incident I remember vidividly, a mom and daughter drove pass then slowed down to take a closer look. They smiled and kept looking. I thought they were looking at me. I want to believe they were smiling at me. Then I realized they were looking at the car. The 355 is a sculpture on wheel obviously.
90% of my driving is on two lane back roads, hardly anybody notices ........but there is nobody out there to notice. My red 355 hates parking lots and traffic.
I would say Yellow is equal to or even greater then red in terms of presence/attention.. in over 4 years of ownership ive had all the questions.. as mentioned above, the best of all, is it "real". and most people think its brand new.. and shocked when I tell them its a 1997 after they ask what year is it.. my first full season of ownership.. I drove the car almost everywhere. so I got a lot more of these type comments etc.. but now after several seasons of driving under my belt.. drives are mainly only on the weekend with other owners and cruises with the club. where we are usually 5+ cars running together. so the singled out attention is less these days.. and that's fine with me.
Oh yea... I forgot to tell the OP. The attention you will get is not the hot, 25 year old, blonde in a tube top with the three sizes too small cut off jean shorts and heels. No....sadly, it is not. It will be teenage boys and, more likely, middle aged balding white guys in stained tee-shirts sucking on a slurppy. Honest. I was devastated the first couple of times, but I have learned to cope...on the upside, I went and bought a new tee-shirt.
The attention, truly a love hate thing. My former blue ‘85 308 gts caused more attention episodes than my red ‘98 F355 gts. 308... two pre-teens on bicycles following to a parking lot, “Is that some kind of new Trans-Am?” No, not new, the car was made 20 years before you were born. 308... young driver behind me at a stop light with what appeared to be his father in the passenger seat, I could read his lips as he said, “Holy S#@t... and of course the couple in front motioning me to pass so they could get a better look. Yes, a Love, Hate Thing. But thinking about it, when I see any Ferrari on the road, my heart rate increases.
I was driving my yellow challenge car around and a voice said "that is the most beautiful car I have ever seen" It came from an 85 years old woman driving a cadillac
Yup, you have to make sure you look somewhat printable also, you will be amazed at how many folks take pictures as you drive; even if she is blue.
My face has appeared in hundred of youtube video I bet. Every time I drive down Lombard crooked street in San Francisco, the cellphones come out from the tourists to record whatever Ferrari I happen to drive at the time, blue, yellow or red does not matter.
Red will get the most attention along with yellow. In LA exotics are all over the place so you won't get as much as in other places but still more than colors like silver, blue, gray, black, etc. My 1st 355 was red and my 2nd blue. The red one got more attention but it was also louder so maybe that's why. I'm over the resale red thing so if I get another Ferrari I prefer gray or blue, although, red does show off their beautiful shapes.
If you don’t want attention buy a Porsche. I hate the attention the Ferrari’s draw. I even tried getting away from red and it made no difference. The benifits highly outway the costs of owning a Ferrari however, and it’s truly an awesome life experience imo.
Watson, I jokingly disagree. Most lookers I get are from women. Blonde, redhead, brunette even purple headed ones. Though I can’t say wether ther’re wearing a “tube top” or daisy duke. Thanks for the confirmation. Now I know they’re looking at me and not the car.
In La Jolla, my red Spider is hardly noticed. Agree that in summer, interest increases, and also agree its mostly from tourists. When I cruise up and down PCH, it gets “noticed” but it isn’t obtrusive. You’ll be fine anywhere in Orange or San Diego county.
It depends where you live. when i lived in Sandiego the first question every girl asked was "what kind of car do you drive". when i moved to Charlotte, when I told women what car i drove out of habit, they didn't care. in california men would not acknowlege, pride who knows what but in NC men would. So who is drawn to it seems a bit geographically driven in my experience. This was in rhe late 80 early 90s. not satinf its that way now. Either way expect any classic ferrari to get more attention that lets say a vette or porsche. truckers honk and thumbs up regarly. cameras come out regularly when i park. this is now in NJ. Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using FerrariChat.com mobile app
