The F50 Thread | Page 73 | FerrariChat

The F50 Thread

Discussion in '288GTO/F40/F50/Enzo/LaFerrari' started by amenasce, Dec 28, 2010.

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  1. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

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    The other end of the spectrum. I guess, to each their own.
     
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  2. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
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    Exactly, whatever makes you happy.

    Just don't expect everyone to be happy with you, because one man's honoring the cars might be another man's automotive vandalism.
     
  3. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

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    #1803 Rossocorsa1, May 8, 2019
    Last edited: May 8, 2019
    Couldn't agree more. I suppose one can only hope that the cars referenced will be bought by someone who cares enough to return them to their correct and appropriate configuration. Honestly, I wish this for all cars that carry the name of great automotive brands, but particularly the supercars.
     
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  4. Garretto

    Garretto F1 Rookie

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    So we agree to disagree.

    Specifically I'd like to ask, relying on your professional knowledge, and please allow me the question out of the specific thread, what are your thoughts on ANSA exhausts for the 288 (to name a widely accepted mod, I believe) and do you consider these anymore valid than, say, some Enkei wheels for the F40? Or maybe you can find better examples to illustrate.
     
  5. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
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    The Ansa F1 Megaphone exhausts are perhaps not really a modification as they were in fact developed under Ferrari SpA's auspices by Michelotto in collaboration with Ansa, and in fact some GTOs were delivered with them already affixed, so they could perhaps be considered a factory-sanctioned option for the GTO.

    Think of the factory quad-tips unit as the standard exhaust option, and the Ansa Megahone twin pipes as the sport exhaust option.

    The Megaphones were initially rarely specced because there was little publication about them and owners only requested them post-delivery in ensuing years because they saw & heard other cars with them affixed.

    Almost all cars which are affixed with the Megaphones that I have encountered still have the standard exhaust units so they can swap back because the Megaphones can be too loud for some jurisdictions.

    The Enkei wheels are purely a modification, all F40s were delivered with standard Speedline wheels, no exceptions.
     
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  6. Garretto

    Garretto F1 Rookie

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    Thank you Joe for your detailed reply.
     
  7. TSOYBELIS

    TSOYBELIS F1 World Champ

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  8. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
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  9. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
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  10. JackCongo

    JackCongo Formula Junior
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    Joe, believe me : the classiche department in Maranello is not happy at all with the megaphono !
     
  11. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
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    Yes, so I hear!
     
  12. F140C

    F140C Formula 3

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    Agreed. Japan's full of more or less crazy cars and that's their way to enjoy them, even on a daily basis. There's the white F50 fitted with MSR exhaust, old-school Speedline motorsport wheels and a modified rear wing or the yellow one with GT1 inspired bodykit and Tubi pipes. Both with full racey interiors and dashboards, Challenge GT wheel and modern Kumho Ectsa tires (not-so-semi slicks!). Heartache-inducing material for any purist but that's how japanese folks love them.
     
  13. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

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    God help us
     
  14. Valerian

    Valerian Formula Junior

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    Rosso Barchetta? Where can be this beauty seen, if I may ask?
     
  15. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
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    No, regular Rosso Corsa FD-80.

    Marcel Massini
     
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  16. F140C

    F140C Formula 3

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    Some modifications are more tasteful than others, it's not the end of the world for me, even if anyone is obviously free to disagree.

    At Niki Hasler, I suppose.
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BxUGfUAlgda/
     
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  17. TSOYBELIS

    TSOYBELIS F1 World Champ

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  18. TSOYBELIS

    TSOYBELIS F1 World Champ

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  19. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
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  20. rossocorsa13

    rossocorsa13 F1 Rookie

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    This is crazy.

    Do you remember the modded F50 in Best Motoring? Pure joy. Do you remember the modded F50 in the video shot at Reims? Best exhaust note I've ever heard in my life. Remember the F40 LM and F50 GT? They exist in "original" form because Michelotto modified existing F40 and F50 platforms.

    Modding is great for brands. It reinforces the original product's integrity and creates additional public interest by appealing to a wider audience. If you're Gordon Murray, modding is why you won LeMans.

    Also, the whole originality thing is insane, and sucks. As a teenager I used to read the market value charts in old Motor Trends and C&Ds, praying that the F50 would one day drop into a semi-affordable range. Nope.

    Sadly, my generation (millennials) are making it worse. MkIV Supras are selling for $100K. Integra Type-Rs are selling for $50K. WTF? "Originality" is becoming a euphemism for "I bought this car as part of my investment portfolio." Please, go buy paintings, or land. Cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed.

     
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  21. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #1821 joe sackey, May 22, 2019
    Last edited: May 22, 2019
    Unmodified F50s are driven & enjoyed, and the stereotypical notion which suggests that they aren't is simply uniformed.

    How many actual owners of an unmodified F50 do you personally know?

    I know a few, and they are all driven & enjoyed, to a greater or lesser extent.

    In fact, from my viewpoint as a professional who specializes in these cars and my experience as an owner, I think the unmodified cars are enjoyed more than modified cars in the long run for a number of reasons.

    Their preserved status gives their owners immense pride-of-ownership as their successful keepers, they are granted official Certification by the car's manufacturer Ferrari SpA who appreciate the cars being kept original, the cars actually work better for the road as intended when they are not modified, and when the time comes to sell, original unmodified cars bring significantly more money than modified examples.

    In conclusion, keeping the cars original is better all round, it's a real win that can be measured in tangible terms for the ownership experience.

    Furthermore we all know that modifying a highly-engineered state-of the-art Supercar does not make it better per se, it can make it different, customized, gaudy, weird, and subject to many compromises, but, whatever works for the owner.

    A $2.5 million plus car is an automotive investment by virtue of it's multimillion-dollar value, that's just a basic reality no matter how wealthy or otherwise you are, and anyone with a comprehensive market understanding accepts this. Just because a car is valuable does not mean it cannot be enjoyed, ask my client who races his $70 million 250 GTO. If you dislike the idea of cars being any type of investment, since you seem to suggest that a $50k Acura Integra is pricey, perhaps you're looking at the wrong marque.
     
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  22. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

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    As it came from the factory is as it should be. Period. Of course, any owner can do as he pleases with his property but it remains a travesty to take these cars, particularly the supercars, and alter them. I often hear things like, “well, that particular component was poorly done” or, “great car, but in today’s world, there’s a much better solution for this part or that”. These are not utilitarian modes of transportation, they are automotive history, and the supercars are the flagships of Ferrari both in their contemporary time and into history. Naturally, one can take a 250 Lusso and realize that virtually every nut and bolt on the car can be improved by today’s standards, but it would be a crime to do so. The cars should be enjoyed, celebrated and maintained to their original, unmodified specification, even when other options are superior.
     
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  23. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #1823 joe sackey, May 22, 2019
    Last edited: May 22, 2019
    So true.

    That said, if one wants to be a hot-rodder, I can recommend some other makes & models for a fraction of the price of a Ferrari Supercar.

    Personally, I'm tired of hearing all the stereotypical notions that you read anytime a low mileage car comes up for discussion or the desire to keep them original is endorsed.

    The often-repeated stereotypical notion that 'owners who keep their cars original do not drive & enjoy them' suggests ignorance at worst and a lack of first-hand knowledge of the ownership landscape at best, moreover it is false.

    The notion that owners who possess cars with lower miles do not drive and enjoy them is false.

    The notion that because cars are valuable they cannot be enjoyed is false.

    The notion that taking a highly engineered finely-tuned state-of-the art sports car and modifying it automatically makes it 'better' is false.

    The notion that all Ferrari Supercars ought to be high-mileage beaters is simply quite childish in terms of the reality of life.

    In the past, we'd listen to people crow on about how it was sad or how certain owners should be ashamed of themselves for having cars with low miles, or we'd see owners be disparaged just because they wish to respect the automotive art which they happen to think is perfect.

    Those that disparage owners with cars with low miles likely don't actually know any owners with Ferrari Supercars with low miles. Some of these guys have 10, 20 or even 40 cars, no wonder they have now miles despite the fact that they are out driving most weekends. Also, some of these guys have priorities, like family & business, the latter being what afforded them the means to acquire these cars in the first place.

    Well, times are changing and people who want to respect the cars in the spirit in which their maker supplied them are speaking up for that right & preference.

    By the way, many of the F40s & F50s that have been abused in places like Japan are being returned to original spec and some of them have made their way over to the USA - ask me how I know.

    Also, as time marches on in this information age, people learn more about the heritage of Ferrari and the significance of the cars, and with knowledge, wisdom & maturity come a desire to revert to the finest form these pieces of automotive art can exist in - original as created.
     
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  24. rossocorsa13

    rossocorsa13 F1 Rookie

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    I didn't suggest that original F50s are enjoyed less than modified ones. I said that I think it sucks that originality has such high perceived financial value, mostly because anything that drives the price of a car up means that it is less affordable for me.

    I will never be able to afford an F50. I know zero F50 owners. It's still my favorite car though, ever since I saw it 20 years ago on my sixth grade teacher's wall. I don't appreciate you suggesting that my lack of money or social access means that I'm interested in "the wrong marque." Aside from being bad reasons to disapprove of someone's interest or investment in a car company, those are just low things to say in general.

    To someone who can't afford one of these cars, ownership as care-taking (or "keeping," as you say) is a bit depressing because it introduces other things into the ownership experience -- factory approval, increased financial value, invitations for future purchases -- that have nothing to do with what the car was made for and everything to do with the owner's financial / social opportunity. And they all drive prices way up. I'm a car guy, but my favorite car is looking less and less like a car and more like a stock option.

    Jay Leno said about his McLaren F1, "You have to be something else before you're a car guy in order to buy one of these things." What a shame. More people should get to own and drive F1s and F50s.

    I love when people mod cars like the F50 because it suggests that they love the car for what it does, not the opportunity it affords them. It's the spirit that's important.

    ,
     
  25. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #1825 joe sackey, May 23, 2019
    Last edited: May 23, 2019
    No disrespect whatsoever, my recommendation is based on what you have stated above, and the simple matter of economic reality.

    For example, I'm not upset that I can't afford a 250 GTO, its simply the economic reality, and rather than complain that it sucks that they are so expensive, if someone recommended other models that I can actually afford, I'd take that as good advice and not get upset with him also for suggesting I don't have the means to buy one.

    That said, if you really want to own an F50 as a dream, that dream should be applauded & encouraged, but it can only be accomplished based on economic reality.

     

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