550 Barchetta - want to talk me out of it ?? Help !

Bragging rights in London...

 

More London bragging rights

 

Scraggy- No, the 550 and Barchetta did not really need FHP since both came with a steering position sensor that preloads the outside shocks when the steering wheel turns. That sensor was not fitted to the 575M until November 2003, which is why FHP is a bigger deal on early 575Ms than it is on 550s or Barchettas. If I got a 550, Barchetta, or 575M without FHP, though, I would definitely consider fitting the FHP or Maranello Skunkworks steering ECU to improve steering feel by decreasing boost at speed.

 

In this video Harry discusses the FHP on the 550 he's driving and also it's irrelevance in the Barchetta he owned.

From 15:00 minutes onwards.

 

Real Ferraris don't have roofs, and can drive just fine in the rain, even win races!

Eugenio Castellotti wins the race in a Ferrari 290 MM.

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From the same race, Enzo reviews his entrants.

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Real Ferraris cost $10M+, too. Funny how much difference there is between a 290 MM and a 290 S, except the 290 S Ferraris were all converted to 315 S or 335 S spec. No substitute for cubic inches, especially competing against big Maserati V8s.

 

That was a great review! Thank-you for posting it, Alan.

Barry

 

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Bragging rights in London. Ahhoooooooo.

 

I am just following the others.

 

I owned a 550 Barchetta for a couple of years . It was nice but I had a hard time driving it any distance constant worries of rain (we get a lot of afternoon storms ) and I could not leave it at a store or anything like that .. I really thought about a tonneu cover but could not really come up with a solution without drilling .. All I could think about was the car getting full of water in a sudden down pour and dealing with getting the electronics back working... so I finally sold it ...
I often think it would be cool to get another ....

 

I agree the Pista is better in every way but then again it is not an open top manual V12 and the Barchetta does not handle anything like a pista

 

Scraggy, I like the reasoning path that took you to the 550B. And there’s a lot that’s attractive about it, for sure. But it is also a more wobbly, slower, less sharp version of a normal 550 of which there were 3083 made, with no dynamic advantages apart from sound. Which is important for sure, but after what you have owned, it might lack either the thrill of the 458SA or the kudos and grit of a real classic Ferrari.

It won’t have London bragging rights, that’s for sure. That subtle shape would be lost in the sea of Gulf Lambos, Paganis, Bugattis, LaFs, chopped top Brabus Gs, gold and diamond Uruses and so on. No Dorchester shop front parking space there.

I do recommend what someone mentioned, a 430 Spider manual. I have both a coupe and spider of these, and the Spider is full volume drop top thrills to the extent that it feels a different car. That and my gated 575 will be the last things to leave when the debt collectors finally come calling.

 

You were right about the market..you could buy your car back for less than you sold it for I’m pretty sure. And there is so much choice in that price range.

I have always wished Ferrari did standard spider versions of its V12s like it does of the V8s. A gated FHP 575 manual spider would be a nice car.

 

Don't waste your money. It's a nice car..but nobody is gonna buy it after you are done with it. Times are changing.

 

There seems to be an awful lot of them for sale at the moment. You've probably dodged a bullet there.

 

If you want something a bit special that you'll not see elsewhere how about this - about the same budget.

Absolutely lovely looking thing.

https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2020-03-07/cars/ref-32-1969-lamborghini-islero-s-jg/

 

That is the "glass half empty" point of view. If, however, your glass is half full, then now you have a fantastic opportunity - lots of choice (most unusual) and the chance to bag a bargain, while getting into a very special car. Go on, you know you want to!