I think it was a good deal. I was underbidder but didn’t love the color combo (and seats) so I let it go. I was also disturbed by the obvious shilling and the seller listing with BJ which made me think it wasn’t going to sell under 200k anyhow. Kinda regret not staying with it because it would have made a cool 6spd conversion project but I’ve got enough going on with cars anyhow.
Nice price: https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/ferrari/575-superamerica/2447734.html?utm_source=autotempest&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=autotempest_classifieds
The last two examples here would put the premium on a gated manual transmission in a SA at around a million dollars..
F me. I need to start converting these for fun (and profit). I totally get that a converted car won't command nearly the same premium, but goodness, surely there's a solid business case there? 575's are the easiest of the V12's to convert too.
@brogenville I know a lot of people have bad mouthed the texas outfit that is doing a lot of conversions but some of that "bad conversation" is "aged/old" and as they develop the 575 kit it would be good to hear some current feedback on how the expanded entity does with the new help from "Gated Six" ....no affiliation.....(from either supplying the kit) or doing the full conversion. Last night I just watched the new/recent youtube video from the normal guy super car "channel guy" talking about how Ferrari was not impressed with what "they" are doing down in Texas. I had historically been very focused on the arbitrage pricing for a very well optioned 575 compared to a similar optioned 550 (if even possible given how better optioned the 575's were) and the reality is it has to be a certain set of instances for it to pencil out even if it is a buy and hold......now that last blue SA that sold on Bring a Trailer recently....wow that would have been a very unique situation to convert given how low that car traded. I'm optimistic someone on the forum will do the exercise soon and share their experience with the "family".
I get the impression that EAG are getting their act together. I (and probably a few other people) are doing some tinkering with this stuff in making parts etc. but they're the only guys making turnkey kits. You have to give them credit for that. A bit of humility goes a long way though, and I know that they have had a lot more issues than they've spoken about publicly. I think its great what they're doing though.
What are the disadvantages with their non OEM "kit". Is it really that hard to source all the necessary OEM parts? Do they improve upon the quality of any OEM parts?
@brogenville agreed. Especially if they end up making kits and shipping them to owners to install or with other shops near their individual owners.
Indeed - I can see from their website that they have made a replacement for the gear-stick turret assembly in CAD. This part alone is NLA. I have this part disassembled in front of me for 3d scanning, and I cant see anything functional they have changed on this part. Overall rigidity may be improved though, and I assume they will be using roller bearings rather than brash bushes like some of the Ferrari parts. On the other hand, there are some parts that Ferrari have put back into production. I have reverse engineered the control plate for example, only to find that Ferrari are making a new batch this year. Truthfully I would struggle to make them at a competitive price to Ferrari though, which basically kills the whole proposition. If the same is true for other parts, then you may as well just go OEM.
I don’t have a horse in the game in the OEM vs 3rd party conversion situation but I will say that whenever I can support local and/or American small business and jobs in America I’m a fan. I hope for our hobby things like this program grow and people have positive experiences with it because it would be great for the longevity of hobbyists involved in internal combustion engines. I really like the idea of a California car owner (as an example) also being able to use and support a California tech/mechanic....even if the parts come from the great state of Texas. ;-)
I would have no qualms with a 3rd party kit as long as it functioned the same, provided the same tactile feedback, and overall aesthetic.
From Nathan’s book 142386 US SA HGTC blue pozzi Bordeaux manual 142968 US SA HGTC Grigio Titanio over testa di Moro manual 143793 US SA Argento Nurburg over Grigio/carbone manual 143799 US SA Rubino Micalizzo over cuoio manual 144211 US SA HGTC Rossa Corsa over cuoio manual 144591 US SA Rossa Corsa over cuoio manual 144835 US SA Grigio silverstone over tan manual 144853 US SA FHP Grigio silverstone over cuoio manual 144861 US SA Rossa Corsa over cuoio manual 145124 US SA Nero Daytona over pelle Nero manual 145423 US SA Rossa Corsa over cuoio manual 145718 US SA FHP Grigio Silverstone over crema manual 145725 US SA Grigio Silverstone over Bordeaux manual Extremely rare air.... Hope this helps/is-interesting — E
I never thought to look at Nathan's book for that info, thanks. Looks like 13 US 3 pedals, or 33% of production. US average of total Ferrari production has hovered around 28%, so pretty close since I would have WAG'd 11.
And yet if you want a topless gated Maranello you can buy a Barchetta for a quarter of the price of that SA. Less power, but less weight and less to go wrong, and free showers.
To be fair I guess the owner can always ask over a million. Maybe they will get it? I don't follow the F40 market so I don't know what they trade at (I would love one but would never put that much in one vehicle) but I assume for those big numbers the alternates are interesting. So few of those 575 SA factory manuals --- will be interesting if we ever learn the actual price it trades hands at.
The F40 experience is going to cost $1m or whatever but there’s no option to get the same car for $200k plus $50k of aftermarket tweaking. Same with Carrera GT. Cars like that are totally unique and standalone so I can understand those “values” a little better than a $1m gated SA just cause only 33 other people could have had that experience in 2006 but in theory 559 (whatever the super America # is) can also have the identical experience today. Just my $0.02 on crazy $$ “collectibles”
You and I are in complete agreement. I'm also an "enthusiast" not a "traditionalist" so I'd have no problem personally with an F1-6MT.
Sooner or later, someone in Ferrari is going to figure out there's money to be made offering retrofits on their back catalogue. Historically that that would simply never happen, but historically they didn't have public shareholders to appease. It really wouldn't surprise me to see them offering Aston Martin Vanquish type factory manual conversions, for a cost of course. Lately they seem to be promoting/attracting older models back into their dealerships with offers and promotions as documented recently by JayEmm and his 550.
@21ATS I have historically really enjoyed the podcast "The Smoking Tire" and Matt there has talked extensively about his experience having Aston convert his V12. One would think Ferrari would at least make available all the relevant parts even if they didn't publicly support the conversions.
The Barchetta is one of my favorite cars of all time. Too bad the sleek lines and cut down roof means I can't actually see out of the front windshield any longer (in my 575 with the seat at max recline I still am looking out of the very top of the windshield given my 6'2-3ish height. So very frustrating.
I think slightly differently, I don't think they would be interested in making parts available outside of their own network. Aston Martin are a good comparison actually. They do "fixed priced" restorations on DB cars. I think the fixed price is circa £500K - the "factory restored" cars then carry a huge premium becuase they are factory restored, you're encouraged to keep it all in house with Aston Heritage. They are also building limited run recreations for huge sumes of money (millions per unit). Ferrari will be looking at this from a revenue stream perspective as opposed to offering better value to existing owners. So imagine if Ferrari offered Classiche restorations at different entry price points. So you could take your 575 in and one of the options would be a manual factory conversion, maybe some option changes, a colour change etc. Effectively the opportunity to "remanufacture" your car, for a price.