Luca di Montezemolo say 456 best in the world car! | FerrariChat

Luca di Montezemolo say 456 best in the world car!

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by 360trev, May 22, 2023.

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  1. 360trev

    360trev F1 Rookie
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  2. Jackie and bill

    Jackie and bill Formula Junior

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    Charlie Brown, paulchua and 360trev like this.
  3. asgor

    asgor Formula Junior

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    Yeah, he's the same guy who also said the 348 was a regrettable turd o_O
     
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  4. pchop

    pchop F1 Rookie
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    My newly acquired 456M may not be as fast as other F-cars I owned, but it is absolutely a gorgeous car. It has all the right curves at the right places. Maybe I'm still in my honey moon period and will get sick and tired of her soon...lol.


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  5. Ferrari55whoa

    Ferrari55whoa F1 Rookie
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    pop up headlights FTW
     
  6. Themaven

    Themaven F1 Rookie

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    You have to look at the context of the times also. The 456 was replacing the 412 which was basically a not very good 1970s car. It was decades ahead, a revelation. And there was nothing else like it. Astons were ancient, Maserati was broken, 928 had been around since the 70s. BMW had the 850 but it had no glamour. Big Mercs were slow and clunky, no official AMGs then. Bentley and Rolls were outdated and struggling, Porsche as a whole was considered to be on its last legs, Lamborghini was a joke...In that context the 456 was a shining beacon of modernity and brilliance.
     
  7. Aerosurfer

    Aerosurfer Formula 3
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    Can't us 456 owners just have our moment, without logic being applied
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  8. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
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    It was the start of an engine series of powerful 65 degree V12s that evolved into the F140 engines that are still in the current models. F116 to F133 to F140.
     
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  9. haroonok

    haroonok Formula 3

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    Just listened to the podcast in the bath-i’m not sure he fully understood the question…!
     
  10. Jackie and bill

    Jackie and bill Formula Junior

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    Its a long standing thing that has run over the series. Manish Pandey who is one of the 5 presenters, made the documantary senna and is a big ferrari fan. He never shuts up about how he is going to get a 456 one day So he just got his friend Luca on board to give his seal of approval to the other guys.
    Its just a 5 middle aged men talking cars every week thing.
    One of the cars that keep cropping up to is the f355.
    The weekly podcast/video is a must for the petrol head. Chris Harris is the founder of collecting cars, it's like the UK version of bring a trailer.
     
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  11. Bas

    Bas Four Time F1 World Champ

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    Ferrari really was on a roll in the 90s and 2000s.
     
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  12. Themaven

    Themaven F1 Rookie

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    Absolutely. 456 was even more of an achievement in the context. I was saying it's impossible to understand the significance of the 456 without recalling the environment around it, both of Ferrari predecessors and other contemporaries. I remember clearly when it came out as I guess a few of us do. It was an absolute superstar. In absolute terms. Way more than even a GTC4 Lusso, which is a great car don't get me wrong, is now. It was the most expensive Ferrari, its stablemates were old (512) or ropy (348) and there was nothing else remotely like it on earth. No other four seat supercar, let alone a great and great looking and hyper modern one with a new Ferrari V12.

    Things like a F1 aside, it was definitely the best car in the world in 1992. A 964 Turbo was considered to be a rehashed, bad handling, 70s throwback. Weird how the secondhand market works but that doesn't reduce the 456 status at the time.
     
  13. paulchua

    paulchua Cat Herder
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    #13 paulchua, Jun 7, 2023
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2023
    LdM got beat by a Golf Gti in his yellow 348.




    Whether this was due to skill, the VW was juiced, 348 issue, or a combination, who knows?

    When LdM took over right when the storied Acura NSX, one of my past cars, took the world by storm. During that time, there was a desire for civility (think less NVH) - I remember it well, and Honda and BMW cars have always found that perfect balance in the 90s. Having experienced both back-to-back (NSX vs. 348) - I could see journalists and the public fawn over the NSX; after all - it's a 'faster' car with more civilized road manners, reliability and lower servicing costs.

    I can understand that back then, when 0-60 bragging rights were in play. The 348's design (while always handsome to me) - was a derivative of a five-year-old design (10 if you count the Mondial cheese slicers.) Fashion comes and goes, we all remember a time when Testarossas were as out of fashion as double breasted suits, until they are not and are back again.

    30 years later all 90s cars are slow, I will say the NSX is the 'better' car, but the 348 is the better 'exotic.' The side strakes more iconic than the Hofmeister kink. The NSX is for Porsche guys (nothing wrong with that) - it's smoother and less raucous - the 348 is far rawer and, to me, fun. No right or wrong, if anything - the 456 is more NSX-esque in feel to me, and the 348 is sportier to drive today.

    If you peruse social media, I see people say the 456 is one of the most beautiful Ferrari ever made while others say it's ugly. Hm, just like say Picasso paintings.

    I know one thing, I like the 348, NSX, 456, Gti, or any Porsche. If I had all the time in the world, I would take 1 of each please.
     
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  14. Themaven

    Themaven F1 Rookie

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    I never owned a NSX but I drove three up and down the length of Britain when they were new. I found them oddly anodyne as well as evidently brilliant. I think they were a harbinger of a new era of supercar that went better than they felt, which is still with us today. Ferrari has not been immune.
     
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  15. paulchua

    paulchua Cat Herder
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    Yes! Well said Darius!! -

    Your description is exactly why I parted ways. I also felt the same way about my S2000.
     
  16. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

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    456 was a great car. With the exception of the door windows it was an easy car to own. And I part company here with many but I really enjoyed the automatics. It was the first time in Ferrari history where they chose a good transmission but also tuned it to the power development of the engine. Mat the pedal at any speed and it chose gears as well as any 6 speed operator could and I happen to like automatics as my daily car.
     
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  17. JLF

    JLF Formula 3
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    I’m considering purchasing one. Can you guys give me some things to consider when looking?
     

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