296 VS

100% i have fun reading this thread. its hilarious. i love my 296 but the writing on their promo ads, the marketing verbage, the articles in the Ferrari magazine- it is so vacuous and pretentious and cliched that i just cannot get closer than arms length to it to feel close to it in any way. i just cannot seem to identify with this brand even though i own one and i love it. whatever. the car itself is amazing though.

i think if ferrari brass came down more to earth... but maybe then it wouldn't be ferrari any more. this car gets more reverence in public than i care to admit that is for sure.

 

Luxury image is priceless. Removes value from the equation. Good for resale too. Occasionally, they screw up and make too many.

 

The 296 has proved that the horse power wars aren’t for naught. The power is deployed in a way that makes it usable for the street. Really incredible.

 

And the 7 year old carbon wheels, oh dear

 

I still continue to wonder when Ferrari was testing the STO. What car is Ferrari going to launch that may reflect the ethos of the STO. @day355 been silent on it when i've asked

 

Point i am trying to make is that the reviews on these new cars focus on how fast they are and how technology is being used to put all that power down. Unlike when you see the Speciale and scud reviews it was about the sense of purpose and the emotion the driver felt from how visceral and well balanced those cars were and fun to drive without having 200-300 more hp. I've driven the speciale and the pista and frankly didn't care much for the pista other than OMG its fast. I just hope some sense of that occassion and rawness is put back in the 296. The sound clip in the ferrari app at least to me felt promising. those gear shifts if thats' how they end up may give the same punch as the older special series. but we'll see. can't wait for the reveal.

 

I'm going to be a little abrupt, but they're not interested... Enthusiasts are a thorn in the side... They prefer a young customer who buys without asking for anything, happy with everything they are offered as soon as there is the Cavallino. There was a revival of the Dino which would have been perfect for us, but the project was stopped, fearing to impact the sales of the 296...The design of the car was magnificent, without hybridization... If you want to buy thrill cars that already exist, I would recommend a Challenge Stradale, in association with an F12 or an 812 gts, which you can complete with a 512BB. You don't need anything else to be happy with a reasonable price,and you will really live the Ferrari experience, not the Playstation experience .

 

I don’t know- I have owned new Ferraris since 1989. I think the 296 is thrilling to drive and highly entertaining. A victory.

 

I have both an 812 GTS (not selling) and a 296 GTB AF. I love the 812 and yet I prefer the driving experience of the 296 all things considered (PlayStation included).

Sum of the parts: The total experience of the 296 is unparalleled under $600k (within my personal experiences).

 

Not so , look at Pista, in my market they still pull 15% to 20% above MRSP

 

It was rumored that it would have little winglets on the front fenders. Doesn’t look like any of those under the cover.

 

It feels like for every disappointed/upset customer, there are 2-3 waiting in the wings ready to take their place to 'move up' the ranks. So, as a brand, they're in a sweet spot and I don't expect them to change their attitude about the 'game' they need some people to play. However, it feels like once you cross sone kind of threshold of ownership and orders on books, it gets less gamey.

 

Got tired of playing the game and gave up. Went to other brands with no games and having a lot of fun. To each their own

 

I know a few who have done that. It gets pretty serious as you move up into the less games realm.. from what i can see, you go from having 1 x entry or mid range Ferrari (AUD600-800k) that anyone can order, then you move up the list to get first bite of the latest mid range ferrari (800k), and if you keep both (AUD1.6m in garage), that qualifies you on early list for a new release category like Purosangue or 12Cilindri (AUD1m), and you keep all 3 (AUD2.6m in garage), you'll probably be an important client and get first access to special series Ferrari (AUD2m), and if you keep all 4 (AUD4.6m in garage), you'll get first access to any latest release Ferrari, and if you keep that and get another Ferrari of any kind and by this time you'd have 6 Ferraris and probably AUD6.5m in your garage, you'd finally be a VVIP and get offered special Ferraris (like SP1 etc) which is at AUD4m... then you get offered F80 at AUD10m..

Some call it a game, but the pathway is clear if you're happy to splash the dollars. And if you're not willing, at the moment there's enough other people who are willing which means you'll just have to be patient or accept the 'rules of the game'.

Still better than Porsche. I told my Porsche dealer it's easier for me to buy latest Ferraris than get a GT car!!

 

My Porsche & Ferrari dealer are the same - very beneficial.
Path to top Ferrari's - wish it were true. I would have been offered an F80. Triple it and better be the right ones - then it's maybe at best,
Fastest route - race Challenge and even that's no guarantee. IMO it's a matter of what one wants to commit to the brand - time money garage, it's a big commitment all around the get any new limited Ferrari.

 

Yes on reflection I realise I understated by a fair bit.. F80 you'd need its predecessor at the very least in addition to a few other special hyper series Ferraris..

I'll keep on dreaming.. at the moment I just dream of getting an FXXK EVO and an SP3. In the meantime, a thought on a 296GT3 is nice too.

 

Congrats did you buy it new? I was seriously thinking of buying a Challenge - to get back into racing but not on the 296Challenge level.
FXXK EVO - almost landed one when Ferrari auctioned it for the Tsunami - Mr Google Sloss put in a last second bid to take it.

 

Both Ferrari and Lamborghini are cursed with this vapid and almost nonsensical marketing-speak, which seems to be written by 26 year old NYC liberal arts majors who have never driven or spent significant time in either marque's vehicles. It reads like what they imagine it to be like to drive or live with.

 

As the CEO of a global company I founded and took public, I’ll simply say that at a certain scale, it becomes increasingly difficult to hold onto yesterday’s vision. Name an independent, bespoke, exotic car manufacturer producing 6,000 units per year. There’s a myriad of reasons why they don’t exist. Many of which are not immediately apparent to those without a seat at the big table.

Do I wish as a collector that Ferrari only makes cars for me? Sure, but it’s obviously not realistic. Like any successful company, they were faced with the need to adapt to forces they can’t entirely control. Emissions, sound, safety, dealer issues, financial, etc., are well known to be among the influences that shaped their choices…not unlike those found in board room’s throughout the world.

You could well be right about many of your opinions regarding the products and direction of the company. However, unless one has a prominent seat at the decision making table, it’s awfully easy to opine without having a sense of the facts and forces at play. As a shareholder, I’m thrilled with my 600%+ return on RACE. As an owner though, I wish we weren’t forced to accept turbos, hybridization, EV’s, and the loss of a proper V12 at full song. But, the world doesn’t care what I want, anymore than it does what Ferrari wants.

 

As a realist I know that SUVs are where the money is - I figure that Porsche is probably 75% an SUV company that also makes some sports cars and the coveted GT cars on the side.

Since Ferrari has gone towards SUVs, hybrids and EVs chasing the revenue, I just wish that there were special projects for the enthusiasts (beyond super-limited SP numbers) like Day355 describes. Interesting that it got as far as a design and some development.

Tavarish beat me to it, and TTForceFed has his manual Stradale which is exciting, but I've been talking with friends that a real keeper "driver's car" might be taking a Scud or 16M and doing a manual conversion.

 

Lots of guys placing manuals in 599' 430's - just bought a modified RSR and the guy lost 200k plus and never drove it - nothing is stopping guys from modifying their Ferrari's but they likely won't, because it doesn't make sense financially.

CarreraGT was only able to be produced due to the success of Cayenne. Porsche lost a ton on each.

 

Oh I've meditated on this for dozens of hours in the past year. I have made some of my real-life closest friends here but then sometimes I wonder if I've wasted too much of the past 28 years pursuing these things. Especially in light of multiple rounds of negative experiences.

Sometimes I am jealous of my friends who have one pickup truck or Jeep or Toyota/Lexus and are content. Ambition definitely has downsides.

 

SP3 599 units. Not that limited. Just for the world it is. Just like the this car you’re describing would be. And you likely wouldn’t be able to get that (and neither would I). So you’re right back to where we are.

 

Which is why a ~500-600hp, 2,900lb, manual, targa "sports car" for under $250k with no real production limit but built to order would be just what we've been asking for. But maybe I'm wrong and it wouldn't pencil out. Perhaps it ends up in this netherworld like the GT4/Spyder RS with rave reviews but tepid market demand.

I think if they took existing components (296 frame and seats with a new body, an updated 458 block, Portofino switchgear) a skunkworks team could cobble it together in a year with nominal development costs.

 

I don't think it works like that. That car hasn't been made by Ferrari, ever. So the development cost isn't nearly as sunk as your thinking.