Smaller, lighter, NA V8 power, manual gear box. I know big dreams
Eliminate UNNESSARY COMPLEXITY that eventually causes expensive and inconvenient problems. Who needs an electric motor that handles the last inch of the trunk closing? Give me a hand brake lever with cables that operate the parking brake. Let me order the car with a metal key for the doors and ignition switch instead of a fob (as I could do in 2018). And a fob broadcasts the info needed to lock and start the car to thieves with relay boxes. Let me order the car with a manual top (hard or soft) like the superbly engineered soft top on my 2002 Corvette.
Nothing to me as I already know nothing will be built I would prefer over my F355. Only way that would change is if Gordon Murray took over with a directive to build a sub 500k car focused on light weight and high rpm naturally aspirated engine.
Those days are over for regular production cars....witness the massive depreciation across the lineup. Also not true on some Lamborghinis.....long waits for things like the STO and Aventador SVJ......even true for the Revuelto The fact is everyone else is catching up at a rapid pace while Ferrari spends too much time designing T-shirts.
Rated as outstanding by what measurements? Hype related authors? Fanboys of the brand? Long time customers who simply churn cars at each iteration to buy the next new model? let’s define outstanding also. Ok sure it’s a great high performance luxury vehicle. No one is going to question the history of the brand and the amazing products of times past. But let’s look under the hood more than simply price tag and stats. We are talking about the vision of the brand and the experience as a driver in many of the points. There are lots of “outstanding” vehicles out there and can smoke nearly anything on the road in terms of speed or cost or rarity. But the brand identity and decisions of late and beyond are in question here. Techy cars that don’t sound like what they look like are undesirable to me. It’s like a combo between Tesla and Mercedes and McLaren. External styling of McLaren, interior appointments of Mercedes and tech interface of Tesla. No thank you. There are more customers for Ferrari models historically than Lamborghini and I don’t have the stats on cars produced annually over time so can’t compare and not sure if that is a qualifier to suggest one is “better” as a result. That is a supply and production issue as well. And that’s not true about wait lists for Lamborghini.
I'll qualify my comments by saying for me the modern golden period for Ferrari was 2005-2015, just look at what was built in that time span. Is the current model lineup different,sure but how much of that has to do with regulations? Styling is subjective but to me the 296 is the best looking car in its segment and to me also the best sounding when behind the wheel, if anything it suffers from being too fast, its laughably easy to see 150 mph. By no means feels heavy to me and its hyper agility is somewhat addictive. See, I could not car one jot about controls and screens and in car tech. When I get into a Ferrari I want it to connect with me and the current cars do (caveat, I have not drive the 12c yet). Without sounding old perhaps what Ferrari need to do is build a back to basics sports car. I find it somewhat ironic in the sense, Ldm stated when the 36o was launched he wanted Ferrari's to be made more usable, perhaps they have now become too usable?
[QUOTE="Ferrari 360 CS, post: 150149095, member: 15020" Without sounding old perhaps what Ferrari need to do is build a back to basics sports car. [/QUOTE] This is a common theme, along the lines of "where is the modern Dino?" Well honestly, the modern Dino is the Lotus Emira. It screams old school as much as you can in 2025. But even at $100k USD, they don't sell well. If Ferrari wanted to compete in that niche, what is the value they could add and stay close to that price? My guess is nothing, and the "branding experts" that run the place would say there isn't enough exclusivity in a $100k-$150k car.
This is a common theme, along the lines of "where is the modern Dino?" Well honestly, the modern Dino is the Lotus Emira. It screams old school as much as you can in 2025. But even at $100k USD, they don't sell well. If Ferrari wanted to compete in that niche, what is the value they could add and stay close to that price? My guess is nothing, and the "branding experts" that run the place would say there isn't enough exclusivity in a $100k-$150k car.[/QUOTE] Ok, the "branding experts" are perhaps quite smart to know what the market wants. As lovely as the Lotus is, it unfortunately has more than a hint of "cottage industry" about. Make no mistake I too detest the Ferrari fashion line but I do not think doing such things has come at the expense of building great cars.
[/QUOTE] I do not think doing such things has come at the expense of building great cars.[/QUOTE] The owners of 296s and SF90s are certainly lighter in their wallets these days.....I don't call that the result of buying great cars with Aston Martin (Maserati?) like depreciation right out of the box.....hopefully they got a T-Shirt in the deal
I think Ferrari is on the right track. They take a lot of chances still and are on the forefront of design still. Ferrari have always gone through phases of “questionable?” Design, certainly some not my taste, but then they seem to stretch the right note to absolutely EPIC craftsmanship and mind blowing next level modern automotive art. the days of old are the days of old, and like a good ol Elton/Clapton/Lou Reed tune etc, thankfully we still have them to enjoy…. Aplenty. Let Ferrari take us into the future, I say we are in good hands.
Put something NA out. V12, 10 or 8.. Something mid spec. I have no need for the latest tech...... I have a 200$ phone I can update monthly.
I never got these kind of comments, any car can be used to daily... u just have to put up with some quirks and perhaps some drawbacks, but in return you get an intriguiging and fascinating daily driver.
Analog tach and exotic sound. Go back to the roots. Take the 12C out back and put her down, saw in person, still didn't help. What an ugly car lol. 812SF all day.
Why isn't the Lotus selling well? It seems to be everything everyone wants. Lightweight, looks good, manual gearbox. Guy I know has one and loves it. Same thing with the Alfa 4C (minus the manual).
Lotus screwed up like always... factory delays, building chinese cars first, waiting on CARB signoff in NA, low resale, poor dealer network
In addition alot of teething minor issues (which shouldn't be the case since this is an updated Evora) and the direction of the company is wishy-washy. When Harry Metcalfe sold his I knew something was up. But regardless, even though we say we want a car with old school sensibilities.....we really don't want to buy them.
a lampredi -styled V-12 of 3L and producing about the range of 300-400hp. hence, a return to the classic era of car production. followed by a renaisance in coach building. let the surfer-board rice-burning generation demand HP. so they can wipe themselves off the tarmac and into extinction. i would buy a Ferrari built in the 50-60's image. but more refined.
think they don't have the sex appeal Ferrari has, imo if Ferrari made the same car at a similar price point (maybe a bit faster too) then it would sell out instantly
Completely agree-- also saw in person recently and its awful... like embarrassingly awful imo-- 812 rules.
I'm with the smaller, lighter, NA, man trans brigade and I have all that in my 430 except it's too big and heavy. Why a 2 seater car needs to be so big I can't fathom. If Ferrari could build the lotus but make it look like a Ferrari, well...
No way Ferrari goes down market to make a car like this.....as far as exterior styling, the Emira is as good as anything Ferrari makes today
Well, Doubt I'd be a customer, but to me I'm ok with hybrid etc..... its not my favorite, but I get it. I think the most important thing for me is that they are pretty again. the modern Ferrari's are not good looking... the 12 is not bad, but its not Beautiful... its stylish, but its not like a 308 or Dino or 250 SWB... I wish they would make cars that are pretty again, that make you really want one. Ideally They could use the 512M as inspiration for a mid engine rear - V12 ... or something like that. the Daytona is ok, ( except for the huge mirrors ) the La Ferrari ok, but not really that sexy... but it has angles... I swish they would do something I would ache over to own... Dino 206, 330p4, F12M, F-40 288 Gto... that kind of beauty.