Has Ferrari Lost It's Luster?

Whilst there are mugs out there to purchase the top end Ferrari's the rest of us will continue also.
How they keep the top end buyers is by allowing them to profit.
One day there will be less buyers and more sellers.
Somebody will get caught.
As always happens.

 

One day? Pretty sure the guys that spent $750- $1M on the SF90 out the gate are those buyers. Still doesn’t mean the brand has lost its luster. People wouldn’t be this upset about disliking new model design if it lost its luster. They simply wouldn’t be paying attention at all.

 

You might be onto something. I’ve been into Ferraris for around 37 years, since I was 14 or so. Used to know every model, sub-model, etc.

I’ve just about stopped paying attention, for about the past 10 years. Didn’t even know there was an F80 or 849 til I chanced upon posts here about them, but yeah I wasn’t a fan once I saw pics.

Is that because of the cars, or is it me? A bit of both is a fair answer, IMO.

 

Just one reference point, my kids are both in college and having talked to a lot of their peers Ferrari doesn’t have the weight it used to. In fact, I hear them talk way more about Porsche and Lamborghini than Ferrari.

 

Probably to their eyes Ferrari is somewhat similar to Maserati or Alfaromeo: a glorious F1 brand that didn't win anything during their present lives. Porsche and Lamborghini instead focussed more on the cars themselves and didn't waste their image with a 849...

 

I think maybe it’s a bit of both. I know a lot of people who simply grew out of the car game. Having nothing to do with car design or the way they drive etc. they simply lost interest. I’ve been into watches since I was a kid and collected watches since I made my first real money. Every time I made a significant deal or sold my companyI’d buy myself a watch. Since I got into cars a few years ago I could care less about watches. Life cycles….

And I don’t think asking college kids what they like is the best barometer. Lambo in my opinion is a young persons car. Too Flashy. Too over the top. Too big a statement but when you’re young it’s perfect. I know a lot of people my age(45) feels this way. I think a lot of people grow into Ferrari as they mature. More of a gentleman’s exotic. This is my take. Never been a lambo fan and I know people love them. Not hating just not for me and I think it’s draws a younger crowd.

 

This describes me as well. I grew up with the 308 being the only Ferrari sold here in the US. The 512BBi was fearsomely exotic, and the 400/412 was virtually unheard of. Ferrari was seriously rare — I saw a red 308 QV in 1985, and that was the extent of my Ferrari experience. Car magazines would cover any updates to the 308, but there was effectively only one Ferrari.

Like you I’ve lost track of all the new models. But then new cars more broadly are losing my interest. Too complex with too much unusable performance. I miss my 328, and love my ‘93 911 — either car can be wrung out and has all the right sounds, smells, and sensations. Best of all, when they wear out you can rebuild them without a mortgage.

 

It’s interesting to note though if you track the “hot” cars in the market and at auctions you’ll notice a trend. Once buyers hit their mid 40’s they begin to get the cars they dreamed about as kids. Then as they age they get replaced by the next group and the market shifts again.

This brings up a crucial question, if today’s kids aren’t dreaming of Ferraris what will they buy when they get to that point in life? If Ferrari isn’t planting the seeds today they are going to have a problem down the road IMO.

 

All that is true, and on top of that, even if these modern cars are the cars the kids of today end up owning when they’re in their ‘earning years’, they’ll likely have a harder time keeping them on the road as hobbyists (unless the ‘support market’ for these cars steps up and develops, which depending on the demand later on, remains to be seen).

Agreed. I’m sans Ferrari at the moment, still have the ‘88 Carrera besides my dailies, but if I add another one at some point it’ll likely be a 328, for the exact reasons you mention. I’ve been watching the driving videos of BaT 328s lately…not a good time for me to be adding a fun car, though.