What did you do in your F car???

- took the kids round to the park
- when shopping - supermarket and local DIY store
- down to my brother-in-law's with all the kids in
- up the road to get a paper
- took my wife out for a meal
- and, after all that, off to the petrol station

I bought my Ferrari to drive it. And very driveable it is <grin>

Cheers,
TOM

 

10 minute blat up the road on my own. Until it started raining. Again.

Can't use it much cos my other half has to stay at home with our 15 month old daughter, so I get guilt-trip treatment.

Wish I'd bought a 456.

 

Went to the hand car wash, had wash and brush up, dropped hood , got wet from torrential rain, went home !

 

On Sunday washed and polished car before driving to North Weald airfield.

The drive round the south side of M25 was in pouring rain (good to see the rain bouncing off the polish and the rain smear treated glass). Car sounded great through the Dartford tunnel, had to drop back and accelerate hard in a lower gear with the window down!! Once through the tunnel the sun came out.

Watched the Ferrari Hillclimb cars do their sprints along with a host of TVR's, Westfields, some saloons and a few single seaters. Dodged the rain showers.

Drove into Epping for an Italian meal and had late drive back around M25.

The car got wet, but you can wash it and its for using, not ljust ooking at

 

Two observations this weekend:

1. Pulled in front of coach full of tourists as road changed from dual carriageway to single lane. Within 30 seconds all I could see in the mirror was flash guns going off - presumably no F Cars in Japan ? - quite spooky though

2. Later in evening went into town to collect Chinese takeaway - blond pulls up in car next to me and says "Love the car - my favourite" - I honestly thought people only said things like that in films !!!. Sadly I had the 9 year old son in car with me - otherwise the sweet and sour chicken may have been a little bit cold when I got it home !!!

Clearly I am not the only one who thinks the F355 GTS is "The Business" !!

James

 

The question, Tony, was about the car not what you got up to

 

Saturday did not take it out as was at footie(Dundee united V Kilmarnock)
Sunday took it to kids footie practice(1 came with me the other in Volvo)went to Tesco for Breakfast(with other child in 355) returned home(after posing about town with roof off 2 x children in volvo by this time)washed car,another "brief" drive to dry it(you know what I mean)Car covered up to be ready for next weekends fun(better weather please God)
Dave Mc

 

Saturday during the day went to M&S for food and took G/F lunch to work.....lots of brownie points lads take note....;-)

Saturday night out wi the boys, parked in Glasgow no probs, just neds dribbling over it, telling me for a fiver they'd watch my car, so I told them ok, knowing they wouldn't be there as I was parking up for a good few hours.....

Got lots of attention from birds when I pulled up wi one of my pals at the nightclub and got a space right outside before walking in on the VIP list -cheers Kris, then got asked about it inside by a good looking brunette but wanted to live the rest of the night as Fiona was meeting me later so told her I couldn't take her for a spin!! ha ha Got raced up Queen St in Glasgow by a 996 Turbo and pulled a crowd at the same time, and lots of boy racers checked it out as I waited outside another club for the good lady!

Sunday was tunnel tikme for Fiona who is just car mad, and the Clyde tunnel is pretty good for a through and back spin, and not far from her parents so killed two birds wi the one stone then shopping at the supermarket and a wee wash and blow dry - I know what you mean Dave -and then home to change cars for the trip to work on Monday.

So very useable I'd say infact too easy!!

Really want Ferrari to make a stunning 4 seater so I can buy one, as I'm not totally convinced but Maranello have a stunning black 456 with only 1500mls and a great spec for 100k so come on someone tell me whats so good about these cars as I'd like to drive my F-Car all the time and not leave it at home!!

Paul

 

The 456 is a fantastic car but at that price it will depreciate hard over the next few years. You could get a slightly older one for about half that.

 

Paul,

Writing as the owner of a stunning black 456 myself (and before that for 2 yrs a lovely silver 355, and before that a black 348), I will try to tell you what's good and bad about them, objectively. Firstly, I must agree with Davey that although the 100K one with negligible mileage (is it run in?) would doubtless be a joy to own, I'd have to expect some serious depreciation if keeping it a couple of years. Better to get an older one for a little over half that, as I did, I would suggest. Mine is end of 96, N reg which I think is the earliest that's a good idea - as the model was revised a year earlier including both-side airbags and superior suspension and brakes.

I was quite apprehensive in changing my 355 in for a 456 back in Oct 02, that the dynamics would just not be there, and that the "sportscar experience" would be let down by the "heavy GT experience". In fact I took the 456 down to Goodwood for a day at the invitation of Joe Macari, and was very pleasantly surprised by its dynamics. Yes, you have to brake that touch earlier and can't turn in as sharply as a 355 on the same corner - but the increased torque (400ft/lb & 440bhp over 270ft/lb & 375bhp odd of the 355) more than makes up for it on powering out of the corners. I was genuinely surprised to be leaving clubsport 911s and a few other nice cars behind me, certainly on the straights if not through chicanes.... I don't think the accelaration is noticeably slower than what you're used to (okay on paper 360 0-60 is 4.3 and 456 is 5.1 but this is a Ferrari test-driver at Fiorano) and in fact the ability of the V12s to just keep on going amazed me. Let's talk about 0 to 150 times, or whether you can cruise across Europe at 180mph. Shall I give you a clue? No doubt the 456 is an under-rated sibling to the 550/575 - and it's 60kg lighter!

Of course my children love the 456 - my four yr old son instructing me recently "to always collect me from school in the Ferrari" - , and even my wife (after hating both mid-engine V8s as too noisy and uncomfortable) admits that it is great for motorway cruising in luxury and quiteness, as well as quite amusing for boy-racer frightening on the odd occassion. I have had four large adults in it for numerous journeys around London, although I can't say I'd recommend it for much more than half an hour like this. Actually, thinking about it, I took it to Le Mans last year with three of us aboard - that was fine, and the boot swallowed all our luggage with space to spare.

Now I make sure that I drive my 456 at least one day a week, usually two if I can. If that doesn't sound much - let me say that I work abroad three days a week and live in fairly central London where I don't actually need to drive! The only thing that stops me using it is really heavy rain, not because I'm bothered about it getting wet, as it's carbon fibre and aluminium, but because it's just too powerful in the wet.

Overall, I'd say that if you need four seats and you want what many journalists and commentators still regard as the world's best GT, you should take a 456 for a test drive. I test drove it against a 911 C4, Jag XKR, DB7, and an AM V8 - and discounted the first three as having joke rear seats too small even for a three yr old, and discounted the last as being too expensive and having 380bhp and no ABS. If you're keen to spend 100K, perhaps go for the new Bentley GT, but I'd personally not be happy to drive along wondering if a Pheaton / Golf engine over an audi quattro drive-train makes a true Bentley.... Overall, my advice would be to go for an early 456M - revised model again with increased power from 550 engine of the time - from 1998 as the best value for money of these cars.

Okay, so what's the downside? Servicing cost for me has been no different from the 355 I had before, although I acknowledge that like-for-like parts (say a tubi exhaust or a set of tyres) are clearly more expensive on the V12s than the V8s. The bonnet alone is seven grand new from Maranello's but it is carbon fibre and weighs about four kilos. It's not a trackday beast, so if that's what you want, stick to the 360 - however my choice is to use the 456 on the road and hire a 360 F1 challenge as and when I want to on a circuit. Mpg is not as good as a 355 or 360 on the road (all Fcars about 7mpg at 8000rpm on a track) but this is hardly a consideration for the pleasure of having a prancing horse on your steering wheel and a beast under your right foot, now is it? Lastly, the Achilles heal of 456s is that the windows don't close and seal properly so check this out before purchase and have new window regulators fitted within the price (as I did) if you can.

The new 612 Scagglietti (did I spell that correctly?) is pretty much my dream car. Four full seats, 6 litre V12 largely based on the Enzo engine, 540bhp and 4.3sec 0-60 (456 is 440bhp and 5.1sec) - what more could you want? Sadly it will be a good while until this is anywhere near fifty grand, but I can wait!

PM me offline if you want more detailed info on the joys and woes of ownership between comparing V8s and V12s. I know quite a few folks currently planning to move from 355 to 550 over the next few months, so maybe there is a trend emerging here.....

For myself, I just love all Ferraris, and just wish I could afford a 456 and a 360 as well. Need those six numbers for Saturday!

Either way - happy motoring.

James.

 

Last Wednesday I made these clips:

www.sleepy-fish.com/ph_vids/startup.wav

www.sleepy-fish.com/ph_vids/Ferrari_208_GTO.wmv

It's a GT4 not a GT0 by the way!

 

Excellent, helpful post, through and through(!)

 

On Sunday took the car to Bruntingthorpe where i hit 177mph on th straight verified by radar Guns. Lots of other ferraris and supercars there too

 

i) took most of "Gina's" rear end to bits on saturday.
ii) scratched my head a lot on sunday.
iii) re stocked garage beer fridge on monday.

 

Jimmy, many tyhanks for all that info, I'll PM you if I start looking at one and then you can help me, and if I can keep the 360 I might just do that, you see my Rangie is 3 yrs last months and I've had it since new and it's been with me all over Europe, even to the great country itself, when I went to Milan for a few days, so I'm reluctant to sell it, but I might just replace the BM and Rangie with a 456, but the servicing costs scare the **** out of me cos Bruce my friend who has sold Ferraris for a good fews years and nowe works for Lambo has warned me about the costs just imncase I ever ventured there but maybe worth just checking what the costs are with someone as all you guys are pretty lucky but in Scotland theres not many people who can look after these cars, so maybe a Merc or Bm is easier!!

Who know but thanks for the great read.

Paul
CUE 99T