When Is Ferrari Due To Stop Producing The Ferrari 360?

With FIAT corporation losing millions, what day would you schedule the end of production for a car with a multi-year wait? I think a more likely danger, that is almost as bad as an end of production, is the creation of a new MSRP for '05 that will be staggering. Look for $200k+ MSRP's to deal with the euro. This is a disaster that has happened and has not yet gotten the attention it will. This weeks auto news shows VW absolutely being eaten alive by the euro, sales down 30% as they have eliminated incentives to hold MSRP, they are losing almost a $1/4 million an hour on a 24 hour a day basis.

Prices and interest rates will soon be shooting upward. Want exclusivity, wait 12-18 months, only true zillionaires will need apply. No one is less pleased with this new wrinkle than myself.

 

Yea, we've all herd of various dates but nothing is certain. I don't think that an increase in prices will hurt that much. The price of admission will no doubt go up which just adds to the exclusivity imo.

 

Best guess - but just a guess - is 18 mos to 2 years. The replacement is rumored to be called the 420 (4.2 liter) with 475 - 500 hp.

 

If they replace the 360 too soon, with a similar looking car with a significant horsepower increase, will may not alienate all the Stradale purchasers? I think it would be upset if I purchased a Stradale, only to find the Modena now looks more like a Stradale, and has more horsepower, and probably cost less.

 

Fiat Auto is in terrible trouble financially, but it has absolutely nothing to do with Ferrrari Maserati Group. FMG is a subsidiary of Fiat Industrial Group which at this point in time has a small shareholding in Fiat Auto and a nice contract to sell the balance of Fiat Auto to GM at a price fixed a few years ago.

Fiat Industrial is a diverse holding company including Club Med, electric utilities, paper manufacturing and a share of Ferrari Maserati Group. A huge chunk of FMG is held by Mediobanca and some other syndication partner banks. Piero Ferrari (Enzo's remaining son) owns 10%. The balance of the stock still in Fiat Industrial hands is pledged to support their significant balance sheet debt.

The 360 continuing or not will really not have a significant impact on the profitability of FMG as the major part of their profitability, (and they are profitable), comes from licensing income on a myriad of things that have the Ferrari name and logo on them.

Part of the mystique comes from winning in Formula One and the perception that Ferraris are extraordinary. Once they become ordinary, by not advancing their product to keep ahead of their competitors, the mystique and therefore the value of their brand diminishes.

I guess that they will do something quite soon to provide a successor to the 360 in order to nurture the essential elements of their brand.

 

Competition?

IMO Ferrari would never say, but they are really annoyed by cars like Gallardo, Ford FT... So they simply have to react.
Time doesn't stand still and the demands are different than five years ago.

And regarding the Stradale: the Modena successor surely will be more than a Modena with styling clues from the CS, it will be recognized as a new car even it's based on the Modena.

Will it alienate Stradale owners if the car has 60 horses more and is quicker in every aspect? Well, IMO not neccesseraly, as the Challenge Stradale is something special doesn't attract the same type of purchaser.