F50 driving experience

hmmmm. well, i dont know much what to say but it's not like any other car i have driven. the clutch is pretty heavy and the friction point is fairy low but quick; unlike a 355c or 328. the car feels really wide and it takes awhile to get used to that. the front is much shorter than you'd think also when driving -- you sit pretty far up. steering is very go-kart like. point and you go. there is a power assist on the steering so it is not too bad but it is not feather light like in the 355c. 1st and 2nd gears both have scarily fast acceleration; 3rd is super nice especially at 'cruising' speed; you can make some nice passes on the freeway since there is still massive power and torque even while rolling around at 60-70mph. the power curve really kicks in around 4k rpm. The car sounds calm and timid even under 4k rpm - and it acts that way also. However, once you get it above there (maybe its 4.5k or so but certainly around there) the power really kicks in. It's not quite like a turbo would kick in, but it's a definite change and it's way noticable. This is really when the cars audio kicks in too. The sound of the car in 2nd or 3rd gear from this 4kish to 7-8k is just awesome and not like any other car i have ever heard. The interior sound level change from open top to putting on the top is unreal. the thing is so loud with the top on that your ears are ringing afterwards. I mean it is really loud. The brake pedal is also pretty still. It is interesting because it can go down quite a ways before you start slipping but nonetheless its surprising how hard you need to put to get good braking out of the car. The gas is also pretty interesting -- in most cars i have driven, you push the gas and you're getting 80% of the power with the pedal down only a little ways, maybe 20%. You can put the pedal to the floor in most cars but you dont really get a whole lot of extra power. OTOH, here you just keep on getting more power. It is truly interesting -- the car continues to give huge power while your foot is going all the way down.

 

That was an exellent write up. That you for sharing that.

 

I drove one for the second time last weekend, when three ferraris and a 911 went out around the Dales, i first drove it the week earlyer and was looking forward all week and hopeing the weather would be good. The car was fantastic, of course i cant give you the point of veiw of an owner but i can give you my oppinion of a wide eyed 38 year old child. What i can remember is the engine noise(roof was of), i opend it up in short bursts if only to expereance the noise....WOW! The breaks even though good reminded me of the wooden feal of my ex TR, i dont doubt they work better the harder and longer i drove it.As a pasenger in the car with the owner driveing it, it preformed and did it well. To sum up though i was like a 10 year old takeing a drive in his first Ferrari or Lambo. and i wish i had one, i have taken pics of our afternoon and will post them when i can.

 

Great write up you two. I bet you feel like everybody is looking at you when you drive one.