My First Ferrari Experience

My First Ferrari Experience

When my parents told me that we were gonna visit Toronto, I was darn excited because of two reasons: one, I’d be able to meet some family friends whom I haven’t seen for years. The second (and more important) reason that I was excited to visit Toronto was knowing that even though I’d only be there for a week, I was guaranteed to spot some nice cars, hopefully some Ferraris. =D

Because I live in Edmonton, AB, nice cars are not very common. Of course there are the occasional car shows, but I don’t see too many nice cars on the road. Actually, that’s not entirely true, because there are tons of 911 Turbos, SL55s, M3s, NSXs…etc. But when it comes to Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, and especially Ferraris, I just don’t feel “satisfied” living in Edmonton, ahhahaahaha. Supposedly there is a Murci coupe and roadster, but either the owners don’t drive it much or they live way far away from me because I’ve never personally sighted them. There is a black DB7 Volante which I spot often, as well as a black DB9 Coupe which the new owner seems to actually drive. As for Ferraris, there seem to be a reasonable number of 308s, 328s, and TRs for a city with a population of less than a million. But even then, every time I see one I get super excited!!! The nicest Ferrari I’ve ever seen in Edmonton is a 355 Berlinetta; I’ve never spotted a 360 or anything higher. The 360 was the that first got me interested in Ferraris. I suppose I would consider it my favourite Ferrari simply because it was my “first” one, and because there is actually a remote possibility of my owning one as a daily driver. Yeah, so since I liked the 360 so much, I desperately hoped I would be able to spot a couple on the ROAD in Toronto as opposed to the one I’ve seen behind rails at an auto show. Little did I know that I was not only going to SEE one…I was going to touch it, sit in it, take pictures of it, and RIDE in it….

Ok, so the first day I arrive in Toronto, my family drives right by a Rossa Corsa 360 Spider going the other way. Obviously I went absolutely crazy and started screaming, and my parents only managed to shut up by threatening to not take me to Yorkville. =P

Yorkville was a little bit of a disappoint for me. I didn’t see that much: Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, Porsche 996TT, Aston Martin DB9, Lorinser SL55, Maserati Spyder, 645Ci Cabrio. No Ferraris. But just as I was leaving, I glint of silver caught my eye. I turn back and see a Argento Nuburgring 360 Spider. Within 2 seconds I had sprinted the 100 metres to where it was parked and began checking it out. The owner, reading a newspaper, kindly granted me permission to take pictures of his car. Yes, well, the owner, observing my insane picture taking speed, offered me to sit IN the Ferrari. I was unsure of how to answer. I blurted an incoherent yes, and gently pulled at the delicate exterior handle of the car. Man, sitting in that 360 Spider was one of the most exciting moments of my life, ahahahaaha. When the friend he was waiting for arrived, I thanked the guy and careful opened the door, hoping I wouldn’t ally snap off the door handle. Fortunately, I managed to get by that stunt, but unfortunately, the street which he pulled onto was jammed and I wasn’t able to listen to my first Ferrari engine snarl. Meh, whatever, I was already quite satisfied with how much I had managed to accomplish that one day. =D But I must’ve been shaking with excitement and sheer denial (that I was in fact standing in front of my dream car) when I was taking pictures because when I later uploaded all my pictures onto my computer, they were all blurry! =P

Well, that night, after spending an hour or so on Ferrarichat.com, a brilliant idea came to me. I had talked to Titanboy_24 on MSN before, and when I asked him how he managed to get a hold of such exclusive cars for his s, he told me that you gotta find someone nearby, and that you can’t be afraid to talk to strangers. So that’s exactly what I did. I surfed around the Canada section of Ferrarichat.com to look for Torontonian Ferrari owners.

I noticed member “4RE BOB” lived in Toronto and owned a 360 Modena in my favourite colour, Grigio Titanio. I wrote a quick PM to him, and everything began to fall in place. He was extremely friendly; we managed to work something out and on the morning of June 8th, I, accompanied with my dad, headed for his workplace (which, by absolute good fortune, was only a couple blocks away—within walking distance—from the hotel I was staying at!!!)

Ok, well, after arriving at the right floor of the building, a nice lady offered us seats as she paged for Bob. I sat there, twiddling my , hoping that he wouldn’t purposely take his time just to make me suffer aahahaahah…Luckily for me, a mere 20 seconds later, a tall, dark-haired man appeared at the doorway and introduced himself as Bob. Without another word, he said, “Follow me!” Yes well I was anxious as hell to see his car, and even though my dad’s not a car guy at all, I’m sure he was also pretty excited to see a Ferrari!!! When we reached the underground parking lot I wanted to just run around and hunt for the car that started my passion for Ferraris. However, Bob had other plans; he decided to test my patience by detouring us to his friend’s Quattroporte. Sure, it was absolutely beautiful, an elegant dark blue, but I wanted to see the main attraction!!! Luckily Bob decided to give me some mercy, and after unlocking the doors and showing us the gorgeous interior, he motioned us to continue walking. With each step closer to his car my pulse quickened. We turned a corner, and suddenly, I saw it.

There it was, parked but ready to pounce. Because it was dark I could just make out the Grigio Titanio paint. I stood a good 20 feet back, not afraid, but more intimidated by the presence of the car, if that is possible. Bob slipped inside and started the engine. Now that I recall the event, because the car was parked with the rear facing the wall, the sound was somewhat muffled and not as brilliant as it would be in the open. However, at the time, I thought the sound was just magnificent! Way better than any other engine I had ever heard in my life. But this was nothing to what I was about to hear.

Bob carefully steered the car out of the underground parking lot and onto the nearest street. (I followed, on foot.) As Bob exited the parking place and the daylight began to shine on the car and bring out all its voluptuous curves, I was simply dazzled. I quickly ripped out my camera and began snapping pictures from every angle I could think of while Bob and my dad chatted calmly. Didn’t they realize that there was a FERRARI 360 MODENA parked right in front of them?!?! =P

Snap, click, snap, click: front three-quarter, rear three-quarter, wheels, exhaust, lights, badges, and of course, the engine through the famous rear window. After a bit, Bob opened the passenger side door so I could take a peek into the interior. I realized that this was not just any 360 Modena; it was an EXACT replication of my dream 360: Grigio Titanio exterior, dark bluish-black interior (Scurro?), Challenge Grilles, silver brake calipers, six-speed manual tranny, Tubi exhaust, even Challenge sports seats. I was amazed at my luck. This was THE 360 that I wanted. And here I was, standing a foot away from it!!! You can imagine how absolutely thrilled I was. I wanted to just keep on taking pictures forever! But I was in for something even better.

When my dad spoke to Bob on the phone, my dad declined Bob’s invitation for me to have a ride in the car with him. My dad reasoned with me that we were in an unfamiliar city, and that there were certain safety issues to ride around unfamiliar streets in an unfamiliar person’s car. Surprisingly, I wasn’t too disappointed because I was already really happy that I would be able to simply be up close to such an amazing car. Well, after maybe 15 minutes of taking pictures, Bob offered (once again) to take me a for a quick spin in the car, this time in person. I looked at my dad, not expecting a yes. But, to my astonishment, he complied! (I guess he wanted to meet the owner before letting his kid get into the car, which I suppose is understandable.)

With previous experience opening a 360 door handle (the Argento 360 Spider at Yorkville!), I delicately pulled on the fragile-looking passenger door handle. I hesitated momentarily (hey, I said momentarily!) before quickly—but cautiously—hopping into the leather bucket seat. My first impression was simply “Wow, I was happy to sit in ONE Ferrari, but now I’m already in my second!” Putting on the seatbelt I wriggled into the seat. Those Challenge sport seats were great. I expected them to be uncomfortable, but they were not at all so. They really supported my body firmly, hugging me securely on the sides, but I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable. Everything in the cabin was exactly where it was in the thousands of pictures of 360 interiors I had seen online and in magazines. But something I did not know was what lay directly behind my seat. “If you turn around, I believe there is an engine back there,” Bob said comically as he buckled himself up in the driver’s seat.

Whipping my head around I came “face-to-face” with the red camshaft covers of the gorgeous Ferrari V8. I turned my head back just in time to see Bob turn the key: a fantastic shriek emitted from a foot or so behind my head as the engine came to life and then faded to a low rumble, obviously daring Bob to step on the throttle. Which he did; slowly at first, just so we could get pull out of the parking space and onto the street. He drove fairly smoothly, staying at a calm 2000 RPM until we reached an intersection where he stopped and right signaled. At this point, I was about to burst with exhilaration just from sitting inside a moving Ferrari, lol. Then Bob turned onto the street and the show began to start. He stepped on the gas and the car shot forward, pressing me even tighter into the Challenge seats. He shifted to second at about 5500 RPM, and stopped accelerating so that:
a) He wouldn’t get a speeding ticket.
b) To allow me to catch my breath.

I was aware that Bob had yet to unleash the true potential of the car, not stepping on the throttle fully and shifting 3000 RPM short of the red line. Yet the power was nonetheless breathtaking. Literally. As he pulled onto another street and started accelerating again, I felt two forces acting against each other, with me being caught in the middle: the engine pushing me from the back and the G’s crushing me from the front. Considering that the fastest car I had ever ridden in before this Ferrari was a Honda Accord sedan, the difference between the two cars’ acceleration was incomparable. Bob tried accelerating at every turn, but even then he could only get to second because of the speed limits. However, a couple times he got pretty close to the redline, and the engine truly began to play its symphony. Beautiful.

True, Bob always stayed at the speed limit, but I was still SCARED throughout the ride. My pulse must’ve been at least 200 or so due to the hard acceleration, sudden braking, and fast cornering I experienced. People don’t seem to mention braking power as often as acceleration, but the 360’s brakes were just as remarkable as its acceleration. As we approached closer and close to an intersection, my conscience screamed to slow down before it was too late…yet Bob kept on accelerating the car! I was convinced that there was no way the car would be able to stop quick enough to turn onto the perpendicular street! Just as I was about to pass out with distress, Bob slammed on the brakes and I was thrown forward. Thank god for seatbelts, or else I would be lying on the pavement. Those brakes were incredible. We were probably 10 feet away from the intersection going at least 70 km/h or so…I’m not sure if those figures are accurate, but either way, holy cow, that car can slow down FAST. And as for cornering…simply stunning. I was astonished at how fast the 360 would take turns. I thought for sure that Bob wouldn’t be able to swing the car into the proper lane, but the car never touched the painted line. The car felt absolutely flat during turns; I couldn’t detect even the faintest feeling of body roll. Talk about balance…just, wow.

I’m trying to illustrate the feeling of the ride to the best of my abilities, but (I apologize for the cliché) words simply cannot describe it. I’ve read other members’ stories about their Ferrari rides, and, based on their accounts, I already had a certain expectation of what riding in a Ferrari would feel like. However, sitting in that car while the tachometer read 7000 RPM, all my expectations were surpassed drastically. The sheer exhilaration of the ride is completely impossible to put into words. The smell of the leather, the G-force, the gaze of the pedestrians, the support of the seat, and of course, the sound of the engine; all these factors united into one grand feeling of absolute satisfaction.

We returned to our start point after approximately 10 minutes of driving. When I got out of the car, my legs were extremely shaky. I believe I also looked like a retard, with a pathetic grin plastered over my dazed expression. One part of me was somewhat relieved to step out of the beast and onto solid ground again, yet another part of me was quite disappointed that the ride was over so quickly. Two feelings that turned those 10 minutes into an unforgettable highlight of my life. Summoning all of my energy, I struggled those few steps toward my waiting dad:

Me: “Did you hear it, dad? Did you hear the car?”
Dad: “Oh yeah, I heard screaming down the streets way before I saw it approach.”
Me: “What do you think, dad? Incredible sound, huh?”
Dad: “Yes, it sounds much better than our Accord!”

Well, after a couple more pictures, Bob had to get back to work. I thanked him many times, wishing that I could give him more; shaking his hand simply didn’t seem as equal a gift as riding in his car…

Yeah, so that is my first true encounter with a Ferrari. Here are a few pics, but I’m really no professional photographer, but, hey, a Ferrari will like stunning no matter what angle you take a photo of it from. I did experiment taking a couple vids with my camera, but the sound is so horrible, I just feel that posting them would not do justice to the true scream of Bob’s 360 (especially with the Tubi). So instead, here are links to my favourite vids: a Tubi-equipped 360 Modena from

a) the inside (what I heard during the ride) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=38K44L32
b) the outside (what Toronto heard) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=41713PM2

I swear that Bob’s car was just as loud (if not louder) than the car in the vid!!! Whenever I watch that vid and hear that noise, my hairs once again stand on end and the adrenaline rush is almost as incredible as that day when I heard it myself with my own ears.

So, I would sincerely like to thank Bob for his priceless generosity. I know you are a really busy man, and I really appreciate you allowing me to take a chunk out of your valuable time. If you haven’t retired to some sea-side lot by the time I get MY first Ferrari, I solemnly swear *raises right hand* that I will give you a ride in it. And perhaps let you drive it, since that ride you gave me will always be one of my most treasured memories…thank you sooo much once again…and when/if you decide to sell the car, please PM or email me!!!! Hopefully I will have the money to buy my dream 360 by then… And to all the readers who haven’t fallen asleep by this point: thanks for reading. It’s a pretty messy recollection of the experience and I know many of you may be chuckling at my limited Ferrari encounters, but thanks anyways for reading. Future Ferrari owners all have to have childhood Ferrari experiences, right?

Kevin
NZUO4RE

 

Hey, just got back from Las Vegas!!! Saw: two 355s, 360 Modena, RR Phantom, Bentley Arnage, an XJ220 in a collection, and.... A BUGATTI VEYRON 16/4!!!!!!!!! I didn't even know there were ANY in North America!!! Well it stopped at a traffic light on Las Vegas Boulevard and I managed to get a couple pics which i will DEFINITELY post somewhere later on....

Anyhoo! Thanks to everyone for their comments, and yes, Bob is a great guy =D

Kevin

 

Yes, I recently learned that there are at least six 360s, even though I've never spotted one....I guess it has a lot to do with where you live; i live in the Riverbend area so i usually see more riced-up cars and more "luxury" cars, like M3s/M5s, Aston Martins, Porsche Boxsters and 911s, and AMG Benzes. I don't see too many performance or exotic cars (I am aware of the red 355) but there is the occasional 308/328 and TR. I think i heard that the Diablo and Murci owners live more downtown in an area called Beverly? either way, it's pretty far from Riverbend =S

And also, meeting other sportscar owners must be much easier if you've got one yourself!

Anyhoo, yeah, next time you guys get together and go cruising could you tell me? hahahaha, don't worry about it if it's too much of a hassle and you're in a rush or whatever, but you konw, if you guys arrange a meet/drive, then yeah, could you please PM or something? =P

and man after watching that ZR auto vid, i was so mad that i missed the drive during the weekend!!! Oh well, always the Motor Show...