My new Stradale survived!!!

[ Note most the pics in this thread were lost in the disk crash... but they are now available here. ]

About a week ago I was informed that FoD was invoiced for my Stradale... which means it has landed safely and should be put on a truck to Dallas. Yyyyeessssssss!!!

Why are you only just now hearing about it? Sorry, I didn't want to jinx it. Wanted to wait until I saw the car before I posted. (Yes, I've now seen it.)

 

I have a confession to make... I am currently not a Ferrari owner! I haven't been for a couple of weeks!

In anticipation of the survival of my Stradale this time around, I sold my beloved 360 Modena to young lady (Dallas local) who is quite passionate about cars and intends to drive it. I think its gone to a fine new home. And hopefully she'll join us for some local events... it'll be fun to get my old 360 and my new Stradale together for some pictures!! If/when that happens, you'll be sure to hear about it! (And see the pics!)

With my heavy withdrawl symptoms in full action last week, I read Keith Verges' posts on his Gallardo. Well, I greatly respect Keith and his knowledge of driving a car on a track... so his positive review got my attention. So, I had to go test drive one... just to be sure I was doing the right thing. Jonathan Peck took me for a spin in a silver Gallardo. The sample defects in this early production model were a bit embarrassing, but it performed well. Solid feel and grip on the road... awesome power... pretty sound. The looks still don't do a lot for me... and the storage is pathetic... but it does have some space behind the seats. Its fast, stable, and solid. But after thinking about it a while afterward... the absolute lust I have for the Stradale is just not there. The looks... the sound... the feel... the excitement... just not quite up to par.

So, while I could walk out with one of several Gallardos, back to waiting I went... my Stradale would be here soon...

 

Well, after 3 1/2 years on a waiting list, I'm finally looking at the Ferrari of my dreams! The mishap in November where my Stradale didn't survive the boat trip (yeah, whatever ), while oh-so-disappointing, in the end has helped me get what I really wanted... the brake adjustments, the engine compartment insulation, the 5-time champion plate (instead of 4-time), and the 50-year US emblem... and my minor adjustment to my order to put in an Alcantara headliner instead of the standard headliner... my perfect Ferrari is sitting at FoDallas.

So, its been a long wait! I'm just a bit psyched... as you can imagine.

So, what did I get? I was torn on the stripe... it is definitely cool and definitely "signature Stradale"... but I plan to keep the car a long time (forever?) and so I feared repainting the nose might require repainting the whole car, given the stripe. Further, I foresee adopting lots of different graphics, depending upon the event or situation. The stripe would limit my creativity in many ways.

I was torn on color. I love Azzuro California... but I really wanted something that said "Ferrari" a bit more (i.e., red)! But it seemed like everyone was doing Rosso Scuderia. I considered Rosso Corsa, but every other Ferrari model is dominated by that color. I love Rosso Fiorano... but couldn't figure out an Alcantara interior that would match right. Plus, then I'd have to sell my 911 (which is Arena Red... a metallic burgundy).

The answer on color actually ended up being driven by the Stradale interior. The red/black interior of the press Stradale really appealed to me... great look, a Ferrari look, and "signature Stradale". The shot of the red/black wheel and dash has been my laptop background for a long time now. So, although I skipped the "signature Stradale" stripe, I did go for the "signature Stradale" interior.

So, given the bold red interior, I needed an exterior color to match. I've always loved red with black and with gray/silver. Black is too hot in Texas (IMO). OTOH, I've truly enjoyed the past few years with my Titanium 360. Its beautiful when cleaned up; and it looks pretty good even when filthy... and given I plan to drive it a *lot*, that's a very good thing.

So, while a bit redundant, I suppose, I went with Titanium with flashes of Ferrari red: red calipers and red Alcantara interior (and red intake covers in the engine bay). A Titanium Ferrari with a heart of rossa!

I was hoping it would be ready for me to pick up Thursday evening... I could break it in that evening and night... and then head out to the track (MSRanch) on Friday. Even had a friend who was going to be out there Friday. No such luck. [frustration]

I assumed I'd be able to pick it up Friday evening... but the 3M film install took all day... so it wasn't quite ready... though I did get a good look at it Friday evening. [drool] "Where are the pics?" you ask. Ugh... I left the damned camera (both of them) on the chair at home where I had set them out specifically to bring with me to FoD to take pics... aarrgghhhh! [frustration builds]

So, I wait for tomorrow... to help pass the time, I grabbed my Owner's Manual... that's helping some... unfortunately, too much is just like my 360. My salesman Chet's advice to have a martini tonight is probably helping more. Hope its not resulting in incoherent posts!! We'll see if it helps me get some sleep...

 

Well, I've been watching F1 Practice and F1 Decade... MS winning then and now... but what am I thinking about?

Goals for my Stradale:

• To reach the mileage limit of my warranty before the time limit.
• To have the highest mileage Stradale in the world (I have some
  catching up to do).
• To have a huge number of track miles, and prove that Ferrari
  makes way better carbon brakes than that Pee-marque (please
  let that be true! ).
• To hit every great track in the US.
• To show at every great Ferrari event in the US.
• And to document it all here on Ferrarichat!!

May take a few years... but it'll be fun trying to get it all in.


Okay, I admit it... I am dwelling... like a six-year-old on Christmas eve... pathetic, really...