And by the way ... this is the Photo of the Year right here. Brilliant. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wow I take that as a real compliment, even if undeserved. I only say it because when you first proposed it, many felt it was not going to work. I have to admit, in the configurator, I did not like it. I knew what you were trying to do but there was no guarantee that it would turn out well. It takes boldness to make that next step. I liked the die cast model. I felt it had potential. Now, the real car is darn amazing to look at. It's difficult to be an innovator. You should be proud.
This could start sounding like a mutual worshipping session pretty quickly but I do need to quickly note this: 1. I really respect your opinion because it's been clear you've always tried to give everyone in this 458 section their own space even if it seems clear your own personal choices would take you elsewhere. I knew you were doubtful about my choices, so to hear that you feel it has worked out in spite of your initial expectations is very nice to hear. 2. I always felt that my choices would work. There were quite a few people that said "no, they won't". And there were a lot of people that said "......" (nothing). Now, almost all of them have said "actually, it does work". Now - I did not spec this car to satisfy other people. But........ it is very satisfying to have so many people agree that she is beautiful. What a magical week so far! And I haven't even arrived in Italy yet! Onno
OK then, that looks fantastic anyway you name it. Not being a fan of black cars myself (though I'm really curious about this Stellato), I was wondering how would a Grigio Ferro or Silverstone work with the red roof... Actually similar to the HK car we know from flickr but the icing on the cake would be with a dark metallic red like yours - bright red too loud anyway you look at it.
What a great spec! Would love to hear how happy you are with your options. Speaking of options, anyone know any info on 4 point harness like Onno's for U.S., 458's?
Unfortunately, the harnasses are not available for the US due to legislation issues. Extremely happy with my chosen options. The front lift system gets used a lot in my parents' village due to very steep sleeping policemen. The iPod option lets me charge my iPhone. The cruise control has saved me couple of speeding tickets already in road construction zones, and using it as a pit speed option might be handy on a track day. The race seats look fab but are also comfortable on an 11 hour drive. The parking sensors work very well, no need for the camera. And cosmetically, I cannot think on how to improve the car. I really think I couldn't improve on the spec if I wanted to. The only issue I have with my specs is the price. $100k on options before taxes was a bit much.... Onno
Thanx for info on the restraints as I had heard the same two years ago but had hoped that would have changed. Another question if I may, did you get upgraded stereo and how is it's quality? Also difference in sport exhaust in price, performance, sound? Can all new car purchasers spec out their future ride in Maranello? is there an additional fee? Thank-you in advance for your help.
The upgraded stereo cannot be ordered with the harnasses as the attachment points are were the subwoofer goes. I can't tellmyou about the sports exhaust as I changed my order to normal. I did that for cosmetic reasons: thr sports exhaust is black and I much preferred the chrome look of the normal one. I do not believe the sports exhaust has any additional sound qualities, it is only 500 euros. I think is is only three black tips, with the same exhaust layout. But I'm not sure. Specifying your car in Maranello requires your dealer to be present in Italy with you. Ferrari only have space for one person in the morning, and one person in the afternoon. Therefore, only 300 - 400 people can do this, annually. My dealer can offer this to about 3 people each year. There was no additional fee. Onno
Onno, Actually it's not required to have your dealer present at all. I organized my Atelier trip through my dealer in Australia and went with a good friend. When I wanted to see my car come off the production line, I organized that through the Atelier guy directly. Belatedly the Ferrari Australia guys got involved - but everything had already been organized without them. You're right about the limited number of Atelier visits, it seems there are two people that do them and they do between 2 to 4 per day. How lucky you are depends on if you pick a busy time of year and of course you can forget August!! There was no charge for any of the above. David
Interesting, thanks for posting. I was told the dealer needs to be present to ensure that the specifications are properly put into the system. It was certainly true for my car that the factory did not have anything to do with the actual order, the dealer needed to spec the car according to what we discussed at the Atelier. You're very fortunate to have seen the car roll off the production line. I was told that was not possible. And finally, Ferrari cancelled my factory delivery even though I had specified (and Ferrari agreed) that 7 months in advance. I guess nothing is certain, depending on how high you are on the food chain you can get more done but there are no guarantees. Onno P.S. She was purring today. Almost 4,000kms in 7 days!
Well, Rodolfo, here you go. I didn't get to do a proper shoot, which irritated me. But that's just a reason to go back.... Onno Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I love it. The interior and the roof are perfect together. Did you ever think about getting the calipers painted to match the top? Car looks great as is but I thought it might pull everything together even better. The red stiching on Bordeau truly does look great and didnt expect it to look as good as it does. Im glad you took a chance with the combination because it really paid off.
Fair enough. As mentioned before, just haven't had any time to take any shots, it's all been rushed this week. I'll do a proper shoot as soon as is convenient. Onno
Thanks for the last set of pictures. As someone stated above, bold choices but it really paid off. Not surprised Ferrari refused to do a triple layer red on the calipers.
