458 Spider swap for FF

Well I have made the decision. I have a lovely 458 spider, bought it new,spec'd it, waited a year for it, but after only 1k miles I have had a change of heart.
Living in England, Yorkshire to be precise, and in a country location with wet, muddy roads, indeed I live up a single road frequented by muddy tractors driving in & out of fields etc...come to the conclusion I am fed up of looking at the spider in the garage, and still another 3 months plus to go before its decent driving weather for it. Cannot bring myself to get it all crapped up on these roads at all.
So anyway decided to move it aside for an FF. The FF I can use throughout winter , and it has 4 seats,I have a young son, so that's a bonus that we can all go off in it, instead of having to use another car on such day outings, or trips to Scotland etc etc.
Mixed emotions really, sad to see the spider go ( and before you ask no I cannot afford to keep both,and only really want one 'special' car as it were )but quite excited about getting the FF and enjoying it on a more regular basis, and not be quite so precious about it
I quite like the FF styling, certainly the interior is a nice place to be, never driven one yet, so will be an exciting day when I go get her, just waiting for the plate tfr, so maybe a week or so away.
Really swayed by a lot of the positive threads on here such as Fritz's etc, it seems some question the styling , which is always subjective, but other than that it seems FF owners love them, which as I Say really has jollied me along into this choice, so thanks all for the interesting reading.
Spec is grigio Ferro, glass roof , nice wheels,lots of carbon & cuoio tuscano interior, just the standard stereo I am afraid ( had the hi power on the spider ) so not quite sure how that will be...we shall see, anyway couple of pics
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Excellent spec and choice for a family enjoy in good health!

 

Congratulations! Have fun with it!

 

I think the FF is one of the most amazing cars Ferrari ever built. Have Fun...

 

lovely colours and spec-hope you enjoy really using it.
i picked up my kids from school in the 612 yesterday which in many ways is just a much fun as going for a sunday morning thrash by myself!

 

Another powerful, beautiful FF! The 458 was powerful but the FF is more powerful! And then there is the SOUND, way better than the 458! Enjoy the ride!

Rick

 

Can't beat the sound of a V12, good choice.

 

Congrats! You won't regret it! Living in the Kent countryside, I too have to negotiate miles of usually waterlogged country lanes, covered in mud and potholes and the FF takes it all in its stride. It's covered in crap 9 months of the year and virtually impossible to keep clean other than in the dry summer months, but it's all part of the fun and at least you can use it as an every day car and it never complains! My kids love it, I'm sure yours will too! Enjoy!!

 

Congratulation! Very beautiful and tasteful color combination!

 

Must admit looking forward to the v12, looks a great engine, cannot wait to sample the sound for the first time
Thanks for all your positive comments, it's going to be a long week or so wait now!

 

Start this at 28secs in and tell me you don't want this in your life
[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aBzDy42lsm0[/ame]

 

Great looking car, top choice.

 

Lovely winding roads in Cumbria and North Yorkshire to give the FF a nice workout. The pano roof looks great.

 

Today I brought my new White FF to fill up with fuel for the first time. To my surprise, the car was a celebrity at the fueling station! In Southern California people are quite used to seeing Ferraris, and usually no one notices when I fuel my 458. But with the FF two people from different cars came up to chat about the FF: "What is it?" "It's beautiful." "Good luck with it." "Four seats!" It was all smiles.

Don't worry about the "style." People love it.

 

Like everything in life, the 458 for an FF is a tradeoff. You will find the FF extremely refined, comfortable, and it has that lovely V12 sound, with lots of low speed torque that the 458 does not have. It will have some of the traits of the 458, including the quick steering, and it is surprisingly nimble. And of course you can take it anywhere in pretty much all kinds of weather. But -- and I'm sure you know this -- it will not have that raw racing bike feel that the 458 imparts. It is not a sports car. All this said, there is a time for everything and your time for an FF has come. You will love it; it is really quite extraordinary.

 

Congrats Chris. Great choice that the FF is. Just the fact that you can use the FF anytime, in any weather must be worth it. Do share more pics once you pic her up!

 

You're going to LOVE it! I love my FF more and more every day.

 

Another beautiful FF! Congrats, Chris!

Now go out and get it dirty: it works even better when its covered in muck.

And I have not heard any but totally positive reponses to the appearance of our FFs from the public at large. The only negative comments seem to come from so called Ferrari fanatics. Out in the real world, my car gets tons of positive responses from curious onlookers. It's a commanding and elegant beast. Ignore the haters and enjoy many thousands of amazing miles and hours with your family. The grins will never leave your face when in or around the car.

And yes, that 12 is simply amazing sounding and feeling. Take it to a track day and find out what it can do when really let loose.

 

Thanks guys, great positive comments, great to hear, getting more & more excited about it now. Hopefully next week I will get to collect her.
Don't worry Eric, she will remain pretty 'filthy' throughout the duration of this winter. Not bad timing actually as it looks like snowy stuff coming later this week, so that would be a good baptism.
Just hope the standard stereo works ok, not too bothered on audiophile quality, but having had the hipower on the spider ( needed with top down driving ) bit dubious on the standard.
Lots of long trips planned, tend to listen to kids audiobooks quite a bit to keep junior happy, what fun..hmmm , we shall see!
That Novitec FF sounds pretty epic

 

Chris, the standard hi-fi is just fine (and I record/produce music too).

 

good to know thanks John

 

Congrats! That is a fantastic color combo you've got there. Probably my favourite FF combo, it's just stunning.

Hehe, love that expression!

 

Collected yesterday, 3.5 hr drive 220 miles up very wet british motorways, torrential rain all the way back. Car is lovely, really comfortable, handling spot on, easy to drive, love the interior colours & the glass roof too.
Love the sound from the V12 under acceleration, had it in sport now & again and when accelerating hard it sounds fantastic, a much nicer sound to me than the 458's V8. Only issue with the sound I had was that didn't appear to have any nice back burbles on change down, the 458 was epic when dropping down a couple of gears, that was the best sound on the 458. Also on a 612 I had, that double blipped on kick down and sounding great, the FF seems a little quiet on this. Having said that conditions were rubbish so not really had chance to really give it the beans yet. Anyway a few pics
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Amazing, beautifuly specd...congrats, it´s a beauty.

 

Congrats! Beautiful, you won't regret it, the car just gets better and better the more you drive it. If you miss the burbling exhaust, maybe consider a Capristo system? I have one on mine and love it. Not too loud, but makes all the right noises. Once the weather improves I'll try and upload a short video.

Enjoy your FF!