Can you provide me info on this? The new owner of my maranello was looking for an OEM set last time I chatted with him.
1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello ? DanielRapley.com Sub 100K I drove this car about 400 miles or so. It's a blast
Forza prices are one man's opinion and he runs Sports Car Company in La Jolla. Depends on how highly you rate his opinion.
Speaking of opinions Hagerty's "State of the Market – January 2017" I found interesting https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/Articles/2017/01/19/january-2017-state-of-the-market?utm_source=MagnetMail&utm_medium=email&[email protected]&utm_content=17%2DHagerty%20Weekly%20News%2002%2D01&utm_campaign=Video%3A%20A%2040%2Dyear%20search%20for%20a%20car%2C%20the%20state%20of%20the%20market%20and%20top%20five%20comeback%20nameplates "On the positive side, rising interest in modern collector cars continues bolstering the market, although buyer preference is shifting from cars of the 1980s and ’90s to cars built since 2000. Hagerty clients added 27 percent more cars from the 2000s to their policies in 2016 than 2015, and 40 percent more cars from the 2010s. Modern cars that are currently in favor fit the general collector car profile: low-production variants of performance models, some connection to race history and a strong historic brand presence. Leaders include cars like the impossible-to-find LaFerrari and Porsche 911R to the Ferrari 488 Italia and even more “common” cars like the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. Nostalgia still motivates many collectors, but those same collectors are also increasingly interested in cars that provide modern conveniences (both in terms of comfort and experience). In some cases, modern cars are able to pull off both."
Graeme, I was interested also in the comment underneath that article from a user, which says: "Went to MECUM Kissimmee this year. Prices flat to lower for most. Some higher, naturally. I predict the market will continue overall downturn and then a crash, as baby boomers age out and exit the market. Already starting to see this. As usual, very few people at Kissimmee under 55 YO. Many >65. Street rods will crash first as most kids today just don't care. They didn't grow up with these cars. High HP will always sell, tho'."
Hagerty's comment covers Auctions across the market and the comment posted is one micro part of the market. Modern classics are much more attractive to even the younger market due usability, I even see a time where Manuals wont be as popular as most younger drivers cannot drive them and the advance of the new gear multi gear ration Paddle shift cars become the norm. I hope I'm wrong.
I totally agree that F1 will be more desirable at some point in the future over the manuals. Manuals will die with the current generation of newborns just like crank to start engines did. Shifting is nostalgic and it won't be for kids being born today. Disclaimer: I own an F1 and a manual.
Likelihood of a big problem with a well-maintained F1 575M (3 year changes of F1 fluid, bleeding and PIS adjustment) is probably less than for a 3 pedal owned by a ham fist. The 360s with transaxle problems tend to be three pedals because F1 never misses a shift.
Hmmm. Cranking a car to start it is not part of the driving experience, and not an untrammelled joy, as shifting with a gated shifter is. There are a lot of people, of all ages, who like manual sports cars. If they don't make any more manual Ferraris, these are what they have available.
Particularly here in the UK, probably also in the rest of Europe. Maybe this has something to do with it: in Europe, something like 75% of all new cars are sold with manual gearboxes (and the 25% are mostly to "old" folks, like me, not young drivers). In the USA, I believe its around 5%. Consequently, over here, the vast majority of drivers (my wife excluded!) still know how to use a manual gearbox. I don't see that changing any time soon.
Projecting too far forward is of course fraught with difficulties because our abilities to truly use these cars, as they were intended to be used, is being steadily depleted. When the Maranello was launched, you could readily have driven one from Calais to the French Riviera in approx. 6hrs overnight (comfortably averaging 200km/h). Today, you would be hard pushed to do it in 9hrs and the (increasingly inevitable) penalty for being caught above 160km/h would be far more substantial than the consequences of being caught above 200km/h in 1996. e.g. an income based fine and the risk of confiscation vs. the cost of a meal for two at a posh restaurant. The other issue is that should you want to, I'm not even sure that you can drive an early 550 into the centre of Paris these days as they are only Euro 2 compliant. Late 550s are Euro 3 compliant but I'm not sure that this really buys you much time as the goal posts will continue to be moved. Then we have the issues about relative scarcity that is often the key driver interns of the values of otherwise desirable cars. When the Daytona was new, people drove them in all weathers and corrosion was a real issue. Bare metal re-sprays were common after a few (single digit) years in use. It was presumably not until the late 80's when 'restorations' became considered economically viable. Along the way, many cars will have disappeared (if they were deemed to be uneconomic to repair/restore) and the end result is the relatively low number of good examples that by now have all invariably had considerable sums invested into them. Take a look at the below.. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/vintage-thru-365-gtc4-sponsored-vintage-driving-machines/104082-daytona-rebuild.html With the oldest Maranello now past 20 years, bare metal re-sprays are almost unheard of and of course I have yet to see a car in anything close to the condition of that Daytona. Although our Maranellos share the lineage, the build quality and complexity has of course moved forward several generations. I guess that one day, some examples that have seen extended use, particularly in winter and in Northern/damp climates, may develop corrosion issues that really need to be addressed but it is perhaps unlikely that there will be much demand for traditional restoration services as anyone looking for a better car may simply look for one from a more favorable climate. Although the prospective corrosion issues would appear to be much less extensive than with the Daytonas, the real challenge for the restoration industry could be to find customers willing to invest the considerable sums required to carry out nut and bolt cosmetic, mechanical and electrical restorations on these comparatively technologically-dense cars. So the long term future outlook is far from certain from where I'm standing so let's enjoy these cars while we still can. Turning back to the old manual vs. single-plate F1 debate, I can see the arguments in favour of both camps but would probably settle with the manual cars as the ones to have. It is almost certainly more fun sitting in your garage in an old car that you are not really allowed to drive on the road anymore and listening to the clack-clack-clack as you go up and down the 'box. ;-) More seriously, we have also been talking about what it is that differentiates particularly desirable cars for future value appreciation and without a shadow of a doubt, the manual 575M has been singled out in the past three years (although most notably at the ultra low miles end of the market which has its own rules). What currently differentiates the manual 575M from their more abundant 550 ancestors is fundamentally just the relative production numbers. Anything that is a). intrinsically desirable and b). scarce is going to command a premium in a market driven up largely by (present company excepted) monied monomaniacs. Fast forward 10, 20 or 30 years and it is the substantially similar transmissions in the these two models that in time could quite easily lead to a convergence in the values of otherwise equal condition 575M manuals and 550s (as only true aficionados will know that the 575M's 'box is more sophisticated). Logically then, we could end up seeing that the comparatively scarce single plate F1 transmission versions of the 575M will be version of the Maranello that is seen as the truly 'differentiated' models... The question about whether buyers' of Maranellos in 2027, 2037 or 2047 will attribute a material discount or premium to this fundamental differentiator, will only become clear in the fullness of time.
When I bought my 550, the vendor said to me "you won't get anywhere any faster than you could in that (pointing to my E-class Merc DD), but you'll enjoy the journey a lot more". Very true! My Dino (246), which originally lived in Scotland (where it rains every day!), had its first respray after less than 5 years, but with 20,000 miles under its belt. Another 38 years on, it still hasn't yet managed to double that mileage!
Lot of difference between steel bodied Ferraris with no, absolutely none, rust protection, and aluminum bodied Ferraris with extensive corrosion protection. Right front fender on my Dino 246 was rusted through at 3 years and both doors of my 78 GTS rusted through at the same age. By 1983, Ferrari was interested in corrosion resistance and things have been better ever since. The 360 introduced the first aluminum chassis and body construction, which really helped. Our V12 chassis are steel, but do have rust proofing.
Agree things have improved but I had the corrosion on both front wings of my 2006 F430 when it was 5 years and 15k miles old!
Piers- And you live in one of the dryer parts of the UK, except for the sea breeze. I believe only Suffolk is dryer. Aluminum still corrodes, especially if joined to steel, but nothing like how the older Ferraris rusted.
