575m. my first drive

okay, frank, so if they're both "road cars" then how can one be tailored to the enthusiast,and one to the masses? where, in your myopic opinion, is the difference?

 

"the Ferrari for the masses"

meaning that Ferrari prices have not risen as fast as the purchasing power and consumerist aspirations of the unwashed merely affluent?

Anyway, as a title carrying enthusiast, it seems to me that if you can't see something to like in the Stradale, you may already be dead. Check your pulse, quick!

Cheers, Will

 

Since everybody else is chiming in, I'll just say the obvious --

A Maranello is the best GT road car that Ferrari has ever built. End of subject. I'm not knocking the vintage cars, but the Maranello has 30 to 40 years of improvement on the theme.

A 360 is one of the the best sports car that Ferrari has ever built. Yes, even better, so far, than an Enzo. Sure an Enzo has way more power than a 360, but I'm not positive that you'd see better lap times in an Enzo than a 360. Put another way, on a track like the Glen, an Enzo might be able to use it's full power. But, at Lime Rock, eh? Who knows?

Indeed my only qualification to best sports car ever is the F40. It would be interesting someday to see a F40 and 360cs go at it.

Just my humbe thoughts... DrTax

 

Mr. Parker,
Went for a spirited canyon drive today in both the 360 and the Stradale.
Got a chance to feel like one of the "masses" again. Can't wait to drive (again) a 550/575 and feel like an "enthusiast".

 

OK, I get it now. To you a Ferrari "enthusiast" is a person who is most concerned with exclusivity first and the actual driving experience second. After a few dozen posts i'm glad it's finally clear.

By that logic however, wouldn't the 456GT be the ultimate "enthusiast" Ferrari?

 

Guys, it wasn't all that long ago that Frank didn't even regard the 8 cyl. cars as "real" ferraris. As to being a car for the "masses," perhaps, in the same sense the Concorde was "public" transportation. If i had 220k $ burning a hole in my pocket, i don't think i'd run out and buy a 575M. Maybe i'd buy a 550 (a good one for what, say $130k), and then take that 90-100k and spend it on a sports car. Cause, after owning two 550's, i can tell ya, they ain't sports cars. GT cars, yes. Big assed, gorgeous on the inside, fast on byways that permit thou to flingest thy 3800 lb. tank, but if i were chomping at the bit to drive like a hooligan, i doubt i'd be cruising around in a 550/575. Oh, yeah, and although i respect those who claim the paddle shifter is good on the track, it certainly doesn't make those who continue to drive 6 speeds part of the great unwashed. So, Frank, with all due respect, ...

 

¨please, if u have more pic of the Stradale.....

 

LOL, BTW Bill, last weekend I did a run with a TT and GT2. The GT2 sure has some wicked turbos. But my buddy had to drop down to 4th before he was able to get a whole lot of satisfaction. Me, I just down shifted from 6th to 5th and wondered what was making that whinning noise outside my window, ha!

Even in the twisties, the TT and the GT2 were slipping and sliding like a canned heat boogie. The Maranello? Hell, it just straightened out dem curves. Brake that puppy. Back it in and then point and shoot! Yee Haw!

Seriously though (ha!). How would you compare a GT2 to a 360? Which one do you think is the better sports car?

DrTax

ps Sorry for hijacking your thread Frank, but it's time to move on...

 

Don't have the seat time in a 360 to speak with credibility, Dale. If i never had a ferrari before, and was given that choice, i'd probably take the 360 on its visceral aspects alone. On the street, none of us is going to get more than a taste of what these cars can really do. I do like the GT-2 plenty, though. Driving it is its own reward. Interestingly, between a 360 and 550 for the same price, i'd probably take the 550.

 

In my case, I was lusting with more than my heart for a vintage Ferrari, either a Daytona or a GTC. But when a good friend told me that the prices of Maranellos were falling like a rock, I started eyeballing a silver Maranello on the floor at FOH. Then when the price fell to the point where I could buy a relatively new beast for less than a Daytona, it was no contest.

360 prices still have a way to go before I start getting interested. While there is no way that you can really rationalize any high dollar car, I like to think that I'm still in the ranks of the merely deranged instead of the completely off-the-deep end crowd. For example, I have seen 2003 GT2 move in the $140 range. Is a 2003 360 worth $30K more than GT2, particularly when that additional $30K will buy a Mini Cooper S?

And Frank, I've been thinking (dangerous I know, but...). What it appears that you are trying to say is that in, say, 15 years from now, a 550 or 575 will be worth more than a 360 because, like the TRs, (1) Ferrari is making a lot of them, (2) (again like the TRs), the 360s will probably cost more to maintain than the Maranellos.

Currently, the best 328s (8 cylinder) selling for more than the worst TRs (12 cylinder) Because, at this price point, buyers are no longer deep pocket owners, and the total cost of ownership factor favors the 328, even though the TRs are "better" cars.

Your theory, if I have this right, is that buyers in 15 years will favor Maranellos because they will have a relatively lower cost of ownership AND they are 12 cylinder cars, i.e., the opposite of the current 328/TR situation.

You might be right, but as Bill Hart said, "Driving it is its own reward." Thus, for a current buyer, the key is determining what type of driving experience he or she wants today. In 15 years, I'll probably be trying to remember if I was supposed to take the little blue pill on odd days or the little pink pill...

Dale

 

I agree...I had a 360 F1 Spider at same time as my Z8(still have the Z8). The 360 was an amazing car, really a car I had little restraint in when I drove it..I just pounded it hard ALL the time. It didn't like to dawdle. Much more demanding than Z8, more razor edge. But, it became tiresome, and a bit pointless with a convertible top. Great top and draft free compared to Z8 with top down, but you couldn't really enjoy the convertible part...it kept demanding that you run it. Really needed more torque down low as well. I weighed the pros/cons, and sold it, bought a Maranello, and kept the Z8. Funny how 360 Spiders bring premium, and Z8's seem to have poor resale...both alloy 2 seat, limited production, 400bhp,etc.
I bought my second Cooper S, sold old one, and put Works kit on it, plus some stuff. It demands you run it hard as well, but it will dawdle too.
V12 cars are just torque monsters, and 550/575 handles really well for a big thump of a car. Makes me grin when you can hustle thru a series of esses on the power like they weren't there. Not precise like the 360, but whoa, what a finesse finish. If you drive it like an old 911, in slow, on power early->out, it is religious. And comfy.
360 is just an amazing shifter cart with a radio and room to scare a friend.
FWIW,
I may be full of crap,
Lee

 

amenasce, here you are. Onre little bit of trivia: the holes in the CS rear challenge grill are about twice the size of the holes in the "regular" challenge grill, yet you don't notice it without a mention. Better cooling I suppose.

 

Here's one more; there were 4 of us yesterday, two "entry level" cars brought on by the masses and two serious Pcars, no enthusiasts around (by Parker's orders).

 

Geez, them thar 360's are dead common...those Porches too, but I luv them little drink trays on the back...makes tailgatin' easy!

Since a couple of us have/had both 360/550/575, are we enthusiastic masses? or massive enthusiasts? Where's Onto when ya need him...prolly consoling greenblatt LOL

I'm going driving....

 

Okay, I know I'm going to hear from a few people about this post but here goes. Some of you here know me and as my handles implies I am alittle crazy when it comes to cars. In the last three years alone I've had 42 different cars, I usually keeps 5 or 6 at a time, and I most say I have lost a decent amount of money because of the short amount of time I keep some of the cars. If my main concern was losing money on a car, I'd drive a Honda. My point, well it seems these posts always end up about what something is going to be worth, not what it meant to you to enjoy it.

As for the 575, it is a great GT car, but it does not move me or have the driver feedback of a 360. It is a beatiful machine, but I drove a 575 F1 back to back with my Maserati Coupe F1, same roads and I know you will think I'm crazy but the difference was no where near what I thought it would be, though I still plan to get one, that is unless my wife falls in love with the 612 (she likes a back seat), as a sports car, the 360 is the hands down winner.

 

Gosh the stradale is just perfect !! Congrats and thks for the pics !

 

This Maranello vs Modena debate looks a bit pointless to me, the cars are so different in character and purpose. Try comparing a cashmere sweater with a gore-tex jogging outfit ...
Mid-engine cars are perfect blast cars and far more rewarding on tracks, yet they lack the torque, elegance and sublime performance-comfort compromise of the V12s. Yet, the word 'compromise' can be where the pleasure ends for some.
Maranellos are a bit more exclusive due to their price and rarity, but this would not make V8 owners non-enthusiasts, would it ? Statement is a tad snobbish.