Are Ferrari's Rock and Roll?

I always considered the 50's Ferrari race cars very punk rock. Enzo made no compromise race cars the way he envisioned them. Thye may not have had the latest technology but they got the job done. They also did it with a great deal of style with the help of some small coachbuilding shops. The whole enterprise was very DIY and showed a great deal of heroism in the face of adversity.

Todays Ferraris do not seem very rock and roll to me. I like the new cars but they do not seem to capture my soul. I must say that I am not realy a GT guy after test driving a couple of newer Aston Martins and a 575 recently and luxury GT seems to be the way Ferrari is going. I do think cars like the newer TVR's, Marcos and Factory 5 GTM are very rock and roll.

PS I Do like the F40 and the Enzo

 

Stradales ROCK !!!!

G

 

And the 612 is so OLD MUTUAL...

 

I think compairing a classic 50's Ferrari to punk rock is an serious insult to these beautiful rolling works of art. I would think something from the classical era would be more fitting. IMHO.

 

Punk Rock changed the world in a big way with new attitude and thought proccess that paved the way for the DIY tech revolution.
I think that Enzo and crew changed the automotive world in the same way.

 

I agree but if your going to use Music as a base look at whats playing on the radio today and you'll find your anwser

The old School exotics from the 80's-90's where the best in my opinion. I find myself being more interested in the newer kitcars than Supercars now adays.

 

Ferrari's are music in and of themselves. You don't need a genre to compare them to.

Random: anybody ever thought of having an orchestra recreate the sound of a Ferrari V12 going through the gears? Maybe it's me, but I think the result would be something to hear. You could have a video of a BB going at it and then replace the sound with a live orchestra.

 

Ferrari's most deffinately rock...but I'm a little afraid to use the term "roll" when discussing any car

 

Corvettes are Rock & Roll

Ferraris are more Opera

 

There is a picture of JK sparking up near his Enzo, that picture is pure Rock&Roll

 

So does your garage have an aria rug? <erk>

 

Punk rock didn't have as much as an effect as you would like to believe, and if anything it was a negitive. Same as grunge. And only in a small circle, it was never main stream. And with only a couple groups that lasted a short time. But if thats your thing thats fine, but compairing that crap to the history and beauty of Ferrari is way off base. You'd be better off compairing punk rock to the Tucker.

Cheers!

 

The funny thing is there are just as many people that would call what ever it is you like (and thus compare to a Ferrari) Crap. I think I am a bit of an oddity when it comes to music, but I went to a Symphony (at my request) for my 12th birthday. However, I would list the Ramones among my favorite music groups along with The King's Singers and Chubby Checker.

Ferrari's are much the same as music in that you will find people who are in love with cars from different era's. Some will love the 308, some will love the 430 and some will love the P3.

Music and cars are all about picking your poison.

 

I think Mrpbody44 raises some valid points - though I'd liken the early, raw power more to Punk's forebear, Protopunk.
After all, it was long said that anybody that ever heard The Velvet Underground [first album initially only ran a few thousand copies] started their own band.

 

I concur. Been discussed before, but the wind tunnel wars have pretty much eroded all the edge and character from modern cars. The 355 was the last one to put design before aero (flat rear deck and buttresses).

I wouldn't call the F430 a luxury car, so be careful about judging the whole line based on the GT cars (550/575/599/612). Different purpose, different attitude, different ride. I haven't been in the F430 Scuderia, but apart from being too big it seems to be a hardcore track car.

Actually, I associate the '60s cars with jazz -- there's a kind of expressiveness and rebelliousness to the designs, especially cars like the 250 GT Spyder California. The new ones are more conformist, more tech. The 360/430 feel kind of hip-hop with their huge wheels, exaggerated lights and thick haunches.

 

1+
True that

 

The jazz analogy for the late 50's to mid - 60's era cars works for me.

If anything was Rock and Roll, I think it was the late 60's to mid 80's cars: The Dino 206 and 246, the 308 and 328, the 512 Boxer and Testarossa. The analogy might extend even further, with Led Zeppelin corresponding to the Dinos and 308 and the glam bands to the Testarossa.

Maybe the 360 and 430 are a bit "techno. . ."

 

Man, what a gas. I would never have thought to compare Ferrari's with music, but compared to the rest of the cars on the planet? Ferrari was more like Jerry Lee Lewis. Come on baby....you knoowwwww what I like. I did like a lot of the alternative music of the 80's, I still do. But I cant compare that stuff to a Ferrari. The Ferrari is more a one man band, or the beatiful singers voice. Like that girl who sang "In the arms of the angel". That voice cuts through your soul and makes your hairs stand up. Not unlike the voice of a well tuned Ferrari.

That idea of an orchestra trying to mimic Ferrari sounds is facinating. You know, if they could produce even one minute of something that sounded like a vintage V-12 on a track, up and down through the gears, redlining, they would have every red blooded man in the audience jumping up and down for an encore. I know I would be.

 

New age & techno is what i hear when I look at a Ferrari made in the past 2 decades. Nothing too inspirational for Ferraris. After all, there hasn’t been any new music worth listening to in 20 years. Give me an American Muscle car & we'll talk about the 70s.

 

As a guy with automotive history and music history backgrounds, I can only say: "Ferrari and Punk Rock? Are you kidding me?"

Okay, I'll say more...

There's absolutely nothing Punk Rock (be it Sex Pistols, Blondie, Television, New York Dolls, Ramones, Clash, Plasmatics...) that compares to Ferrari. Ferrari was and is everything opposite of Punk. Ferrari is ultimate establishment! Enzo came from the dominant race car manufacturer, Alfa, and built his own establishment. He was very worried about success, image, money, presitge, status, titles, structure...

Rat rodding was the automotive version of punk. Small niche appreciated by a small group, while the rest don't know, don't care, or find it annoying.

 

Exactly which American muscle cars from the 70s are you referring to?

I'm no expert on American cars, but I remember the 70s as a rather bleak time for American auto manufacturers: The pathetic Ford Mustang II, the 120 HP Camaro, the exploding Pinto, the ugly and underpowered AMC Gremlin, the depressing Chrysler K Cars, the just-plain-crummy Chevy Chevette. . .

Yeah, the 60s saw some fast, and even attractive American cars. But please enlighten me. . .I can't think of a single desirable American car after perhaps 1971.

 

When people use "muscle car" and "70s" in the same line, they're usually referring to 1970-1971 Dodge Challenger/Plymouth 'Cuda, Chevy Chevelle LS6, and Plymouth Superbird. In reality, people are saying "the muscle car era, which found its roots in the post war Rocket 88, started in earnest with the '64 GTO, fundamentally ended with falling compression ratios and gross/net ratings change in 1972, and limped-on afterwards."

There are a few good American cars that came after 1971. The SD-455 Trans Am was a great car, and the 1978 Trans AM TA-6.6 (with Pontiac 400 and dual exhaust) was also a pretty darn good muscle/pony car. Then there are the LS4 Corvette that was available through 1974, or the 351 Cleveland-equipped Mach 1 Mustang (through 1973.)

 

Wow!

As I said, I'm no expert on American cars, but even with the powerful cars you named that I hadn't thought of, wouldn't you say that the sixties, not the seventies, were the true decade of the muscle car? (Or at least c. 1964 - c. 1974)

 

Oh God no....

RMX

 

This thread actually made me want to slam my computer with a sledge hammer.....seriously, the question is idiotic!! What is Rock n Roll?? It is a musical form that has so many forms both brilliant and horrible....If the question is "would Keith Richards drive a Ferrari?" or "Would the guys from REO Speedwagon drive Ferrari's?" then
we are talking the coolest or lamest version of Rock n Roll.....Miles Davis drove a Ferrari!! nuff said