Beauty To See Such a Clean Car

I really like that combo!

 

great looking example and love the color combo... not even that far away. Does anyone know this car?

 

Love the color combo! This would probably be my choice, although I also love the Berlinetta in red and black too.

Same as always though: the 355 looks and sounds AWESOME, but there are way too many unresolved, super-expensive technical issues to worry about.

 

beautiful

 

Sharp car and nice combo.

 

Seems like a good buy at its current reserve, im sure it will go up though...
Whtas up with the glovebox/passenger side airbag?
Anyways car is in my neck of the woods if anyone needs it eyeballed.

 

VERY VERY NICE....TOO BAD THE TIMING IS WRONG, I WOULD BE ALL OVER IT LIKE A DOG TO A LEG

 

Nice deal.

 

It's a beautiful car. Also, it must be a big joy to drive it.

However, I have one question about this and other Ferraris.

Many women seem to like Ferraris and want to ride them.
But what's the point of being in the navigator's seat of a
car like this? Look at the interior of this car. It has no
navigation system, TV, or DVD player. It only has a
cassette player, CD player, and radio. Right? The seat
is not bad but Mercedez and BMW have far more
comfrotable seats. The height of a sports car like this
is lower than that of other cars so the view from it isn't
that good.

What do you think?

P.S.

I'm strictly talking about the value of the navigator's seat.
In general, I agree Ferrari is a great car and fun to drive.

 

Ever hear a 355 at 8500K??? No radio/Navigation/ETC NEEDED!

 

Before I knew any of you-indeed, before this site even existed- I had a '99 silver 355 GTS, red interior, paddles, carbon roof insert and lots of carbon on the interior; challenge grills, painted calipers, tubi, etc. Took delivery of the car in the Spring of 99 as the first owner- waited weeks for the process from build completion, through boat transit, to dealer delivery. (The car had already been ordered and configured by the dealer, but was only in the process of being built when I bought it).
I didn't keep the car long. I got two speeding tickets in as many months, and got rid of the car in less than a year. The red was a bit 'bright' for my taste, and frankly, the paddle shifting on the earlier cars left something to be desired. Algar resold the car quickly, and I've never seen it again. In fact, of all the cars I've had since I started driving again in the mid-nineties, I may not even have a picture of it. My wife thought it was the most 'japanese' of the Ferraris i've owned- after the 355 went, i bought Frank Beard's 328 out of his collection (white over red) and only kept that for about 6 months, since it just didn't have enough ommph for me.
Then bought a BBi. Sorry I sold that one.

 

>No radio/Navigation/ETC NEEDED!

I agree. The only thing I'd want to do in this car is to drive.

I wish it had a central driving position like the Mclaren F1.

 

Wow. So how was the BBi?
On the bright side, you have such a sweet ride now.

 

BBi, and probably the Barchetta (although I had endless problems because of the top, given the weather here) were probably my faves so far, others included, in addition to the ZZTop 328, a 348 spider and a 97 Maranello.
The BBi is a fabulous car- it has long been considered underated and underpriced for what it is, and though I don't see it being an investment from a financial standpoint, it is huge fun to drive. It is 'old school' (the tire technology sucks), very torquey, low, rocketship style front visibility (low and wide), easier to live with, and get in and out of, than a Diablo or Countach, quality and fit and finish is generally not bad, even though I don't think the seventies were a high point for Ferrari. Its look is almost timeless, and you rarely seem them. It is a visceral drive, no power steering, manly clutch/gearbox, and handles and drives beautifully if it's a good one, until you get it out of shape. It is deceptive, because it really isn't a well balanced car, but the way the suspension is set up, it feels like it, until gravity and physics take over. (That's why i never updated the wheels and tires- because i thought it would involve some alchemy with the suspension that i guessed would be close to impossible to tweak).
Highly recommended for someone who loves Ferrari, loves to drive a big dog car, doesn't mind, or prefers, old school style and doesn't have, or want to spend, Kilo-bucks.
(Remember, though, these cars are now old, and you gotta make sure everything is right. They won't tolerate neglect, like the more modern ones will. I probably spent 15k in
wholesale dollars having alot of work done, from engine and belts and pumps and rubber, and shocks and clutch to make sure mine was perfect. It was a garage queen when i bought it, with 6k miles, and I drove it for a year, putting on at least another 10k miles. Only Ferrari I really regret selling).

 

whart, what do you think of the Superamerica? It's got the roof.

Frankly I think the styling is slightly lacking and the roof mechanism, though kind of charming, would get old fast.

 

I have mixed feelings about the SA. The design of the top is ingenious, but I'm not sure I like how it looks when its down, nor am I real sure about those wide sail-style C pillars (if that is what you call them). To me, the Barchetta was also a bit awkward in style, in the rear anyway, the ass was too long, and despite the nacelles to break it up, it doesn't look as sleek as it should. Nor was I totally enamoured of the roll hoops on the Barchetta, although something was obviously necessary for safety sake. My ideal in this vein is #1777, the Nembo spider, which i understand from those who have driven or sat in it, has some serious issues with the windshield hitting you at eye level. To me, this is almost the top pinnacle of an open Ferrari in that shark nose style (although the Nart Spider ain't so bad either).
I certainly wouldn't turn down an SA, but I didn't get excited enough to go out and buy another topless new 12 cyl. Ferrari. Fact is, though, I'm glad they are making the car. It is an important market and has always been an important market for Ferrari from the earliest days in the States.

 

The Ferrari business people have, I'm sure, thought through it all. How to keep the brand strong. How to keep the exclusivity on which the business so relies. How to keep the advertisers' dollars rolling in. And so on. But I wonder what would happen if they turned back away from the front engine 12s and put the engine in the back.

So, say they made a Murcielago competitor. $300,000 or so. Say they'd still have the 2+2, the entry level V8, and this mid-engined 12. I wonder what would happen to 1) the numbers sold (they are already selling as many cars as they want, no?) 2) the number of V8 cars sold now that another more-expensive-but-less-GT car is on the scene; 3) the effect on the brand power, advertising money, etc. I'm sure all this balancing has been done and they've decided it's a bad idea and they want to stick with the current lineup. It's just interesting to me, from a business perspective, why they chose that course. On the one hand, they'd probably sell more of the mid-engine 12 than they would of the 575. But would that be balanced by selling fewer V8s? Or would there be fewer multiple Ferrari buyers who, for whatever reason, Ferrari wants to be a part of its client base? (This is the theory that I have had for a long time - they have more money, buy more merchandise, maybe buy old F1 cars from the factory, and so on.)

There's some reason why Ferrari wants this kind of model diversification. It's probably a bit of everything. But the way I see it, it probably has a lot to do with that last point - wanting multiple-Ferrari buyers. And it probably has a lot to do with the brand exclusivity bringing in the dollars. So, if Ferrari were like Lambo and made two relatively similar cars, just with the more expensive one having more grunt, then the demand for the entry level car, from people who want a sports car and not a GT, would diminish. Thus, spreading Ferrari buyers around in that way would make a smaller demand/wait list for any one car (the V8, in this case). As a result of that, there is less hype about the brand, and less money coming in from competitors who want a part of the magic. That's my theory on why they went down the road that they have. Because over time selling fewer cars than they actually might be able to will make them more money in the long run, and probably in the present as well.

 

Z- remember where Ferrari was when Luca took the reigns.
The 'big' car was the 512 TR/M- long in the tooth, not easy to get in and out of, not alot of luggage space for a 'GT' and a little dated in styling. (Also keep in mind at that time that over the top styling was passe- people did not want to announce themselves). The 348 was not well loved and there wasn't a US legal 2+2 for quite a while. The 456 was introduced, positively- though it was a 4 seater, the 550 thereafter: easier to drive than a TR, roomier inside, easier to get in and out of, more low key. The 355 was considered a huge improvement over the 348, and so on.
Part of Luca's mandate, i think, was a return to origins- thus the front-engined twelve, rather than a mid-engined one. He has taken that further in the retro styling of the 612.
My sense is that, short of buying an Enzo or its equivalent, the big production models are meant to be GTs, which means luxury, comfort, room for luggage, etc. and not
hardcore sports only cars. That probably explains the popularity of the 8 cyl. cars and why the 12's seem to appeal to an older buyer. The folks that want the outrageous styling, mid-engined cars in a 12 have Lambo
(that, as you know, is the direction I went in this time 'round), but even those are big heavy cars, more GT than sports.