Classic Ferraris vs Newer Models: Purpose and Use?

You should post this in the vintage section-- you'll get a much better response than here.

As for me, personally I wouldn't buy a car unless I intended to use it, regardless of how expensive it was. If it gets damaged, well, that's why I have insurance-- and if it's that valuable, it'll be worth it to fix.

Interestingly, the more marginal vintage Ferraris (the 2+2s, mostly) are the ones which are most at risk. Those cars are usually worth more as parts than as running cars, and also very expensive to fix. It costs as much to fix a 250GTE as it does a Lusso, yet the Lusso is worth 5x more.

 

It's a bit hard to generalize about vintage and classic cars. For example a 330 GTC is a fairly versatile ride. I use it to pick up pizza as well as on long weekend trips. Its comfortable has excellent visibility and a good size trunk and shelf for luggage. The Dino is more of a special drive. Lower, smaller all around and not as comfortable on a long trip. Fun to sling about though. A BB might fit somewhere in between. The C/4 is a well rounded vintage with comfort, size and ease of drive. Long answer short is - it depends. Regardless one should be enthusiastic and not fear about driving them often. Lest not forget.....they are cars. I put 100,000 miles on my 1st GTC.

 

I agree fully with Steve here, but there are plenty of owners who don't. I own a 330GTC as well and it is not my only hobby car, nor my only Ferrari. It is in fantastic condition and I plan to keep it that way. A very treasured car that did about 1,000 miles per year in the hands of the previous owner for 20 years, and worth around $300k at the current exchange rate.

In the first 12 months that I owned her I took the car from Holland to Switzerland, England, Belgium, France, Italy, and Germany on 3 separate holidays and thus accumulated close to 10,000 miles. She has been on the Fiorano and Imola tracks during the Mille Miglia Tribute. She has seen a true 135mph in Italy. I like to drive her fairly close to the limit as she is just such a sweet handling car. Putting the power on before the apex is such fun as she squats down, jiggles her butt and just roars out of the corner.

So I think it safe to say that I treat her, driving wise, as my other Ferraris. However, I am much more careful with the GTC than my other cars. For instance, the leather needs to stay in good condition and I am more careful with luggage and other things to prevent damage. I also don't let the car be driven by just anyone - my dad almost ran the car over a concrete block as he was fumbling with the gear change. I still give the car to people to drive, but only people that I know have experience driving cars from the '50ies and '60ies. And I am conscious of the longer braking distances. But I also truly believe that you need to experience these cars in the fashion that they were built for.

Regarding Steve's comment about generalising over classics: I think that's very valid. My 365 Boxer is also much less of an easy car to drive around in Europe. Hardly any luggage space, and much more effort required to drive the car. Nevertheless I have taken that one on weekend trips too and I still plan to do the Targa Florio in the Boxer.

In my personal opinion these cars benefit tremendously from long drives. They really get a lot more reliable when you use them on more than just short trips. And there is nothing like hurtling down to the Mediterranean and driving these cars through Monaco or Rome. It's glamour personified.


Onno

 

Well lets see, get up in the morning and walk over to the garage. Start one car and move it to the other stall. Then hook the charger up for 1/2 hour. While charging check all fluid levels. Crank the car and hopefully it starts. Then let it warm up really good, and its go time.......or just walk ouside fire up the Toyota and drive down to the store for eggs. Thats what I do.

 

Different stokes. Different folks.

After owning a 330 GTC, I realized a vintage Ferrari wasn't for me. I kept hearing voices. Seriously. Every third time I turned right from a stop, I would hear a faint honking sound from the left rear. It never got worse. But every time I heard the sound, I started seeing dollar bills flying out the window. It got to the point where I didn't like driving the car.

Moreover, I realized I'm a driver, not a lover. Some guys like to pitter patter around, and work on this and that, polish this, fool with that. They go out to the garage at night with a cigar and brandy and just look at the car. Not me. Love 'em and leave 'em.

This doesn't make me bad or those guys good, just different.

Dale

 

You will need to ask the vintage guys, as Don suggested.

One thing about driving a classic car, in my limited experience, is that other drivers are actually a lot more careful and attentive, even deferential. I noticed this the first time when driving someone else's Porsche 356, and again more recently when a pristine Jag XK150 roadster pulled out from in front of the Maserati dealership in La Jolla/San Diego. No one cut me off, and people gave me a nice cushion on the freeway. Likewise the Jag got a lot of respect as he merged into traffic.

Not saying classics should be driven every day, but they do seem to command more respect and admiration than the typical modern Ferrari/Porsche/etc. I think many people appreciate that, if a car survived 40-50 years, you probably don't want to be the idiot that smashes into it.

Second point: Something like a 275 GTB is pretty much infinitely rebuildable, and old cars have typically been repainted and repaired multiple times already. (My Speedster had 7 coats of paint prior to the current restoration, and a nice collection of racing dents -- all fixable.) In a way, and maybe ironically, it can be incredibly liberating to own a classic and not get caught up in the drama of the first stone chip.

I'm a huge fan of Daytonas, and if/when I buy one I will drive it and rebuild/repaint as necessary. Cool as they are, they are basically metal, leather and paint -- much easier to fix than a GTR or 599.