F8 Spider====>430 Scud

Depending on your budget, you could look at a 16m if you really want the convertible.

 

I have an F430 spider 6spd conversion

It’s not the intensity of the Scud, but with the right
mods, it’s crazy awesome to drive all day long.

feel free to DM me if you want more info

 

I had a 430 spider and now a Scuderia, very different cars. I thought about a 16M but to me the spider configuration was antithetical to the Scuderia's ethos and compromised the focused nature of the car. I also have a McLaren 675LT spider and to me it has the focused mechanical feel but in spider form and because of the carbon tub construction it doesn’t suffer the weakened chassis control of a conventional drop top.

 

The 675 is by far the best car I’ve ever driven and I think they are way underpriced now.

 

The Scuderia is an icon and for my money the best V8 special from Ferrari.

 

for modern cars I 100 percent agree. The steering feel on the 675 and chassis feedback felt like my old 997 gt3 on steroids.

I was cross shopping scuds and 675lt as they were the same price point. My friend has both so I was lucky to drive them back to back. The scud won me over due to the sound and emotion the car exuded but the 675lt is def on my short list of cars

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Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login The 550 and the 430 are the end for me with Ferrari.[/ATTACH]

 

I have a 430 Scuderia along with a 981 GT4, Lotus 340R, Audi RS5, 911SC, Miata, and a 550whp 240sx.

I've also driven (hard):
Lamborghini STO, 488 Challenge, 458 Italia, Nissan GTR, 992 GT3 RS, 992 GT3, 991.1 GT3RS, GT4RS, E36 M3, 987 Cayman S, among other random cars.

Best car? Well in terms of just how it did on the track, that goes to the 992 GT3RS. That thing is just unreal how well it corners. I was multiple seconds faster around the track in the 992 GT3 RS than I was in the 488 Challenge which is an actual racecar...

But my favorite car? That would be the 430 Scuderia.

The scud just does it all. It's beautiful, it sounds great, it's raw, it's loud, it's stiff. I think the interior is right at the perfect intersection between old and new. You see, feel, hear everything. It's just 100% an experience, you never forget that you're driving something special. You feel bolted to the floor. Actually out of all these cars, the one that comes closest to that raw feeling the scud gives me is the STO. That car also feels on edge, like it's ready to rip your head off at any moment. The V10 in the STO and the V8 in the scud both have a sense of urgency and response, they pick up quickly. And that transmission, wow, it just slams you into the seat when it shifts. Honestly I prefer the second gen single clutch that's in the scud over dual clutch transmissions. Dual clutch just feels so lifeless and it's a pointless increase in shift speed, the scud can already do it in 60ms. Who cares if you get that down to 50, 40, 30ms? I really wish more manufactures had given it a try to make second gen fast single clutches but they never really got the chance because dual clutch showed up so soon. Ferrari only got to put this transmission in two cars for example, the scud and the 599 GTO.

458 Speciale gets all the attention because it's the last naturally aspirated Ferrari V8 but I think the Scuderia is the BEST of the naturally aspirated Ferrari V8s and that's more important to me. More character to the Scuderia than the Speciale imo, Speciale feels like it's more in the modern Ferrari world whereas the scud is from a time where Ferrari was still winning F1 championships.

Anyway, as you can tell, I think a 430 Scuderia would be an excellent swap coming from the F8. And I hadn't even mentioned the important part that the scud will likely significantly out appreciate the F8. Given the choice between getting paid to own a scud, or paying to own an F8, I think it's pretty easy.

 

Interestingly across the pond here in England, at launch reviews lauded the 430 Spider as being very stiff with a barely perceptible difference between it and the Berlinetta.

The 458 (same chassis as the 488 and F8) was criticised for going backwards in Spider form with noticeable scuttle shake.

 

You should test drive a 458 Spider imo.

 

For the money, drive, NA, looks, and noise etc, the SCUD is the best Ferrari you can buy for the money. A CS is very nice as well. All the Senna's saying about flex and feel of the spider over the coupe is nonsense, It almost impossible to tell the difference, and with that being said, Ferrari would not have made the ultimate iteration of the 430 if it was compromised.

The 16m is just a SCUD, but you get two cars in one! Sadly they are a lot of money, but the best usually is!

 

My first Ferrari was a black scud. Puth 7k miles on it and enjoyed every minute. Proceeded to own three different speciales and a 488 spider. I now own a 16M. So I concur with the general sentiment of this thread.

My 16M also has 22k miles so I don’t have any mileage anxiety when I’m enjoying a drive.

 

One note on 430 Scuderia vs 675LT (probably its best competition in the sub $350k range), I just really don't like the interior of the 675LT or McLarens in general. Very plain, it doesn't feel special at all. The scud meanwhile feels extremely special and actually I think it's just about as close to the perfect interior you can get. The carbon doors, the diamond plate floors, the big yellow (or red if you specced it "wrong") tach in the middle, the classic Ferrari steering wheel from their peak era, the distinct circular vents, just the right amount of knobs/buttons, etc. It's not dated like the 360 and older but also not new and full of digital screens like the 458 and newer. It's a very unique interior too, no other car interior looks like the scud or even the base F430. Meanwhile the 675LT is just plain alcantara everywhere and a screen in the middle. You really can feel the difference in design philosophy where the McLaren was designed with British seriousness and the scud was designed with Italian romance.

I really do feel like 90s/00s was peak car in general, where we added enough tech to improve things but not yet too much to get in the way. I think car collectors are going to look back on that time as a golden era, the way people look back on cars like 60s Ferraris or 70s Porsches now.

Having said all that, I can't comment on the driving experience of the 675LT, which is supposed to be some of the best.

 

I have a scud and 675LT and they're both amazing cars. Coming from an F8, I would lean your toward the scud, but it would be worth driving both of them. Both will feel more of a point A to A car than an F8, and much more focused. Good luck!

 

I'd agree on the new and old combination, especially with the 812 being more of a GT car. I love to rent cars to see what they're like. The 720 will give you a feel for what a Mclaren is like, but I would still try and find a 675lt to test drive. I've rented a 570s and 720s, and didn't really like either of them enough to own one. They are extremely fast, but feel too isolated, and it made me lose interest in the brand. I got to drive a 675LT though, and instantly loved it, even though I didn't expect to. It has tons of feedback, and feels very raw in comparison.