Ferrari Today - There's Something Missing

How true, well said.

 

Well I agree anyone can drive the new cars around town and getting groceries. But to use the new cars at any serious speed still requires skill and where can you get the skill at speed other than the track? The older models of sports performance cars were quirky and could get the inexperienced driver into a lot of trouble fast because of their nature not necessarily because of their power.

That said the many of the new cars have so much power that even with the nanny systems the car can be a handful for the inexperienced operator just a different set of issues. I personally feel pretty comfortable driving cars with around 600hp but have no idea if I could handle 700hp-1,000hp without some serious training and track time. We all have seen videos of new cars pulling out of the dealership and crashing on their maiden drive.

I also think that MT on the extreme performance cars just may not work well with the other advanced tech and be an efficient use of the performance available. So I doubt that the new super exotics will ever be produced with MT. Having never driven any super exotic performance cars this is entirely conjecture on my part.

 

Same here I’m 35 but i did just buy a FF. Put it this way it’s a bit too perfect, too easy too soul less compare to my TR, plus it’s not manual and not red but it handles, drives and sounds like a Ferrari though


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Around here Fcars are not common. So far this summer l have seen one 328 GTS red and one white 488 spider. That’s it.

My red/tan 458 spider gets lots of attention whether parked in town or on the road. People take pictures both while under way as well as when parked. People still come up and say what a beautiful car it is. Sometimes this happens on the road. The car still gets lots of attention, positive attention even for a seven year old auto.

So l don’t know where Ferrari is a common car. Not so in Aspen.

The newer models just don’t seem that special to me. The F8 looks interesting from the front but the rear looks like a Camero or Corvette. And waiting four years to get on the list would be difficult bcus they are talking a production run of only two years.

 

In a sense, we are talking about the death of the exotic car. There really isn’t a such thing anymore. There’s sports cars....and then as the HP and $ go up, there’s supercars and then, as they go even higher, hypercars. There’s really no such thing as an “exotic car” anymore. Is a 360 or f430 or California “exotic “? I don’t think so. If it, it’s only slightly more exotic than a 911T, which IMO isn’t particularly exotic either,

That said, as Philnothill says above, Ferrari’s aren’t particularly common in Canada’s largest city. I am lucky to see 1 for every 50 vettes or 20 Porsche’s. If I wasn’t in a Ferrari club, I could count the ones I see in a month on one hand. and yet, they no longer seem exotic to me. Maybe I’m just jaded.

 

its also a numbers game. how many were made, and how many of that model exist in your area.
believe me, whenever i go somewhere in the F40, it is considered an exotic.

and to that end, even the 512bbi gets some deference.
my friends who have cars like the 300sl gullwing, or a miura, or a mclaren f1....they get treated like exotics, because they are.

it is kind of an attestation to the wealth that our western world has accumulated when a company can sell 16000 + of a very expensive car that they tell you should be considered an exotic.

 

I felt the same way...

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I really hope that the shelves over your cars are sturdy and well bolted to the structure.

 

This is interesting and I feel similarly. My interest in the new cars is purely academic. I think the 430 was the last car that I had any real interest in and even then I preferred driving the 355. I would consider an FF as a driver, just because it's different and the power is unreal for what it is. However my interest have gone towards late 60's early 70's cars and not italian. In fact my favorite car that I've ever owned or driven is a 72 eldorado convertible, that car is so much fun in so many ways. The main thing being that getting from A to B is truly an experience, it's like driving your couch around while your couch is itself on a magic carpet. Man, I love that car!

 

exactly, but a 98 SV for me!

 

LOL! I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

When I was a broke grad student, my mom gave me her Olds 98 Regency when she replaced it with a Lincoln Town Car. I was going to Texas State in San Marcos, so it was just up 35 and back. What a ride! Perfect for those kinds of mindless miles. I listened to CD's of classical music, of course.

 

when i was 16 i took my american drivers test in my grandmother's old 98 - as in it seemed 98 feet long !
i failed the parking test.
so then i waited a week and went back and took it in her mustang, and passed.

but then to my ultimate disappointment.... my father would not let me drive any of his cars until i passed HIS drivers test.
we then embarked on many lessons in the 356, and when i was 18 i got to drive interesting cars....

 

Back when luxury cars focused on luxury and not handling and lap times.

 

I must add to my earlier post that from Ferrari beyond the 458 there's not really one that takes my fancy. I could maybe in a few years time afford a 458 so yes, that would be it for me. There's no Lambo (Gallardo),, Aston (DB9/V8 Vantage) or McLaren (not a McLaren fan at all) that does it for me. This is definitely an age thing because my daughter (who is also a bit of petrolhead) disagrees with me on new [exotic] cars.

 

Unlike all of you I see cars as merely machines, and as other machines become better the distance between what was once considered great performance verses just a normal car has narrowed. There are SUV's that can out perform a supposed super car from not that long ago. If you were to ask me why I still even own Ferrari's it is because of the way the leather smells, and since tactile sensation is important to me, it about the way things feel. Performance wise I own a few other cars that are better, but they don't give me those other sensations. I think like other things after you get something you have wished for, you come to realize the dream was better than the reality. I guess I am lucky, I don't have to deal with that, I always know why I am doing something, every action has a purpose.

 

Carnut, I know you have perhaps owned hundreds more cars than I and perhaps more jaded because of it? I do agree with much of what you have said. But Ferrari ownership, for me is much more than the performance. I personally enjoy all the aesthetics as much as the performance. I also have a couple of cars which will perform on par or better than my 612 but I don’t get exactly the type enjoyment from those cars as I do out of owning and driving the Ferrari.

 

Over-production. Sit at any trendy cafe and you will see a modern F car inside fifteen minutes.

I don’t care for the cheap computer dash and navigation crap. Where are the real old-fashioned gauges ? No need for a video game dash

Hand built feel is gone. It’s nothing but a production car. Peculiarities have disappeared. Pretty kewl how a Boxer has two large ash trays. I like huge door sills and difficult ingress and egress.

Ugly modern designs and ever increasing dimensions. A diluted car that an old woman can drive to a food establishment. The ac works !

Where is the manual transmission.

 

It s sad but like everything else in this world it’s about money,especially now that ferrari is a public company.The cars are mass produced in comparison to what was.As said in one of the car magazines(forgot which one)the F8Tribute will be the Toyota Corolla of Ferrari! How sad!!!!!

 

The first Ferraris were basically racing cars with number plates on them. Now, we’re witnessing hybrids and soon SUVs rolling out of the production line.

Ferrari on the track and on the road was synonymous with maximum performance and feel, no compromise. Today, we’re witnessing engine downsizing and compliance with environmental policies first and foremost.

We’ve witnessed companies straying so far from their essence, that from their true soul, all that remains is a hollow name: Lotus, Porsche, Lamborghini... I just hoped Ferrari was above and beyond that. It is one of the brands that resisted the most, but in the end it also gave out, trading their essence for profit. And I for one firmly believe it *IS* possible to keep up with the times, and remain true to what you stand for.

Enzo said: “The requirements of mass production are contrary to my nature and temperament”. Ferrari now produces in excess of 10.000 cars each year. The outlook? To increase it further and further with each passing fiscal year.

I could go on and on. Still great cars, but I suspect they don’t make kids dream about owning one anymore, or hang up posters on their bedroom wall. And I think the biggest departure from what the brand truly stands for happened with the departure of the founder’s protege, Luca di Montezemolo.

What can we do? Nothing, except taking good care of our cars, and look elsewhere for a car built on the principles Ferrari used to apply in days gone. There’s a new corporate philosophy, different cars and a completely different customer base in terms of geography, age and taste. Folks who put emphasis on tradition, history and racing will be dinosaurs. Even so, I believe all Ferraris up to Montezemolo’s departure will command a huge premium on the market in 10/20 years.

So, in response to the OP, I’d say there’s a lot missing alright, with nothing to look for in the future except more of the same. And before you ask, or think I’m just a nostalgic guy that reminisces of better days, I’m not 70 or 80. I’m 34. I’m just proudly *NOT* a product of my (some call millennial) generation.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

+1000000.
And thank you very much.

Marcel Massini

 

Jaded I think is not the word I would use I felt the same way at car 100 as I did after car 478, which is what I wrote. I supposed I am at the been there done that stage when it comes to cars, and I actually like the taking apart and seeing what I can do to it most of all, so my new projects (another 4C with a different engine, the C8 take apart), interest me, at least for the moment. But not being like everyone else my appreciation of cars is more about how they work as a machine, and how the machine can be made better.

 

The only thing keeping me from buying a brand new Ferrari is the admission fee. I don’t have 3-400k to drop.

Would I sell my older Ferrari’s and other cars to go get one brand new Ferrari? No

Would I add a brand new Ferrari to the other cars in my garage? Absolutely, if I had the cash.

Would I enjoy an f8 (as an example) as much as the older cars? Absolutely. I’m not a fan of all the cars in Ferrari’s lineup but would be doing backflips to have an f8, a portifino, a lusso, and definitely the limited cars. They are all very different from my other cars.

I’m ok with that. I would just tailor my use to enjoy it in ALL the different ways.

Robb