First time to drive a Ferrari

There's nothing I can add to that.

 

Year - 1983
Car 1979 Ferrari 308 GTB
where - New Castle PA
experience - awsome! hard clutch pedal, hot inside - super sounding car! loved it!

 

First one I ever drove was a 348 spider a couple of years ago on a test drive. I ended up buying the second one I ever drove, a 360 spider.

 

I am in the same position as you, a kid who has dreams of someday owning a Ferrari. I have not had the privilege of driving one yet, but my first time riding in one was everything I anticipated. It was a 2008 black scud! Best ride ever! The shifts the exhaust note, just racing down the open road. It was just such an amazing experience! I am hoping to race a Ferrari at the Las Vegas experience one day soon.

 

The first Ferrari I ever drove was mine. I bought it sight unseen after wanting it for 25 years.

 

35 years

 

First Ferrari I drove was actually a 550 Maranello 6 speed. Though much different than the Ferrari V8's I loved the experience, smell, sound, and special feel the car gave me. I knew one day I had to own a Ferrari!

I drove Porsches at the time, a 997 Twin Turbo and a few years later picked up a 2008 F430 coupe, drove that for 2 years and now I have a 2012 458 Italia coupe, best car on the planet for the money in my eyes, just incredible each and every time I drive the Italia. Ferraris are special cars, I just love them.

 

First one I drove on street was the mondial I bought last year after waiting 30 years from the first encounter and falling in love until I bought it. For me it was unspectaculer and fellt completly like i had driven one for years. Maybe because I had the chances to drive much more powerfull cars in the meanwhile such as MW M6 or even Gumpert Apollo. But to have the wish to own such a car one day helped me getting focused in my life. Now I'm 36 and received the goal so what to do? Right there is still space for another one so the new Target is a 360 or 430 coupe within the next 8 years. Life is so good.... hahaha

 

My first ferrari was my first one....a fantastic 328 GTS. I was literally in heaven and as I get to drive it only a few days every year it still feels like that!

 

Good thread. Makes me recall my first Ferrari experience: a 1988 328 GTS.

What a car! Everything about the drive was so engaging; the steering, the gearbox, the engine. It all felt so natural and alive.

I've driven many more powerful, better handling cars since then, but absolutely nothing compares to the first time I opened up the throttle on that 328.

Other manufacturers may make better cars, but as an object of pure lust, nothing beats a Ferrari. They're simply intoxicating.

 

First time for me was a Giallo 360 with black interior. Awesome time, loved the car. Looking out the back window and seeing an engine there was the coolest thing ever at the time.

 

Nice thread this!

My first drive was in a friend's metallic green 308GT4, it was 1989 and I was 18. I vividly remember the sounds the car made, the induction noise from the engine when we lifted off the gas at high rpms...it was amazing. I never closed the window when I drove, just to hear the sounds better. We were four up in it one night and hit an indicated 156 mph (250 km/h) on a downhill stretch of highway on the outskirts of Madrid. I wanted a Ferrari from that day on more than ever.

The next Ferrari I would drive again would be a 355 F1, seven years later in 96/97. I fell in love with the car and got to drive it often. The same family member then traded it for a 355 spider (I liked it less) and later for a 360 (which I liked even less!).

I would buy my first Ferrari, a carburetted 308GTB 13 years after my first drive, and used it for close to two years as my daily driver. Then came a 550, which I loved and drove daily as well. A rather large hiatus later (children, divorce, business startups, etc.), and I finally bought the one I always wanted...the 355 Berlinetta 6-speed manual...I LOVE it.

 

So true.

I drove an F430 about 5 years ago in one of those driving experiences where you get to drive 6 different cars from 20-30 minutes each on public roads. Mine was near Ashville, NC. I loved it. About 8 months ago I bought an '06 F430. Still loving it!

 

First time I drove a Ferrari was when I bought my first Ferrari! I hadn't even test drove the car or sat in one until before then.

I spent 10 minutes sitting in the forecourt of the garage working out how to start the car. The paddles were left in Drive. On the older F1s, you could only start the car in neutral (foot on brake, pull both paddles towards you). I was sitting there cursing thinking "so this is what Ferrari unreliability is all about". Felt a bit silly after that. Car never missed in a beat in the entire time I owned it.

 

Same here, 2002 TDF/Tan 360 Spider, purchased Mar 2010. Didn't even drive it home. FoW delivered it. Not that I didn't want to, just turned out that way. First time I drove a Ferrari, I pulled it out of my own garage.

 

The first one I drove was a 550, on a test drive. I was very nervous, don't know why, the salesman told me I drove like an old woman. I bought the second 550 I drove. Love every time I get in it. Well, not now since the coolant hoses decided they had worked long enough and quit, luckily they decided to quit after a drive in my garage, so I was not stuck on the side of the road. It will be better soon though.

 

My first Ferrari was a Dino 246 Berlinetta - way back in 1972. It was brand new.

In one of my big automotive mistakes, I did not buy it. They only wanted a difference of $3,000 over my 1972 Porsche 911.

 

The first and only Ferrari Ive driven was a pristine 348TB earlier this year. The car was red with tan interior. I punched it up to about 100mph and was very impressed with how smooth and controlled it felt. I liked it but after the drive I knew it wasnt the one for me and ended up buying an M3. We shall see what the future holds.

 

First Ferrari I drove was getting my 360 into the garage when she arrived off the truck.

 

In 2004 my son totaled my '72 Alfa GTV 2000 (he was fine); my wife said "You've always wanted a Ferrari-now is the time". Researched and found what I wanted in LA and drove 1200 miles to inspect a 1972 365 GTC/4. While I was "test" driving the C4, the owner would demand I downshift and "get on it" for every underpass and walled cut on the freeway. The sound of the V12 and the ambiance/excitement of a Ferrari has not yet left me. 12,000 miles later I still drive it with the window open and a smile on my face.

 

You didn't even test drive it?!

 

Same for me and my 348. Admired it for a while....then took it to the gas station for a fill up. The to Sonic drive in for a little show off time....realized there are no cup holders.

Saw it in NV the week before, seller offered to let me test drive, knew I didn't need to.

 

My first time was after 18 months of restoring into driveable condition my Dino in the early 80's. Yes, I was very nervous.

The one thing that I believe has been lost is that a Dino in 1980 was so far removed from the other American cars and even foreign cars you could get at the time. I don't believe that's true today. The Dino is not fast, had very poor creature comfort with no lateral support, hurt your back if you sat in it all day, had a balky gearbox that worked only when warm, burned your leg from the heat coming out of the footwell -- and was just magic in the way it handled, sounded, felt, and moved.

Yes, it was cruder than some kit cars today but it had a lot of personality. Today I think the modern F cars are just too much like what you can get from Mercedes, Audi, Porsche -- even Cadillac and Chevy. They all handle well today. They are all fast. They all have sticky tires. They all have fancy TFT screens giving you lots of information you don't need and don't care about. There just isn't that raw feeling you used to get when you drove one of the older cars.

That's what I remember: How much different it was from every other car I had ever driven to that point. I'm not sure if I jumped in a 458 as my first ride I would say the same thing today. When I got in my Dino, I felt like I was in a race car. Simple and straight forward. A big tach that jumped around and huge speedo with a few smaller guages lined up in an easy to read format. That race car feeling has become less and less over the years IMO-- unfortunately.

My suggestion to all those who have never driven one. Drive a pre-308 F car first. Then, you'll see what driving was really like.