Hagerty Mondial article

You know it's going to be a favorable article when the second sentence is - "Mediocre looks and disappointing performance make it an easy target...".

I wouldn't describe my 3.2 Coupe as having either mediocre looks (it's designer ugly!) or disappointing performance. Especially when one compares it to its peers from the period.

Oh well, it is an article from Hagerty after all...

2cam

 

Here is the controversy =
"With about 7000 sold (big numbers by Ferrari standards of the time)"...and ...Mediocre looks and disappointing performance make it an easy target, and typically low prices over the years also mean that there are plenty of rough examples out there. None
of that helps the Mondial’s case.

So, sold very good for Ferrari standards and is'nt a good car ?? I cannot follow this line of reasoning.

Guido

 

Writer needs to check his facts. The Mondial MSRP was higher than the 308/328.

Also, the name commemorates the '79 World Championship victory. Not some sort of marketing scheme.

 

I think it all revolves around the success of the style and performance of the 308. The 308 styling was and still is beautiful. Its timeless and could be argued that the 308 put Ferrari on the map. Having such success with one model, makes everyone look at the other examples from the same time period and question why did they not do as well. Its like listening to your favorite rock band and questioning why one song does better than the rest..............it was good but this song was better.
I am an licensed architect. It's always entertaining to read a critique on a building or structure.......It's always done by someone who is not licensed, someone that does not practice architecture and someone that has never tried to design something themselves. All they can do is try to find fault. I love my Mondial 3.2 and there is nothing some critic can write that changes that. They dont have on, they have never driven one, they have never had the pleasure to work on one.

 

Oh man. What a load of BS. I couldn't help myself and responded in the comments. Copied below...

"Oy vey. Another Mondial “review” article written by someone who cobbled together a bunch of notes from Wikipedia and Jalopnik comments. I’m curious, did the writer even test drive a Mondial, ANY Mondial, before writing this?
It is true that the name Mondial was chosen to appeal to a worldwide (get it?) audience, and that the hope was that the backseat and rich leather filled cabin fused with a sports car build would expand Ferrari’s consumer base (and it did - as stated they sold a ton of them). However, it was most definitely NOT marketed as the entry level Ferrari. That was the GTB/GTS. The Mondial was the more expensive luxury sports car/GT in the line-up, made to fill a niche in between the pure sports car GTS/GTB models, and the pure luxury GT 400/412. In fact, it is often a point of discussions between us Mondial owners as to whether the car is really a GT or a sports car, an argument that is further muddled when one considers that even some of the most famous Ferrari “sport cars” like the Daytona and the F12 are actually classified as GT’s. The truth is the Mondial fits uniquely into both categories at once.

As to how Mondial owners respond to less than flattering comments from people who don’t know what they’re talking about “what kind of Ferrari do you own?” isnt really it. Generally, instead of being dicks (as that comment would indicate), we prefer tune people in to the realities of these cars - to point out that Mondial’s actually handle better than the GTB/GTS due to their longer wheelbase, and are easier to drive for longer periods of time due to the superior seating position over their two seater siblings. The performance difference between a GTB/GTS was actually slim when they were brand new (the GTBi/GTSi, sibling to the Mondial 8, was also a poor performer). After 30+ years it is really nont about which model is faster but more dependent on how each specific car is maintained. A well maintained Mondial will blast a poorly maintained GTB/GTS, and in either case unless your name is Niki Lauda or Seb Vettel, I defy you to notice the difference between stellar examples of either model. Both cars exceed the abilities of most drivers. Both cars pull, corner and break like ******* legends.
The real difference is aesthetic, and the GTB/GTS does hold a broader appeal, without a doubt. That car is really a 2.0 update of the 246 GT/GTS, which is probably the prettiest sports car ever made. The Mondial is unique looking, and awkward in some ways. But that awkwardness is what appeals. It is, in fact, a very cool looking car. Low, aggressive, and mean in real life.

Most people think us Mondial owners buy them because they are cheap. In truth, you can have other Ferrari’s for not much more, especially now that we’re two + years post peak “Ferrari” bubble. We buy these cars because we want these specific cars. They are representative of an epoch in design, they drive well, and they have all the same magical sounds, smells, and romance that makes every Ferrari appealing.

People who have never driven them can only rely on stats and other peoples impressions, and those other people usually also haven’t experienced the cars first hand. Stats are lame and rarely reflect actually driving experience. And I will never understand the value of an opinion on a car from a person who hasn’t experienced driving and owning that car. My advice is if you’re interested in the Mondial, seek out forums and opinions that are populated by people who own the cars personally. You’ll hear positive and negative commentary, but at least it will be real and not puff piece content to fill up a website and satiate subscribers."

 

I have found that several articles in Hagerty's published magazines and web articles are short on facts and long on conjecture. I guess it is the "fake news" syndrome that seems to contaminate everything these days.

 

. If you care to watch a true numb skull at work, waste 12 and a half minutes of quarantine on this. I was about to Elvis the computer screen after taking it in...,

 

I've said this many times before. I've owned and driven probably more 308/328 and Mondial cars than most, both as part of my dealership inventory and personal ownership, and I prefer both the aesthetics and the driving experience of the Mondial over the 308/328.

I wouldn't recommend a Mondial as a "first Ferrari experience", but it definitely is a "connoisseur's choice".

 

But yet your avatar is a 308....curious.

 

I still love the 308. No question. And, I certainly sell a lot more 308/328 cars than Mondials.