Hi All, I just registered and this is my first post. We have a 2000 millennium edition Porsche c4 that we have had for the last 11 years. It has been a wonderful car for us and has been a joy to drive. It has the sports suspension, custom audio upgrade, sports exhaust etc.. The millennium edition was already fully loaded with almost all options available. It has been pretty trouble free and reliable. We are thinking about making a change to a GT car with the following requirements: 2+2 seating... We have 2 kids Paddle shifters with an auto mode... Traffic in Seattle is horrendous with a 6 speed Sporty performance at least on par with the 996 All the usual luxuries.. And Something a bit exotic and rare. The two cars we are currently considering are the Maserati GT sport or a 2008/9 612 used oto. These two seem to be the best cars that fit our desires. The GT sport was just announced and the 612 seems to be pretty rare to find. Our dilema is that we cannot make a call without driving them. We are just flying blind at this point. We understand that these are 2 totally different cars but they do seem to meet our needs and the cost difference does not bother us. Hopefully this would be our toy for the next 10 years. We will get hit with depreciation but cars are not investments and we understand that. As long as we make the right choice, I believe we will be happy. Please offer your thoughts on this. Are there any 612 owners in the Seattle area? We would love to chat and see your car if possible. Are there other cars that we should consider? Anyone with experience with both Maseratis and ferraris? Hope to join your ranks if we choose the 612. Thanks. Jay.
For me the Masarati isn't really a toy, it's more a soft every day driver. There's really nothing too special about them, just a perception that they're better then they are IMEHO. The 612 on the other hand just feels like a more substantial car. Larger engine, more torque, faster, more comfortable, prettier (at least to me) and you get that F feeling every time you drive it. If it's a "toy" you're after that can accommodate you/her/kids..........there's no competition in my book.
I cross shopped these two cars and had driven both before buying my 612. Previously owned a previous generation Maser coupe and loved the car, but I preferred the V12, sound and rarity of the 612 over the updated Maser. Personally, I think the Maser has an advantage in looks, but they are just so much more common (even the special editions, as they really aren't all that different). The 612 is the faster car, but it isn't a huge amount of a difference. If the goal is to have a crazy fast "family" car, buy a GT-R. Maser is going to be cheaper to own. I could see getting tired of paying for major services in the 612 over a decade. I'd bet that if you go with the Maser, at some point you will be shopping for a Ferrari.
You need to drive both. I love my 612, and think that for what you are describing, the 612 would be perfect. Do get an OTO, however-- the improvement in the transmission is significant. There definitely are a few 612s in the Seattle area (I'm in Portland, myself). I know the Ferrari Club has at least one active member with a 612, so you might look into joining.
I appreciate all the replies. Even though I mentioned a "toy" in my original post, this car would be a daily driver. We do not have much of a commute. If it can accomodate our family along with luggage space for a weekend, I think we will end up driving it to Vancouver, BC often. We generally go up there about 5-6 times a year and mostly take the Range Rover Sport due to space/ comfort issues with the 996. As London John mentioned, we are abit worried that the Maserati would be too much of a "soft every day driver". We saw the 2011/12 GTs at the FMoS dealership and spoke to the sales consultant there. He himself mentioned that the Ferrari would probably suit us better than the Maserati given our desires. He described the Maserati as "sporty luxury coupe" whereas the Ferrari is a "luxurious sports coupe" (I am paraphrasing his words). We are not interesed in a GT-R or other performance sedans/coupes like the BMW M5 or Audi S6. I know they perform really well but they are just too common and nothing unique/special. We eliminated the new 991 for the same reason. Just too plasticky and mundane. Infact, both of us prefer our fully optioned 996 interior to the new 991. IMO, the cost outlay to move to the 991 was just too much for the small performance increase along with the interior downgrade.The rarity of the GT as well as the 612 added with more interior space, elegant luxurious styling, rarity, awesome styling and performance is probably the reason we are gravititing towards the GT or a 612. We will be able to drive a Maserati GT at the dealership. Unfortunately, there are no 612s available in our area to check out. I have been perusing the discussions to get a feel for the 612. We do LOVE the design of the 612. We like the fact that it is an elegant design without being too flashy. I actually attended the Ferrari club dyno event last weekend. Unfortuntely, I did not see any 612s there. We did see a bunch of awesome Fs being dyno'ed and it was a wonderful experience. I am planning to join the club and go to future events. I am not sure if they would let me join as I do not (yet) have a Ferrari. I am also planning to attend the Exotics@RTC events when they start up. The weather has not been cooperative the last couple of weeks. Can someone desribe how the 612 does in stop/go traffic, driving on hills, starting on a hill from a stop, etc? I am trying to figure out how the F1 transmission works as I do not have any experience with a F1 transmission. I believe the MAserati is a ZF auto box with paddle shifters. I like the ZF boxes as they have been pretty bulletproof and smooth.
I drive mine daily, at least when the weather is decent. The auto clutch drives very different from a Maserati ZF auto. Takes a little getting used to and it can get a little tiring in stop and go traffic. My old Maser had an auto clutch and could get very jerky in stop and go if it predicted incorrectly what you were about to do. The 612 does this much less frequently, but a slow crawl I'm sure is hard on the clutch. Very light throttle, right at the engagement point, it can become jerky, especially on inclines. Much less of a problem on flats, but mine does seem to slip a little more when it becomes very hot in crawling traffic. Keep in mind that the clutch completely disengages when stopped and off the gas (no creep). Generally the car will handle a hill in this situation better than a human in most instances, with just a little slip. It will not be as smooth as in an auto or the new double clutches.
I also prefer the 612 over the Maser. I briefly considered a Bentley, but I'm REALLY glad I bought the 612 instead. I bought it sight unseen, without ever having driven one. I HAD driven a 456 in the 1990's, which I also loved, so I took the plunge.
You can definitely join the Ferrari Club without owning a Ferrari. The 612 is pretty good in traffic. You have to understand that it's really a manual transmission, however, just one without a clutch pedal. Anything you would do in a manual transmission car to avoid slipping the clutch, you should probably do in the 612. If you are used to driving a manual, this should be pretty obvious. That said, the OTO has the same clutch as the 599, and it's proven to be very durable. When I drive mine in traffic or in a parking lot or something, I typically use auto. The rest of the time, I use manual. The OTO transmission is really good. The only thing I've driven that was comparable, IMO, is the FF (which is better).
Thanks for all the Information. Since I do not have any experience with the f1 box, it looks like I need to drive one to figure out the intricacies of the transmission. My wife would probably prefer driving it in auto mode most of the time but her commute is under 5 miles. I tend to drive longer distances and generally I prefer spirited driving. I tend to keep the porsche in the power band most of the time without abusing it. I just want to make sure that we will not be wearing out the clutch too often by driving it in auto mode. We expect to probably put about 3k or 4 k miles on it every year. It would be a bummer to keep replacing clutches every couple of years. What is the average annual maintenance on the 612s? I would guess about $2-3k? Any other persistent repairs/issues that I should watch out for? The cooling system on the 99 BMW 540it really frustrated me. I went through 2 radiators, 3 expansion tanks, 2 thermostats, and 2 sets of all hoses in the 8 years that we owned the wagon. I still loved the car. It was a pleasure to drive. Just want to be ware of what I am getting into. Again, I really appreciate your feedback. Please post some pictures of your cars if you can. I would love to see them. I have not really taken any picutres of my 996 but I promise I will upload some this weekend. Not really a car nut but I do love cars. Cheers, Jay.
this thread wont work without my car's pictures! i have the ultimate versions of both, and u really need BOTH. I never sat in a normal GTS, but my MC-S is pretty nice, actually the most retardedly optioned out in the world. theres really no better or worse here, but i can tell u the 612 is MUCH faster. good luck, and if i were u, i buy 2 612s with the used prices now. http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/rennpository-video-clips-and-other-in-line-videos/509620-my-612-a.html http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/rennpository-video-clips-and-other-in-line-videos/674870-matt-finishes.html
Wow.... Is all I can say How did you manage to get a MC Stradale here? I thought they were not available in the US market. I would love to hear your thoughts on the 612 vs MCS. One option I am considering is the recently announced GT sport. Seems to be an equivalent to the current MC model. Still need to drive an MC to get a feel for it. Same with the 612. Both of them are not available in the Seattle market. Hopefully this will change. I am considering flying out to some place to just test drive the 2 cars to see which one fits our needs. btw... Awesome photography. I really love your use of light and angles/perspectives to showcase the cars. Really inspiring. The only 2 images that I can comment on are the two interior pictures with flash as it tends to create hot spots and shadows. The rest are really awesome. I really wish I could afford both but it doesn't make much sense in our household. We mostly have 3 cars. A sports coupe, a 4wd Suv, and a dog wagon/ utility car. Right now we have the 2000 996 millennium, 2011 range rover sport, and a 2010 vw jsw tdi. We will probably replace the 996 and drive the others to the ground. We do tend to keep our cars for about 8-10 years as long it meets our needs. The shortest one was a 07 MBz r350 which we sold in about 2 years as it was just toooooo booooring to drive. We actually like the vw better than the r350 as it is pretty fun to drive, gives about 35mpg, and our dogs can have a ball in it without offending us . They need to have some fun too. Cheers. Jay.
You won't go through clutches that often, or hardly at all. I haven't heard of anyone who has worn out an OTO clutch yet-- has anyone worn out a 599 clutch? It's a really tough clutch, and it was designed for a car with more power than the 612 (the 599). It's more a practice of mine, to try to be easy on the clutch. However, I wouldn't worry much about it.
Donv, That sounds pretty comforting coming from an owner. I will try to track down a 612 to test drive soon. Ideal situation would be test drives of the 612 and maybe a gt mc back to back. Thanks. Does anyone know of I can rent a 612 in Italy? We are planning to take our kids to Italy for a vacation. It would be the ideal time to rent one and have a blast with the family.
That is one sweet Maserati. You are probably pretty close on the annual costs of the 612, but maybe a little low if you include the 5yr majors and tires every 10k. Didn't mean to make you nervous on the clutch, as I'm sure most last well over 20k miles and aren't really a big deal. You just want to be aware of a few things with it. I've had my car come back from a valet with the smell of burnt clutch before. Overall my car has been problem free, as it seems most 612s have been.
The OTO has the 599's twin plate clutch and it should easily last more than 100,000km (62K miles) miles... If used normally, clutch-wear shouldn't be an issue on 599s and OTO 612s.
I drove my 612 in Northern Italy, but I don't know if I would rent one to drive over there. It will be very expensive, if you could do it at all. It was certainly fun, though! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Beautiful car. I presume you did a factory delivery. Enjoy your car. I just started my search for 612s. None in my area but a few interesting ones around the country. It looks like I might have to fly out to test one. I am planning to join the local club and learn more about Fs. It would be cool if one of the owners would take me on a ride to at least experience the Ferrari from the passenger seat. Let's see how this goes. I think we might be happy with either the ferrari or the Maserati but we are certainly leaning more towards the 612 at this point. Thanks for all the comments. Please feel free to post more if you think some pertinent information might help us in this quest. Cheers, Jay.
