New Car arrived..Photos...

It drives as good as it looks, and seems pretty well sorted. More after the weekend when I've had a chance to drive it more than a bit on the backroads. So far, it is clear that this was, indeed, the best car in the world...ever. It looks nice next to it's older cousin, too. I would say this car doesn't make you grin when you take it on a bendy-twisty like the Dino. It makes you shake your head in disbelief. It's "Swatter's Blue" which looks inky in full shade, almost nart-ish in full sun, and slate blue in mixed light. Nice to have metallic paint again. Hides a world of sins, I'm sure!
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Very nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

Nice machines. Given the value of the 246, I am sure you are happy to have a driver now.

 

Beatiful combo you have there. How do you like the sound of the 355 as compared to the Dino?

 

The 355 is way more technospeak and a lot louder. The Dino is just pure music -- it sings. The 355 does that F1 brrrraaaaaak thing really well! Interestingly, I think 4th gear sounds the best, though I wasn't anywhere I could get it to the upper range in 5th or 6th yet.

The cars feel surprisingly similar in the corners, they kind of tighten into the line. The Dino's suspension actually makes me somehow "feel" the tires sticking to the road.. the stiffer 355 just plain goes around. I will say that I don't miss the throttle lag on left bends!

They make an awesome pair. I actally DID buy the 355 to keep the miles from piling up on the 246! I suspect the 355 (10k) will catch up with the Dino (13k) pretty soon

Only negative on the car is some kind of wacky Alpine stero with a screen that servos out. Impossible to figure out. That will change. It also has a built in K40 detector, which I guess is useful, but suspect is outdated. Is there any way to update it?? I'm sure once the gremlins start appearing that will be the least of my questions....... here's one:

The car had the engine out service 3,000 miles and 3 years ago. What's reasonable to expect before the next one?

 

Congrats! You have a beautiuful pair!!

 

Beautiful, congratulations on getting the best car ever! 6-speed is the way to go, seems more engaging to me than F1. As for the belt question, I believe Ferrari used to recommend every three years, then they changed it to every 3-5 years. I have heard that as long as the belt is excercised regularly it will last much longer, but better safe than sorry. I'm no expert, but if it were my car, I would do my best to put 27,000 miles on the car in the next two years, then do the service.

Oh yeah, look for some small, single lane tunnels in your area, the sound will absolutely blow your mind. Careful, though, the tunnel can sometimes act like a sound-cannon and attract unwanted attention from the man.

 

Very nice congrats... I too would like to know if the K40 can be updated. I would think you should get another 10k at least (depending on how many years that takes you...) If you do it in a year you might even get more... If it sat a lot you could have other problems like the alt having to be rebuilt.. That was the first think that happend to me. I had the car about 1mo. and maybe 300 miles when it started to go.

 

Beautiful car! I would have the service done no later than 5 years. Keep driving it, it only gets better! I have 47k miles and counting, with the recent service I have a LOT of driving to do.

 

If it were my car, I'd subscribe to the 5yr/15K mile plan; that is, I would do a major every 5 years or 15,000 miles. In your case, I'd guess the time interval is more applicable, eh, since you only have 13K on your 246? Ferrari suggests every 3 years, but they are nuts. This is because the interval was changed from the 5 years before it with the 360 which has smaller belts and requires more frequent changes.

The more important things to watch for are the dreaded header and bronze valve guide failures. On a low mileage car, depending on year, the bronze valve guides might leak. A compression and leak down test can identify this. The affected years are 1995-1997, but later cars have been reported as having bronze guides due to factory installation inconsistency. The headers are due to a tight bend and not enough material that results in cracking. Not changing or repairing the header can result in cat failure and worse. This is a 355 issue regardless of mileage or year. I assume you have a PPI done before purchase, you would have been advised if these issues are looming. Just enjoy the car. Now if you did not get a PPI done, er, it might not hurt to just have one done anyway.

 

If it was driven that little, I would do them sooner rather than later.

 

Nice addition to your garage -- congrats.

 

Good looking pair! The best upgrade to the K40 is a V1!

 

+1!!!

 

Congrats Mike...beautiful looking blue. I'm sure you will be grining for quite some time...right when you go to bed and right when you wake up. =) 355 is the ultimate car to own!

Take care,
James

 

Great set of cars there. I am a great fan of hem both. The 355 looks absolutely fantastic in the stand alone pictures above. But in the shot of both being i the garage the Dino looks so dam beautiful compared to the 355 from behind, in that shot. It would be great if you could post some shots of both cars together out side in the light. I love these two cars, IMO they are the best looking Ferraris.........no sorry correction. The 355 is the best looking Ferrari in the world, the 246 is the best looking Dino in the world

 

an even more interesting picture would be to throw a 612 or f430 in the next garage spot and we can all see (with amazement) how bloated and huge f-cars have become

the scale of the 246/355 is just right, small and tight

 

all these inky blue cars are making me rethink red black

 

Congrats ... you have two of the most stylish Ferraris ever built.

 

Hey, my wife walked out to see the car for the first time today, and she said "That's elegant." ELEGANT! A Ferrari!!! Victory is ours!!! (Understand, my wife runs a major Department at a NYC art auction house, and getting her to say anything is nice is a challenge. They've run some major Ferrari auctions there, and she's always been underwhelmed by their flashiness...)

I agree with the "bloated and huge" comment in toto. The Dino is like a petite jewel next to the 355, which seems tiny next to a 430. It is fun having my own mini Cavallino out in the garage. The new one is awesome, but the 246 is a timeless and unequaled classic. I will do a bunch of side by sides tomorrow -- it's supposed to be nice out again. I'll have to wash the spider - I drove through an absolute cloud of bugs tonight on a twilight buzz - disgusting! ut it means Spring is here at last!

The Alpine is a CVA-1000 head unit with a 12 CD changer and a ton of amps and speakers and subs. Nothing I'd ever put in a car myself, but if possible, I'll only change the head unit to something a lot simpler. If it can be done reasonably, I'd be happy to sell or give the CVA-1000 to someone who wants it (unless the shop wants to give me big trade in $$$ for the head unit.

 

very nice!

Congratulations

 

Nice cars and color choices for both. Bet you can't stop looking at 'em sitting together.

 

Two of the all time classic 'F' cars.congrats!

 

What a stunning color on your new stable mate !

Drive all your cars in great health...........

Cheers, Hank