These things are amazing, and they're starting to give them away. Price of a Lexus, for God's sake! This is Swatter's Blue, whatever the heck that is. The Dino doesn't seem to mind the company - that's maturity for you... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Cool collection - Dino & 355!!! Each car has been highly-praised by all tifosi around the world. You are lucky guy to have both. Enjoy them in great health,
It must be named after Jacques Swatters, who is (I think) the Belgian Ferrari distributor... http://www.ferraris-online.com/Articles/SCM_0303.shtml I eagerly await your comparative impressions of the two cars.
I got the 355 out for about 45 minutes on some good roads... a bit of daytime traffic, but enough to get a general feel. There are some remarkable similarities to the cars, but they are worlds apart. The 355 sounds very "technical" and is a a lot louder. The Dino is just pure music -- it sings, particularly when you ease off the throttle in 3rd gear! It's just a harmonic vibration that goes right down to your soul. In the 355, 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 and that's that. I will say that I don't miss the throttle lag on lefts! The 355 has got so much power it's a bit mind-bending, but you feel totally connected to the road, particularly with the top down ))))))!!! When you step on it, which I did on my favorite 3 mile up/down/bend/swoop road which was blessedly open, you don't get that beatific Dino smile, your jaw just kind of drops and you say "Wow!" I guess the 360 and 430 might have better numbers, but that is all way beyond the ken of a midlifer like me who does this for fun. The Dino won't kill you unless you make it. The 355 would be happy to send you flying into the woods if you overdo it, but it's so good you can get away with some stuff. It actually made e want to get it on a track, something the Dino doesn't. I'm planning on making the 355 my local driver if it holds up, to keep a few miles off the Dino. 355's are getting cheap. Even if they need 5 or 10k of investment, they can be had in the 60s, and they're a lotta lotta car! I am a lucky guy, though my wife has been giving me the fish eye today. Don't blame her, I'm a spoiled guy. I had a 599 for a whole day several weeks ago, and you honestly could not give me that car (at least wth an F1 shift).
Mrony, Congrats on your new purchase. Please keep the Dino - 355 comparisons coming. On a less important note, did you notice a difference in public reactions? I find that the Dino attracts nearly universal sympathy, which is not always the case with other Ferraris. Cheers, Julio
As my son put it, "Dad a Ferrari is a midlife crisis car." He might be right. It's part of the reason I wanted something other than red! I have never gotten anything but love for the Dino. I expect the 355 will get something very different. I did ask my 18-yr.-old daughter avout the 355, and she said it wasn't near as cute as the Dino, but it wasn't that bad. She saw a 360 and a 430, and pronounced those "cars for a**holes." The 348 she found ugly - cheese graters at work!
I have that same car and color. Except I have the tan interior. Great car. A little exhaust change makes a huge power and sound difference if you are still on stock. I'm glad someone else likes the blues. I just bought another blue car. A 456 so my 355 will have a friend in the garage.
I am an a**hole...where's my 430? Seriously though, two beautiful cars. Dark blue is such a classic color for the 355. The Dino ain't bad either...
Congrats! Great choice and great color! Doesn't it make the Dino look TINY!!! BTW, if you get some lifts you can get 2 more cars!
MRONY, here's another Dino and friend (or lover?), blue and blue. Just like your pair. Dinos like company, it reminds them of how pretty they are. Cheers, Julio Image Unavailable, Please Login
Very similar, but yours appears to have "Monaco" at the top, and mine at the bottom. Mine is from 1937 (repro), and I think yours might be later. Still, an interesting coincidence. Those tents are interesting. A good idea for keeping the dust off.
Very nice. Next to the Dino/308, the 355 is my favorite. I have heard that they tend to have issues, though...so, I hope you avoid any troubles. Congrats...that's a nice pair. I am not in a position to have another Ferrari...if I were, it would have to be a 2+2 so I can take the family around. My wife feels isolated when I go out in the 308. For some reason, I have fallen in love with this (from FerrariAds - not mine, but I can wish): Image Unavailable, Please Login
Congratulations! I recall when teh 355 came out and it was the first Ferrari to stir me in a long time. With features like underbody ground effects, Five valve heads, high performance brakes, etc I sure found it a nice beast. If you drive behind one in the Dino (or any other low sitting car) you'll see some beautiful angles and the rear clutch area that looks spectacular.
I know they are verboten on a Dino, but I kinda like them on the 355 - they bring out the body lines. What's the word on the magnetic vinyl ones? Gross? Can you have real ones added effectively and not insanely expensively? (Actually, I'm feeling so cool now that I have a car that actually says "Ferrari" on it in a bunch of places that I want MORE MORE MORE!!!
Beautiful cars you collect. BTW: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Swaters (note the spelling) cinque
No wonder I had such a hard time finding him! Now to figure out why they named a shade of blue after him...
