The 612 will be a great Ferrari

ok Bart...lets keep our 550's and split a used 612 next year when we can buy one for $185,000. I'll drive it on Sun-Wed and you get it Thur-Sat. deal?
Bill in San Diego

 

You can be the world's fastest Coyote at 199 mph!

Hope you get your wish, Bart.

 

Bart,

Buy the Maserati Quatroporte (sp?) then your passengers can get in more easily and be even more comfortable. Not quite as fast ... but you sensibly said that does not matter.

Thus surely you are not buying the ugly 612 just because it has Ferrari on the bonnet ... especially when there are cars of the quality of the Maserati.

The 612 makes no sense to me ... they have compromised rear seat comfort and space and for some reason tried to make it handle like a race car ... which obviously it isn't otherwise why did they make it a 2+2.

The 612 was built for the use you intend Bart, and I personally think Ferrari wasted their time and the cars looks moving the engine back behind the front axle. The 456 looked great and I am sure it handled just fine ...

I honestly think the people running Ferrari are crazy sometimes ...

Saying that I am hoping a few 612's come out to Australia, so in 5 years time I can pick one up for around $50,000 ... might even be brand new, unmoved for 5 years as customers cancel their orders.

Pete

 

By what do you mean "compromised"?

 

What I mean here is that Ferrari have set out to create a race car handling front engined car, thus they have moved the engine back behind the front axle. They have also squeezed 2 seats in the back to make it a 2+2.

Thus we have 2 things that compromise each other.

Once you put people in the back the handling balance they were after has gone to pot, and this also meant that the wheel base is too LONG (hardly sporty). Conversely if they left the motor so the front few cylinders were above the front axle there would be more room for the rear seat passengers and/or a shorter more sporty wheelbase.

It is just silly design. The goals of designing a good 2+2 surely should have been this order:
- Elegant 2+2 styling.
- Comfort.
- Performance.

Instead Ferrari have:
- Performance
- Comfort.
- Elegant 2+2 styling.

Now Ferraris order makes sense for say the 360, but not for the intended market of the 612. Style and comfort should come first and if the performance is a little slower than the 550, who gives a fnck, they probably own a 550 or 360 anyway and wanted the 2+2 to share the Ferrari experience, not to race Le Mans.

Personally the 456 was the perfect car, and the magazines also thought it was the best 2+2 ever built, and they never complained about the handling. Now not all liked the look of the 456, but I always have thought of it as extremely elegant, which is what a 2+2 should be. Leave the racy stuff for the 360's and 550's.

Pete

 

Go for it. Everything I'm hearing is that the 612 will be one sweet handling machine. The Gen X types don't like the style. Maybe that's a good thing, ha!

 

That just means it will be $175,000 in a year... If you like it, I'd wait until then. Should be really, really fast, actually, with more creature comforts than we can imagine. Like sat. nav.!

 

Well Zack, you are actually in the Echo Boomer category. We're expecting great things from your group unlike those Gen X types whose claim to fame has been fart cans and Bevis and Butthead.

Dr "Old, but not grey" Tax

ps I doubt that the 612s will be $175 in a year. My guess is they will reach this in about 3 years. Remember, they are only bringing in 200.

 

If I were in the market for a 2+2, I'd be sure to get some seat time in the DB9 before making a purchase. From a styling standpoint, the DB9 is far nicer than the 612. And, from test reports, every bit as good a performer as the 612, if not better. Of course, test reports don't mean everything, but unless I absolutely needed to have the prancing horse badge on my hood, I'd be heading to my local Aston dealer for a closer look.

 

I gotta agree with you Pete on this one. The 612 is certainly a nice looking car, much nicer in real life than in some of the photos out there, but my reaction was similar to yours. Undoubtedly the shifting of the engine helps the handling somewhat, but the performance of the 456 already is considerably far above what most Ferrari drivers can realistically use on the street anyway.

Heck, even my 400i can go faster on any curvy road than makes sense from a safety standpoint for street driving.

No one will decide to buy this car now just because it generates an extra 0.1 g's of skid pad handling. Rather they will buy it because of its blending of Ferrari like performance and ability to transport 4 people quickly over long distances with modern creature comforts. In other words, a true grand touring express vehicle.

John

 

No argument from me. I sat in one at the Detroit show. It's not really a 2+2 though. It appears to be more of a competitor for the Maranello than the 612.

 

That 612 and the Masserati Q are both dull looking cars with asian styling, why? Because the lead designer at Pinninfferina is now Asian...More Non Italian influence..BAD BAD BAD!

 

I happen to have P1 for the order list at my local dealer FoCF. I should be
getting my 612 around late fall. My main purpose to get a 2+2 is to be able
to enjoy the Ferrari experience with friends and family.Although I must admit
the 612 is probably a little strange design but it does grow on you . Tech
wise I am sure it will be state of the art. My dealer tells me they are sold
out for 2 years allocation and he has stopped taking commitments beyond
that date.

 

Clax,
I'm a big Aston fan having owned one BUT if you think the rear seats in the 612 are tight (which purportedly they are not) all reviews of the DB 9 report how useless the rear seats are.
Must check them both out in the flesh.

 

Really dislike the interior. Lacks any uniform design or flowing lines like the 456. Just a hodge podge of old and new binnacles, pods and switches. Not elegant at all like the 456.

 

"My dealer tells me they are sold out for 2 years allocation and he has stopped taking commitments beyond that date. "

He's just trying to reassure you! I think a lot of those on the list will get cold feet and the 612 will be gracing dealer showrooms for a long time.

I hope for your sake that the keys aren't dropped from the Learjet for at least a year or two!

 

At the Detroit press previews, I had an opportunity to get to know both cars quite well. Both backseats are useless, unless your passengers are children. The DB9 is somewhat tighter, but just marginally. I didn't really play around with the front seating position, so that may have changed the space slightly.

 

I would have disagree with your assessment that the DB9 is
as good as preformer.The 612 has almost 100hp more and
a mid front engine layout. As soon as all the car mags do
their side by side comparos the 612 will come out well on top.
I must say that the DB9 is a much better looking car
and lot better value for money.

 

The DB9, also, posted some pretty dissapointing numbers, in my opinion. 0-60 in a hair over 5 seconds... I think it should definitely be in the mid-4s in this market. That said, it's one of the most beautiful cars to be made today.

 

Hey thats what I have been told by the dealer who has
sold me several cars.They have been nice enough to
let me get P1 on the list. . So I have no reason to doubt them

 

Jeremy Clarkson did a road test on the DB 9 on top gear on U.K. tv last night it was run from England to Monaco and to say that he gave it top marks is putting it mildly...

 

I think the 612 is an ok car if a 2+2 with small back seats is what you are looking for but my problem is with the price when compared to its direct competition. (the Bentley and the Aston and CL55) Unless money is no object, the price difference cannot be justified to me. Please save the glorified VW rhetoric, I have seen the car and you can make a parts sharing case for just about everything at this point.

 

2 adults can sit comfortably in the rear of a 612.
2 double-amputee children can sit uncomfortably in the rear of a DB9.

 

Uh...no. Have you sat in the rear seats of a 612? I have. Definitely not "comfortable" by my standards. Sure, the seating contour is comfortable, but the space allotment is not. But I didn't expect it to be -- that's why they call it a 2+2. Both the DB9 and 612 rear seats are not comfortable. If I was looking for a car with comfortable back seats that performed well, it would be E55 AMG hands down. The DB9 and 612 and not that different in terms of rear seating comfort. Again, I didn't play with the front seat positioning that much, but I can't imagine that this would change things drastically in favor of either car.