The F70's (LaFerrari's) Seats: How Will They Affect Resale?

So I was skimming through Autocar's latest piece on the F70/F150/Enzo Successor/Italian Jesus Supercar today, looking for any new info I hadn't already seen here. (There wasn't any.) But as I was reading through it, I hit a line that made me think:

"The carbon monocoque...features a radical rethink of the way that the driver is packaged. Like an F1 car, the seat is fixed and will be moulded as a bespoke unit for the buyer. The driver sits upright and his feet will also be raised up, race-car style."

This isn't news to me—I'd seen that reported here on FChat before. But it did get me to wondering...how will having each car's seats specifically molded for the driver affect resale?

It's one thing to offer buyers a choice of a few different sized seats, like I believe Ferrari did with the Enzo. It's something else entirely to have the factory make a cast of your butt and make a bespoke seat to match your unique tuchas. If a seat is so specifically designed for one person, it's hard to imagine it'll be all that comfortable for all the other folks on Earth. (I'm 6'4" and 210 pounds; it's hard to imagine me being able to drive, say, Tom Cruise's F70 if the seat's designed for him.)

So do you think this will make it harder for people to find secondhand F150s with seats that fit them? Will secondhand buyers just have to accept they may wind up very, very uncomfortable inside their Italian Jesus Supercar? Or do you think Ferrari will offer some sort of seat-replacement service for a (substantial) fee?

 

Since the seats will be molded for the individual driver (and passenger) I think Ferrari will have a refit service (somewhat in the spirit of today's Atelier configuration service), because these are true tailormade seats, very different from the 3-size CF racing ones. With such a limited production the logistics should be relatively easy to handle (just send it in their usual parts crates back to your local dealer after you've dragged your bum down to Maranello), and I don't think it'll effect resell at all. After all, it's a limited production hyper-Ferrari, who wouldn't want one...

EDIT: My take on the refit service is that it's an opportunity to get Ferrari quick cash for every owner change, so I'd be extremely amazed if they'd do it free of charge. If you can pay for a second-hand F70/F150 (whatever it's gonna be named) you can most definitely pay to have the seat molded to you. Probably cost a few thousand bucks IMHO.

 

Makes sense.

 

Looking at Enzos selling for double what their original price was and running with the rumors of the new car being $1.3 million, it would be safe to assume that a resale of the F70 should considerably exceed the $2million mark. If someone is paying that kind of cash for a car, I don't think they would have any problem paying whatever Ferrari charges for a what essentially would be a new foam liner and therefore it shouldn't affect the value of the car.
Besides, who cares if the seat fits or not? Half of these cars are never driven unfortunately. LOL

Not nly a refit can generate extra income for Ferrari, but it is also a way of keeping track of the cars and when they change hands. Pretty clever IMO.

 

In a way they already have this service with their Corse Clienti department as old F1s have this type of seats.

 

True, maybe someone with F1 Clienti inside knowledge could give some insight as to what this costs as a standalone service. I'm pretty sure it's included if you buy an ex-F1 straight from Ferrari after the 2-year freeze or at an auction where they are listing it, but maybe they charge for it om the private exchanges wishing to then enter the F1 Clienti.

 

The bigger question is what to do about that passenger seat. Who gets to be fitted to that one

 

The problem is actually once you have your site molded, you cant really put on weights (or lose too much..) or that will cost you a lot .

 

Of course, the owner will simply order a newly molded one for the passenger side every time there is a new girlfriend.

 

All very interesting point being brought up.
maybe they will not be exactly "fitted" but rather made to generally fit the owner's physique and maybe a choice of three preset sizes/shapes for the passenger.

 

Depends on how much you want to drive it (regularly). for most, probably nil.

 

The seats are not 'molded' to fit the buyer and the drivers feet will not be raised up. That would be utterly pointless and unsafe in a road car. There are photos of people sitting in a stripped out prototype and while many things are different, the tub is the same. The drivers feet are not raised up like a "race car". While it's true the seats will be fitted to the particular owner it is a very different process than fitting a seat in an F1 car.

 

How do you know this? And when has ever a prototype been representative of a the finished model?

 

Michael (TOOL-FAN) is a subject matter expert with multiple in-the-know contacts in the world of Ferrari. I wouldn't doubt his statements as he is very careful to only relay information he has confirmed through trusted sources.

Feel free to make note of anything he's said so far if you'd like to come back and tell everyone where he was wrong later. I think it is safe to predict we will NOT see that post from you.

>8^)
ER

 

I don't know every user of this forum, it's nice to see someone with sources comment on the subject though. I have the right to question someones statements, as per the rules of free speech. If you honestly are offended by me questioning this I find that very touchy of you. No offense.

 

I have sources. I have seen a few pieces of the finished product. Additionally, it doesn't matter what the mules look like (of which there are three now) The tub is the same, it's very simple. Additionally, there are many prototypes that have been representative of the finished models, the 288GTO prototype comes to mind as does S/N 0666TR, S/N 0704TR, some of the F40 prototypes, some of the F50 Prototypes, and on and on. Just because the car is wearing an ugly party frock does not mean the bones are different. By the way in the F150 the pedals move to meet the drivers feet and seat is fixed in place, this alone would not work with the drivers legs being elevated as people are different shapes and sizes. Having the drivers legs elevated like an F1 car would not work in a road car.

 

Okay, thank you for such a informative reply. I'm sorry I was unaware of you being so well-informed, my bad.

 

Not offended at all - just answering your question and providing some impartial backup to the good info Michael often shares here.

I followed that up with a little joke, which was noted with the () at the end.

>8^)
ER

 

Erik, you're too kind. You've reminded me that I had Mclaren question for you. I'll PM you. By the way it seems we will see at least one F12 in Mclaren orange soon, but no one has told me yet who ordered it specifically.

 

No worries . I wish I was better informed than I am.

 

So, you are basically saying that Ferrari is officially lying through their teeth?


Driving seat and position
In order to rationalise interior space, the cockpit, and consequently the entire vehicle, is built around the driver, making the most of Ferrari’s experience, both in functionality and ergonomics. Hence the decision to adopt a fixed seat, which will be made to measure (as it is in an F1 car), with an adjustable pedal box and steering wheel. The inclination of the backrest, and the fact that the occupant’s feet are at the same level as the driving position, gives an extraordinarily racy feeling and achieves a considerably lower centre of gravity.

http://www.ferrari.com/english/gt_sport%20cars/special-limited-series/Pages/solving-the-mystery.aspx

 

I don't think the seats will be molded to the size of one single person. It's not a hard job (sit in some foam for x minutes to let it harden, then use that mold and line it with carbon, skin with leather and presto, seat) but it'll be silly. I think they'll make X amount of sized seats and depending how fat you are, you get the seat that'll fit you the most.

They said the same for the Enzo, that all seats are bespoke.

 

How I understand it is that there will not be an exact moulding of the seat as in F1, but they will be measured around the owner's dimensions with perhaps some margin to play with in case he gains/loses weight.

 

Which is what they kind of did with the Enzo, it's just going to be a little more involving, but nothing compared to fitting an F1 seat. Ferrari are simply exaggerating. What will be more interesting to me than the seat itself is the angle at which the drivers legs are at in the car, it is different to that of the 458 and F12.

 

Driving position to be similar to the guy in your avatar?