What Ferrari would be your ideal daily driver?

nobody is arguing against the practicality of the FF. just that it is less attractive in their opinion than other alternatives.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course.....it just so happens that more beholders prefer other shapes.

 

This is a good post.

 

But a Mazda? What is a DD if not to be practical?
Among a sea of Ferraris at the shows the general public seem to congregate around my FF. Yes, it does not have the normal lines of the Ferrari shells we have grown accustom too but different is attractive I guess. I offer dream rides for charity with my group and when the line of paid riders approach the cars I seem to attract the ones that know about the car and it's power plant.
We FF guys have a thicker skin I suppose but I remember being at a large Ferrari event that took place at a dealership and heard lots of comments about the looks of the FF from fellow members. They would say they like everything about the looks up to the back of the doors, from there on not so much. I kind of liked the lines, but when I sat in the FF my 6'6" frame was at home and the car had to come home with me. So yes I guess it is a clown car if a 6'6" guy is comfortable but this guy kicks ass on the track wether straight off the line runs or cornering. It is not like my mid engine cars so to me different is good thing. Here the money shot boys!
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It's the Panamera-esq hump at the top of the back window that spoils the design. A 6'+ upper c-suite manager sat in the prototype and said "an adult needs to sit back here!" and they raised the roof line accordingly but killed the proportion of the car. I think the rub is the FF is a very PRACTICAL daily driver Ferrari, but for many it's not the IDEAL daily driver.

 

It does not help that they have the back seat bottom slightly higher then the front seats.
To know what it could look like with out the hump would be interesting although it would render the backs seats as useful as a Mondial.
You can only fit so much in any given space and make the box attractive but I think Pininfarina did a great job. Again I know it is all a matter of taste but a practical car with sexy lines is a hard combination to come by, for me the FF checks the boxes.
To each their own I suppose.
Sitting near the cars at the "open to public" Ferrari functions has allowed me to draw the conclusion that my red 360 or my former red 430 got serious attention but it was from a younger crowd and the more mature crowd seem genuinely interested in the FF even when parked beside the mid engine cars. Draw what ever conclusion you wish from that observation. I personally think the husbands who dream of Ferrari ownership are pointing it out to the wife saying things like "you will never be late to the soccer practise with the kids in that grocery getter" in hopes of getting approval to take that second mortgage out.

 

I will be living with the bad rap from the FF peanut gallery for years to come I suppose.
I wanted a Mondial after purchasing the FF as I missed that open top visceral feeling. I drove many Mondial's and viewed at least 10 all over Canada and the US. Perfect condition means many different things to people. Needless to say I passed and bought a perfect 360 with the CF racing seats and fabricated a custom seat rail that puts the seat back 2 more inches and raised at the front 1 inch making for a comfortable car.
The Mondial is a hidden gem with four seats open top mid engine, hell they are selling for $80,000 up here in the great white north. It is tough to find a clean example as they were not considered a expensive exotic and so many bought them and did not realize the cost associated with ownership hence the conditions I have seen. Still though it is a fun beach cruiser in my eyes.

 

F12

 

It is, of course, all personal taste. I, inexplicably, have always been drawn to shooting brakes like the Volvo P1800, the MGB GT, and the BMW Z3 Coupe (aka Clown Shoe).

Given that history, I do indeed like the FF.

Progressing from "simply a matter of taste" to leap wholeheartedly over the line into "why in the world would someone do such a thing", I absolutely love the hearse mod done to an E-type Jag for the movie "Harold and Maude".

Now I want to do it to a FF!! Probably would scar my reputation beyond all hope but if I had the absurd disposable income to burn on such a project, it would happen!!
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Dave, I think there is a balance here between what your head and what your heart tells you. If I listened to my heart then my daily driver would be a 63 Vette split window or a 67 Camaro. Unfortunately my head tells me that virtually all cars of the 50s, 60s, and 70s drove like crap and there are much better options today with the "modern" cars.

If I could put up with the poor handling then I might drive a 60s American muscle car as a daily driver because at least there are an abundance of available parts (all of these earlier cars are getting older and are bound to break). Unfortunately an early Ferrari could eat you alive on maintenance.

So I think the best balance between dream car and usable car is something "modern" that turns you on. On the practical side I fully respect those that say the FF is the car and if the design turns you on then that would be a great car. If not then I think the 599 and the 612 are reasonable alternative candidates. Those were the 2 that I set my sights on when I began my quest for a daily driver a few years ago.

 

Leo, your enthusiasm is great, but do you even drive yet let alone driving the cars you are recommending to others?

 

Now we talkin!
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Or This
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I'd drive that. City potholes, snow, rally stage...

I actually think there's an unexplored niche (perhaps not for Ferrari) for this. Not SUV (which is going large wheel smaller tire anyway).

Luxury but actual competence off-road/lumpy road.

 

I just threw up on my keyboard.

 

612.

 

My photo from the same event. We thank Mr. Marriott for bringing it.
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And the Jerrari on the road in this one:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsT5ltkle9k[/ame]

 

I drove my Mondial 3.2 as a daily driver for a while and it was superb in that capacity. It was the perfect combination of comfortable and modern (enough) while visceral and sporting with very good performance (amazing performance for the period really). It was comfortable for daily use and on short trips. While I drove it across the country once, I would say it is comfortable for trips up to around 3 hours. There are better cars for longer trips.

I would probably pick a Mondial 3.2 again as a daily driver for being the most fun and visceral while still being practical -- or a 575 or 550M 6-speed as more of a grand touring car with more subtle looks and more comfort. Driving qualities aside, I do not like cars that draw attention as daily drivers -- the 550/575 blends into the background a bit, the Mondial does not.

 

I understand, I am not a huge fan of current car designs either. Everything looks the same. I remember in the 60s I could tell you precisely the car and the year simply by seeing the grill or the taillights. Now I can simply tell that it is a car--maybe.

You seem to be purely a Ferrari fan and this probably would not be practical for a Ferrari. However, if you are really old school and like the 50s/60s car designs you might want to think about doing a restomod. I have seen some really nice 60s muscle cars which have totally current running gear. So you have the best of all world with comfort, reliability, handling, looks, etc. I also saw a Mercedes 1961 190 SL (called "Bent") at SEMA a few years ago where they put a modern SL's V12 running gear into it. I seriously thought about doing something like that myself. The only thing I would definitely do is put the current manufacturer's in running gear in the old car (ie. Mercedes for Mercedes, Ford for Ford, Ferrari for Ferrari). Don't believe in having a Ford engine in a Chevy. But if you do this then the world is your oyster and you can pick your all time favorite car as your daily driver.