Why did you buy the one you bought?

I fisrt bought the F355 in the US because I thought it was a chance of a life time.... You must understand that I come from Thailand where F355 new caused you around US$300K and used one today still command US$200K. So, I could not pass a chance to buy F355 F1 in excellent condition at around US$127K in 1999 when I was in Senior year in NCSU.

I used it as a dialy driver for over a year before I graduated. A lot of people thought I was crazy, but hey...the resale was excellent too...the car retain it's value exceptionally well.

Now that I had been back in Thailand for over 5 years, we just bought our latest F-car, the 328 Koenig. My brother had bought and sold his F360 F1 within 3 months of taking delivery here (he never really like it), but we all agreed that this 328 will be with us for a long time. The main reason for getting it is that we always love the 308/328 sensual shape. And the Koenig body kit seems to enhance it a bit without going overboard.

By the way, the 328 always makes me smile after the drive...this is very strange, since its performance is not even close to my other cars....but hey, that's just one more reason to keep it...it can always make me happy.

 

550 is a perfect daily driver. Subtle, discrete, gobs of torque, very comfortable, real space, and it will run with the best of them for my purposes.

--Dan

 

I wanted a 308 since I was 13 when I first saw one back in 81. I spent 16 years thinking about THAT Ferrari before I finally got it.

 

*Exactly* why I bought my red/tan 86TR with the single post mounted side mirror.

Saw one in the 80s, never forgot it. That visceral thrill, the awe of it.

I've seen that same look in the faces of onlookers as they turn to see what is making that sound, coming around the corner.

I suppose I'm waxing on here, but it's more than just a car to me...

 

I loved the 3x8's, then I loved the P 959, and there were a few others in there that got some of my attention. Then the Mclaren F1 was born... all other cars faded in my mind... that became my image of automotive perfection. Except for one detail... the pricetag. I'd have to be Gates, Buffet, or Walton to feel comfortable with that price.

The Mclaren has never been displaced from that position in my eye... but it did have to make room on the throne to be joined by the F50. Those two were each works of rolling art... nothing else compares. And thus for many, many years, those two have been my definition of automotive excellence.

Then Ferrari came along and used the F50's awesome lines, but toned them down into a more subdued package. Other than the three-seat layout, they managed to capture much of the practicality of the Mclaren and similar sleek, no-wing look. And they put that all at a price-point that I could justify!

In a sense, to my brain conditioned by the Mclaren and F50, the 360 was a daily-driver version of automotive perfection!! And then the Challenge Stradale was born... bye, bye 360; hello, Stradale.

 

To be totally honest I just don"t know,I guess that is what the "Passion"is all about!

 

It has to be hot. I love the beauty and the exhaust note and the quickness.

 

After way too many years of riding motorcycles, I started looking at getting into sports cars, which lead me to Ferraris. I was hot to trot for a Daytona when a friend mentioned that the prices of Maranellos were falling as Napolis likes to say, "like keys out of a Lear jet." Long story short, I ended up with the Shark and it is closet thing to sex on wheels. Every now and then (as some other members of this board can testify), I start making goo-goo eyes at a vintage Ferrari. But then I hop in the Shark and fall in love again. If you like torque. If you like front-engined cars. If you like no drama and predictable cars, you'll like the Shark. If you want cutting edge, video game driving, get a 360CS

Take care, Dale

 

Any Pics, Pong?

 

You have to be born with it. Can't really be learned fully.
It's the difference between the people who buy a new 360 and drive it for 750 miles then sell it and those of us who buy a 308 (when we can afford newer), keep it and dump countless $ into it to maintain and modify it.

I still get excited when I see a 308 somewhere. I'll stop, take pictures of it and talk to the owner. I've owned one for 8 years and I STILL do this.

That's passion.

 

I was looking at a Viper GTS with connolly interior (tobacco tan) and considerably down the path of acquiring same, and decided that as long as I was in the $80K+ price range, I owned it to myself to at least look at a F355.

In the end there was just no comparison, the music the motor makes, the quality of the interior acutremain, and the fit and finsih sold the deal.

 

I fell in love with the 308 the first time I saw one. I also happened to ride in the same car, the same day. This was a few years before Magnum too. I saved money for a long time and always promised myself that car for my 35th birthday. I bought a lake house instead that year, so delayed my Ferrari to 40. I was shopping for a 308 carb or QV and wasn't having much luck. The nice QV's were all overpriced, and there weren't that many carbed models around. As if by accident, I tripped across this not-red 328 with pretty low miles that needed a service. It was less than most of the 308's I'd looked at. It's now in my garage, I never thought for a minute I'd be in a 328, yet here I am.

Now how am I going to get that 355 Spider?

 

I bought my 360 because at the time it was the best sports car made, and being a 1999 I ordered it sight unseen.

 

I bought my 328 because it is the car that I've always wanted more than any other. I was 7 years old when the car was introduced and I fell in love immediately. Since that time, so many amazing cars have come and gone but the 328 remained my favorite. I bought an Azzurro 328 because I was in the right place at the right time and, although I always wanted a red or black one, I don't regret buying this one at all.

 

Fortunately, I developed good taste before I developed a healthy bank balance - so when the time came I bought a Daytona and not a Countach...

John

 

I have always loved and wanted a Ferrari since i was 17 and the Dino GTS came out on the cover of Popular Mechanics.

I bought a Dino and then a 360 because they are the only Ferraris I can fit comfortably in. I tried the 550/456 but could not get comfortable. I'm too tall and wide.

Anyway, i'm thrilled with what i have, but sometines wish I could try out a 575. i have never driven a 12 cylinder, and would love to try it.

 

You mean silver 355F1 Berlinetta, right? That is very appealing car...... (except F1 tranny for me)

I got 328 because that was the first Ferrari I saw & many people advised me that is a good starter for F-car. It was a great experience, and I want to thank my (well not anymore) 328 for the pleasure.

Then I was off to get F 12 cylinders, but met this attractive 355 Spider w/ beautiful color, and I wanted to experience modern 8 cylinders w/ open air. It was impulsive buy, as I admit to anyone.

I still intend to get 12 cylinders in the future. (Enzo, I am listening to you)

 

365 GT4: Because I wanted a front engine V12 Ferrari. I was 23 at the time and in grad school at the time and it was the only on that I could barely afford.

Mondial 8: I like underappreciated things. A wonderful driving car (so what if it only has 205 hp) and I think the design is very good for a mid engined 2+2.

In both cases, I got a later example of the first series. I tend to like the original "raw" design before it gets fiddled with.

Laugh if you want, but both are rarer than an F40 (even if you combined both of them: 524 + 703 < 1311).

 

ChuckEbaby: here is a pic of our 328 Koenig along side my NSX. I have posted this pic before, I believed.
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O.K. to be honest: I love sexy asses

 

Pong and I usually bought our Fcar together. We just thought if we were going to ever own an Fcar, that might have been our only chance. I'm glad it turns out to be wrong!

I always love the 308/328 shape. It's just so sexy, exciting, elegant, and yet not too out of this world look. I got the 360 here in Thailand purely because I love the sound it makes. It's got that kind of sound that you just can't get rid of once you heard it. The F355 has the same kind of sound, only a bit smoother and sweeter. The 360 sounds more harsh and tougher. But the F1 didn't live up to what I expected, and the front end felt edgy at the time. I've sold the car and switch to a GT2, and now am regretting it. I am looking for another 360 at the moment.

I don't know why Pong said I never really like it. Maybe I gave him that impression without knowing it.

 

Like Tommy and Gabriel, it was a childhood dream. Ever since my brother and I saw the original Testarossa in a magazine in the early 80s, we told ourselves this is the Ferrari to get.

When we could finally afford to get one, we couldn't find a decent Testarossa. Then, by pure luck, we were able to get hold of a 512TR in immaculate condition thru our former mechanic. This baby is gonna stick around for a long, long time.

 

22 years ago I worked for a company called Comau a division of Fiat. We went to Italy to tour our plants with people from Saturn made visit to Ferrari plant for side trip. We were all taken for ride in 308 was over taken by passion said someday I will own one Live your passion.

 

I'm right there with you, Tommy.