Why not make an almost affordable sports car

I agree with comments above, relating to the infamous Flappy Paddle Thread.

What a good amount of F-Cars fans are harping for is a Raw & Visceral car; with manual transmission, no power steering, etc. By design, that car should be substantially cheaper than the current ones, which have lots of nannies to keep you safe, but disconnect you from road feel, etc.

 

"Ever since they started using that new fangled German fuel injection.. Ferrari has never been the same. Once Enzo stopped personally test driving them before delivery they ceased to be Ferrari's to me.. "

Yawn. Its called being imprisoned by the past... and it didn't work to well for Jaguar. Granted I prefer the manual transmission to the flappy... if I had a LaFerrari I think I could adjust.

 

The way you cut costs in the automotive world is platform and component sharing, not by omitting features or going retro simple. My daily driver Audi has a DCT manual, traction control, ABS, hill lock (keeps it from rolling back on uphill starts), variable assist steering, etc., and it's less than one-fifth the price of a 458.

Regardless, I think the main reason Ferraris aren't affordable is because the company has made the decision not to compete in that space.

Now, are Ferraris still worth a $200K+ premium over other equally capable cars? The market values the marque and buys all of its cars, so apparently the answer is 'yes'.

 

Ferrari makes an average $49,000 net profit on each vehicle.


Ferrari has now revealed that it sold 6,922 cars in 2013, which was down 5.4 percent on 2012’s figure. Despite the decrease in sales, revenues were up 5 percent on the previous year at 2.3 billion euros ($3.16 billion) and net profit was up 5.4 percent at 246 million euros ($338.5 million). The company also ended 2013 with 1.36 billion euros ($1.87 billion) in the bank, its highest net cash position ever

 

2015 Corvette Z06: Supercar | Chevrolet

You get quite a bit for the $80k.

 

Boxster. Also has a prancing horse on the bonnet

 

Just no badges.

 

Unfortunately you are probably a little correct. The problem was Luca Di Montezemolo learned business the American way at Columbia. American corporations are always faced with a dilemma at one point in their existence. Increase profits and destroy the prestige of a brand or be satisfied with how things are and preserve prestige. Guess which option they always choose?

Luca also picked up US style "marketing" ie whoring out a brand. Hence the cheap clothes, theme parks, trinkets, tour bus's, restaurants, an aweful museum. What's next a Ferrari circus? It's all about perpetual growth of the bottom line(which is impossible in reality.)

If you ever visit Enzo's home his office and lounging area were quite humble.

 

Luca says he's selling a dream.

True.

But what he's no longer selling are sports cars. Then again, Enzo didn't either. Most of his car sales were GT's.

 

Ferrari is a profitable company that only has to make 7000 cars a year to gross $3.1billion and net $340 million.

Why deal with the headaches of making 30000 cars per year ? I wouldnt.

 

I miss Jimi Hendrix and Cass Elliot. But that doesn't mean Ferrari should start making cheap cars just because the good old days were the good old days. There is no entry level Ferrari for the same reason Rolex makes their watches out of steel rather than plastic.

If you want a nice $25 watch, buy a plastic Casio; they're great. If you want a Rolex, you're gonna' pay more; a lot more.

A Rolex won't keep time as well as a Casio, but it IS a Rolex.

 

I often read statements that Ferrari can sell the quantities they want easily. Doesn't that apply to the V8s only? I believe that if Ferrari would only sell V12s, they would struggle reaching their selling targets.

 

And Enzo Ferrari made sure his customers had to pay a massive premium for those cars, just as they do today!

Show Me where Ferrari have ever made an "affordable Sportscar" - As far as I've ever been aware, (new) Ferrari's have always carried a price tag that rivalled the price of a decent house!

Here is the problem with Porsche: There are so many of them produced that they are no longer anything special when you see them out and about.

To their fans they're great cars, but when it comes to regular, non-enthusiasts, how many people are stopped in their tracks when they see one and have to look at it?

In the UK at least, they tend to get no more attention than a top of the range BMW!

They don't help themselves by constantly rehashing the same old design over and over again! - The shape is just too common now, there's no "Wow!" factor to them!
(As The Who said: "Meet the boss -Same as the old boss!").

By not over producing, Ferrari maintain the "Wow! factor. They remain special, not just to the owners and enthusiasts, but to regular, non-enthusiasts too.

I own a 1990 348 TS.

It's not the most expensive Ferrari, it's not the prettiest Ferrari (but it is beautiful!), it's not the fastest Ferrari, it's far from the most modern Ferrari (although it's quite surprising how people think it's brand new just off the production line!), and yet, people stop and stare at it in the street, I've had people taking photo's of it whilst I'm stopped at traffic lights, and people who ask Me if the car is Mine then congratulate Me as if I was a regular Joe who'd just Married Jennifer Aniston!

Work colleagues have approached Me saying: "Is this right you've bought a Ferrari? - Fair play to you mate, that's unbelievable!", as if, rather than simply having gone out and bought an old Italian Supercar, I'd actually manage to procure Myself the winged horse Pegasus!

I've even had people say to Me: "Is that what I think it is?........Can I just touch it?.......I've never touched a Ferrari before!"

Show Me a regular Porsche (and such-like), that gets anything like that sort of attention! - They lack the mystique and magic that Ferrari's have, and they always will because they're just too common!

Yes Ferrari are in the business to make money, but they're also in the business to make something special - Something that still has the "Wow!" factor.

Put it this way:

Ferrari are like "the one ring" in Lord Of The Rings: mystical and special!

Porsche (and other mass produced sports cars), on the other hand are more like the rings you find in a box of cereal!

 

The formula is limyed prod equalls exclusivity and almost unlimited desire. the question then became how to make more money if prod limited. the answer was through options which are outrageously priced. Those sjeilds net way more profit than VW makes on an entire car. Brilliant marketing. Possiblky the product now suffers.

The worst part is that owning a ferrari is now an end goal, the attention and positive affirmation of sucess, as opposed to drivign one veing the goal> This also says a lot about how easy (and by comparison to the old) new ferraris are to drive. This makes them somewhat boring to drive too.

Its like a rolex watch, a fashion acessory for many devoid of its actual function, but totaly desireable and necessary for a certain economic groups to display social staus. Hence the ability to charge unlimted sums for options.

 

There are some special cases.

Look at the Ford GT.

 

Phil, Awesome post!!

 

There's no doubt many Ferrari components were designed in Mordor.

But yes, mostly I agree with you (and I have owned both Porsche and Ferrari). I see many 911s around southern California, and while they're nice cars they aren't much of a wow moment -- although the vintage ones now have an indisputable cool factor. Maybe because of the McQueen connection, or just being from an era now regarded as cool.

Occasionally I see a driver-quality black Mondial cab parked at the gym, and even that car has a presence to it to then sea of Boxsters and 911s around here.

So, no, Ferrari doesn't need to make an everyman's sports car. Way too much competition in that space already.

What he said.

 

Why not make an almost affordable sports car?

Because I doubt that they could get their costs low enough and still have it be anywhere near a semblance of a "ferrari".

By way of history, recall that the story goes that the cali was developed originally as a Maser to be sold at "lower" price points - circa $130k IIRC. Now its a $270,000 average MSRP Ferrari Cali T.

If I'm FIAT group, I sell a sub-$100,000 sports car under the Alfa brand and a $100,000 to $200,000 sports car under the Maser brand and $200,000+++ under the Ferrari brand.

(many others have posted why they "should not" - which I also agree with)

 

Simple: because the R&D in the sticky dash parts to stay sticky was that massive. They are still paying their lone for that....

Nah, what Arizonaitalian said is the reason: they would compeed against own products: Maserati or Alfa 4C.

And all the trendsetting high tech mumbo jumbo: it's to keep the magic alive.

If you want a plain jane affordable sportscar with a horsie on top: buy a 328/348/355.

 

you are describing an NSX. small check light check midengine check 80's style check rock solid reliable check.
too bad it never sold in high number.

 

Plain Jane?

Based on the attention My 348 gets, I'd say she's anything but "plain Jane"!

A 328 is one of the sexiest shapes ever to grace the roads and a 355 is a 348 in an even sexier dress!

So sad to see someone belittling the classics! - Especially as their owners are more often than not the genuine enthusiasts!

 

My post has prompted a lot of responses as I expected it would. Thinking over the issue I agree that the price point is not my real concern (although a 150k car would be a lot better than a 250k car for an entry level model). What I am missing in Ferrari's current line up is the raw driving experience and styling that does not look like a space ship on wheels. The Ferrari experience does not have to include sticky controls, leaky windows, weak AC, and $8k belt service every three years; but it should include screaming revs, tight steering, fantastic handling, and enough exclusivity that you don't see one every day. I also want the F1 team to get its act together and start winning again - they were the source of the Ferrari mystic.

 

I think the "plain jane" expression got misinterpreted in translation from Belgian...

 

Terrible idea for Ferrari to make an "affordable" line of cars. And affordable for whom? To the masses, a $90K price tag will still be quite high, so what is the point? Just to make it affordable for you personally? And for most of Ferraris customers, $200K is quite affordable so the current line is already a good value to them. So its a silly statement you are making from the outset.

The whole point of the brand is that the cars are supposed to be the pinnacle/cost no object of road going vehicles with design and tech derived from the F1 racing program. These are not the "best for the dollar" vehicles. As has been said already, plenty of other brands strive to be the best performance at a price point. Ferrari is supposed to just be the best period.

If you want bang for the buck, then it is no longer what Ferrari stands for and the brand has lost its way. Pretty soon its making SUVs and four door sedans and slapping a badge on them like other brands that have since lost their cache.

 

Even today Ferrari has a car to match ALMOST any budget.

Running from $15,000 Mondial 8s all the way to $38M 250GTOs and everywhere in-between.

One guy in the 308 forum is claiming that he just bought a 308 GTS for $2000!!!! Yes, TWO THOUSAND dollars!!!

So, its out there, but you might have to look for it for a while.



PDG