Would you trade Perf for Speciale??

Have you tried the 675? Much more fun for me than was the 720. Sold 720 and Performante, kept two 675’s.

 

Have not tried those. Everyone keeps saying the same thing about those cars. Might have to add that to the list for consideration.

 

I drove a friend’s 675 Spider across a mountain last week. We were on a road trip and he drove my 488 Spider. He is also a Ferrari customer and is about to take delivery of a Pista. This is his only McLaren but he loves the car. To some extent my comments are coloured by the fact that you tend to like what you are used to, especially driving on a fast, technical road quickly.

Both cars are amazing machines. I prefer the Ferrari though it is quite close and both cars offer something different. The 675 is an extension of the 12C that I once owned and the philosophy and DNA carries through. Their pace is very similar. I would give the 675 the nod if pushed but to all intents and purposes neither of us could get away from the other driving either car - we drove around 2,000 miles. Both cars had P zeros.

The front end on the 675 is something of a standout feature and has bags of grip, more than the 488. Whereas the rear end is more mobile on the 488, in a nicer way. My friend made few comments about the 488 which leads me to believe he prefers the LT but then both of us are aggressive drivers when it is appropriate and the LT is a track-special whereas the 488 is a ‘normal’ car. He said he was trying to get the 488 to understeer and he managed to do that. Personally, I don’t think the 488 is an understeerer - ok, in context it can understeer but if you drive it properly that is not a criticism worth making. The 675, as the Speciale, has no trace of understeer. The 675 had fixed buckets which were uncomfortable for me, the race seats on the 488 much better. The cockpit of the 675 is much tighter, more focused perhaps. I got into a flow quickly with the 675 and there is no doubt it is an enjoyable car to drive quickly.

The negative is the engine. The sound is more industrial than the 488 and the power delivery is not as nice. It is more boosty which certainly gives you enough power but it just isn’t as nice as the 488 which has less boost but picks up strongly from the instant you press the accelerator at whatever point in the Rev range you are. On the Furka pass I was easily able to pull away in hairpins using second gear. He had a choice - use 1st to reduce lag but unsettle the car, or keep the car settled in second gear but wait for the lag phase to be over. No such issues in the 488. My friend told me to make sure I use Sport mode to get better engine response but it was still not as nice as the 488. And the problem with sport mode was that you could not dial back the suspension independently - something I needed on the broken road sections because the thing is quite stiffly sprung.

The solidity of the hood-down LT came through, whereas the 488 with hood down and broken road does give slight chassis movement. Nowhere near enough to spoil the enjoyment or even to lead me to prefer the LT. In the end I can sum up like this - the McLaren is a brutal beast, all grip, power and focus. The Ferrari dances in your hands more and has the power and ability to easily stay with the LT, delivered in a nicer way. Both great cars, both different. You could easily have both in your garage. When the Pista Spider replaces my 488 though, I have a feeling I wouldn’t say the same.

 

What is the point of having 2 of the same cars? Wouldn't one Senna be a better idea?

 

Don't give him ideas... he might go and buy 2 senna's and 2 senna gtr's -

 

Just don't sell your 16M....

 

Huh? 200k more.. How does that work? thanks

 

One is a coupe which I track. The other is an entirely carbon fiber, one of twenty, spider which I am embarassed to admit, I mostly just dust.

And already getting both the Senna and the Senna GTR. If you want a better argument, tell me to get rid of a 16M.

 

It looks great, nice touch painting the wheels and calipers.

 

Have you driven a 458 spider extensively?
Owning one completely changed my desire for SA, other than for investment purposes.
But I’d seriously wait for the next recession and get the SA at reasonable values.
Also, just a note that the Speciale and SA do not sound as good as the 458’s, fwiw.

 

If I listened to people who said 'wait for recession' I would not have bought a car in the past five years. Buy for today.

You either can afford the cars or not.

I'd still have a flip phone if I never upgraded and worried about what happens tomorrow

 

ok, enjoy!

 

I will and I have.

You better sell all of your cars and buy a used Prius. The world is about to end...oh and invest in gold

William Devane would be proud.

 

What's wrong with a flip phone ?

 

Lol.
Hope it works out.

 

I would try and work a deal on the low mileage Speciale in white. If you still have the desire for an SA in a few months then trade it on one. I doubt you lose much.

 

If you're going to drive it which looks like you are going to do.... do NOT pay a premium for low mileage car.

as a data point.... I was offered $285K wholesale for my speciale with 8K miles and MSRP of $372K. (2014 with launch spec). I'm not selling mine but a friend of mine gave me this offer.

 

Eddie, quite buying Lambos...problem solved.

 

My advice is to buy a 458 Spider with race seats. It's the best 458 variant.
Have I steered you wrong in the past?
I know what you're thinking..not limited enough. Doesn't matter, you will thank me later