Your first time...

i think my first Ferrari sighting was a silver 360 spider. I waited for 2 hours to hear him start the car up and drive off. I cant remember if it was my first but it was close.

 

I dunno which was my first one I ever saw. My dad has been taking me to Algar Ferrari since I was 4, but the first memory I have is seeing a 355 at Algar.

 

I was into cars, but hadn't really experienced Ferraris till I went to college 1 mille from the main UK importer. The place also sold gas, so I always used to fill up there (because of the scenery!) in my '62 Landrover. I was almost run over by an F40 when they first came out. Since then I've always loved them.

 

The first I remember was a black F50 while we were walking off the beach at... either Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head. Older guy was turning it around in the parking lot right off the sand. I was near eight at that time

The second was a red F40 in Evansville, IN (my town). Closer to twelve.

Since then, I've seen 3 355s, 1 308, 1 328, 1 348, 3 F40s, 1 412, 1 575, 2 360s, 2 TRs, 1 TR spider and I think that's about it. maybe a few more, but not many.

 

First real time around one was a red 308 in a small car show in London, Ontario. One that was in an empty store space in a shopping mall (Masonville, IIRC). It's the only car I remember from that event. Like your experience in Cleveland, I grew up in an Ontario steeltown near Buffalo where Ferraris were only seen on TV.

 

My first time I was totally drunk and the girl was an Irish exchange student. She told me it was the best 48 seconds of her life. I'm brought back to that momement every time I drink a Guiness......

 

Oh, just went back and read the rest of the thread and not just the subject.... Guess I prematurely posted on this one........

 

Well at least you were premature with your post and not her

 

Back in 1976 a girl in my class had her mother pick her up everyday in a 246 or a Smokey and the Bandit style Trans Am. I guess it was dependent on the mood she was in.

I think that was the first Ferrari I had ever seen. Nice car, nicer girl.

 

First Ferrari Ive seen in person that I can remember was either an F50 at FoLI about 4 or 5 years ago. I remember it pretty clearly. It was Easter sunday and my uncle took me for a ride he said for something cool. I had no idea what but when we got there all of us ran upto the glass and I was the only one who knew it was an F50 .

If that wasnt the first time it was my mom's cousin's white TR. He owns International motorsports right next to Berlinetta motorcars in Huntington, NY. It was under a hood in his driveway and I kept leaning against it, not knowing what it was. He yelled at me to stop .

 

Jon,
Your post is not getting the treatment it deserves.
My 'first' times were not 'Ferrari'--it was 'Cobra' (me, 13 years old at the Venice plant, just around the corner), and 'Lamborghini' ('Muira', brand new, yellow and black) parked outside the local liquor store that was the last stop before the brand new Marina del Rey. I was probably 14 then, and the 911 Porsche was a new car, fast, affordable, and oh-so-cool.
If I remember correctly, Aston-Martin was advertising the DB-5 in 'Playboy' magazine ($14,000, a lot of money!), and this was prior to any 'James Bond' movie!
Bullfighter, I may be taking this 'off-thread'. If so, I apologize. But Ferrari/Cobra/Lamborghini have inspired me to to excel in my personal life...and I hope what I've said makes sense.
Still, the 'Ferrari' remains elusive...

 

never seen them before,probably a bit rare in Australia.
oh and my first was my old neghbours 308 GTS/i

 

I have no idea what my first time was, but the sighting that had the most major impact on me was veiweing a F50 and F40 at Ferrari of Long Island when I was about 8 or 9.

 

'79 308 GTS in '79, which I ended up driving a lot, later in the '80s.

 

Maroon SWB, ~1960 Upper Marlboro, Maryland

 

About 5 years ago i was walking with my friends and headr a really low engine note. I was just starting to get into cars so I jerked my head over to see a silver 550. I flipped out almost as much as the time i saw a 288 GTO driving about a mile from my house.

 

Funny- I remember several first car sightings/experiencs (loved cars as long as I can remember).

around 1980, someone's dad picked him up at our grammer school after basketball practice, in a silver 246 dino. I remember one kid asking what kind of a car, and his father replying a "Ferrari Dino". I didn't even know what a Ferrari was at that point, but I remember that car!

Also remember first time in a BMW (around 1983, friend's mom drove us home from a cub scout trip in a 528i, stickshift!) First time in a car with a tachometer, canted driver compartment and what an interior! I asked my parents to buy one, and their response was that "those are $15,000- too much to spend on a car"! Well, I guess with 4 kids and one income, our brand new 1982 Civic wagon was stylin' enough for us

First time in a porsche, sister's boyfriend took me for a ride in his dad's brand new 1986 911- first time I was in a car ride over 100 mph! That's what got me hooked on Porsche, and bought my own a couple of years later (not an '86, but a '78)

First time in a Ferrari, 550 Maranello- brand new 1997- friend's Uncle took me for a ride....that's what finally got me hooked on Ferrari!

 

1st one I saw in person was a black on black 308 GTS. I remember the tires being super fat and the engine sounded awesome. He pulled out as we were passing at about 65mph...he was past us in seconds.

Purely coincidental that my 1st was a black 308...purely coincidence I say.

 

I had followed Ferraris in the pages of R&T, but the first I remember actually seeing were new GT4's. I thought they were really cool but did not compare to the first 308 I saw. I wanted to weep. In the 70's, owning one was a pipe dream for me.

Another more recent memory. I took the neighbors 15 year old self described car nut and techie geek on a club rally last July. He was in hog heaven, especially when Peter Taylor allowed him to sit in his brand new 430. My 430 came in about 6 weeks later and I took him for a ride. Thirty years from now, he'll be recalling this summer when asked and I'll bet if he ever buys a Ferrari, the first one will be a 430.

Dave

 

My first Ferrari sighting was the Cali in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The song, the way they talked about it, the garage, I was hooked.
The first I remember seeing in person was .... I don't know, but the first time I went to the dealership in Alpharetta GA was unforgettable.

 

I saw my first Ferrari at Otto Zippers on Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica in 1967. An English salesman took me back into the garage with my friend. There we saw a 275 GTB, which had won a Sebring. The selling price was $13,000. Later my father said no to financing the car.

12 cylinders or walk

 

I'm sure much of this vehicular enlargening has to do with stricter safety regulations.