Why own a Ferrari?

[AlohaGT]

Also peeled off from Fchat. Check out "Ford GTs that destroy it off the assembly line."

I am coming to you as someone who has owned two Ferraris now. I guess I am asking this....

Enzo said he didn't sell cars, he sold motors. Yet one could argue that the motors he sells are not that spectacular (putting on flame suit!!). I mean there are Corvettes that are built better and faster. Ford GTs that destroy it off the assembly line. Even Mustangs that could take it with minimal upgrades (less than $2000). German motors destroy it and win more races.

There is the small displacement, V8 sound. I guess I get that. I say V8 since the classic V12 is not their bread and butter (for now). And the last "production" V12 (meaning close to their flagship car) was a Testarossa whose sound wasn't that far off from a 350. Seriously. Is the engine sound better if it is a high scream or a loud roar (Ferrari vs. 350). Beauty is probably in the eye of the beholder, I would guess.

Seriously though, I think the looks of the car sell more than the motor. Yet, there are cars that, to the general public are more exotic. Lamborghini, McClaren, Panoz, Saleen, Vector, etc. All cars with more "exotic" to them. And I am not sure that Ferrari has made a car that took my breath away since 1988 (with the F40, F50 and Enzo being an obvious exception).

Throw in the maintenance costs. The unreliability. The fact that a 30k car is considered "High Mileage". No driving in the rain. The friends I have whose 6 figure cars with less than 10k miles are already giving them grief. The $50k premiums on new cars.

Yet we keep coming back.

Seriously. Is it the horse on the front and back of the car?? My office is painted red and yellow (3 walls red one yellow). I have a Ferrari banner hanging on the yellow wall. I have a Ferrari sculpture in the corner. I have Grand Prix 4'x5' framed prints on the walls (2 of them) with a 2005 Monterey Laguna poster framed on hanging. Is it that prancing horse??

What keeps me/us interested?? Is it hype??

I am starting to wonder if it is....

 

[911teo]

A supercar is usually more than the sum of its parts.

Some Ferraris were dogs. Some are true supercars. Take the 430 Scuderia. Now just sitting in it you can feel special. There are no numbers that can tell you that. There is no Z06, Saleen in the world that can say it's chassis has been tuned with inputs from MS himself.

Then there is the heritage and the history of the marque.

Then there is the image.

Then there is the clear F1 link. The new F430 Scuderia is clearly the car with the closest link ever to F1. From the LSD software to the gear change hardware to the aerodynamic solutions.

The problem these days is that these cars are bought and driven more and more to pose in them rather than to drive them.

I am a Porsche guy. To me you can say all the above abt a 911 RS(the heritage, the link to motorsport, the feel, the pleasure sitting in them etc) but I can certainly see how and why you can be drawn to a Ferrari.

 

[AlohaGT]

I can't part with my 930 slantnose, special ordered with Ferrari Fly Yellow paint.

 

[911teo]

Don't get me started on Porsches... I have a 72 (RSR replica), 74 (RSR replica), 97 and sold a 95 to buy the Ford GT...

In all honesty I thought I'd sell the GT after 6 months... but this car has gotten under my skin. I can't stop driving it. It is the one.

 

[FlorIdaho Chris]

...but this car has gotten under my skin. I can't stop driving it. It is the one.

Indeed...

 

[Howard]

It's remarkable how many of us are also Porsche owners. I would not have guessed that.

Howard ('76 911S)

 

[funat50]

Ditto on Porsche.

On days the GT must stay in I drive my '04 C4S. I like the C4S but moving from the GT to the Porsche is like moving from the Porsche to my Lexus LS. There is no substitute for adrenaline.

 

[911teo]

I think it's because the GT is a car that rewards the driver. Same with a 911.

The GT is very immediate and communicative. The dynamics between the 2 cars could not be more different but to me the GT is very close to a 911.

And then there is the historic legacy. When people talk to me LeMans and Motorsports I think Porsche. And the Ford GT40 is the King of Lemans

 

[timcantwell]

As many of you know I own lots of Italian, German, British and American exotic/fast cars in the modern genre. Everyone asks me, "Which car is your favorite?" My answer is always, the Ford GT. When pressed to answer "which" of my Ford GT's are my favorite...I still haven't figured out how to answer that one.

 

[B O N Y]

Love cars with the first initial F!

 

[STORMCAT]

Yep..........

 

[911teo]

As many of you know I own lots of Italian, German, British and American exotic/fast cars in the modern genre. Everyone asks me, "Which car is your favorite?" My answer is always, the Ford GT. When pressed to answer "which" of my Ford GT's are my favorite...I still haven't figured out how to answer that one.

It's just because you dont have a Quick Silver in your collection. Then the answer would be soooo easy... :biggrin

 

[Empty Pockets]

Then there is the image ... these cars are bought and driven more and more to pose in them ...

In a nut shell, those are the two biggest motivations behind Ferrari ownership, IMHO. 'Nothing WRONG with that if that's a person's 'bag', but, if a high performance exotic is what one's after, it just seems kinda nutty to me on some level to pay MORE to buy an F car or Lambo (initial purchase cost AS WELL as upkeep cost) rather than buying the >FASTER< - and "cheaper"wink) - FGT. Why pay more to go slower one might say.

It would appear "Huskerbill" may be 'coming around' to my viewpoint as well! :lol

'Just my $.02 ... and worth every penny.

 

[jdoc7]

In a nut shell, those are the two biggest motivations behind Ferrari ownership, IMHO. 'Nothing WRONG with that if that's a person's 'bag', but, if a high performance exotic is what one's after, it just seems kinda nutty to me on some level to pay MORE to buy an F car or Lambo (initial purchase cost AS WELL as upkeep cost) rather than buying the >FASTER< - and "cheaper"wink) - FGT. Why pay more to go slower one might say.

It would appear "Huskerbill" may be 'coming around' to my viewpoint as well! :lol

'Just my $.02 ... and worth every penny.

Same could be said about the GT, why not just buy a Z06 or Viper?

 

[Empty Pockets]

Same could be said about the GT, why not just buy a Z06 or Viper?

Dey ain't "exotics"... dat's why! :biggrin

 

[jdoc7]

Dey ain't "exotics"... dat's why! :biggrin

Don't tell them that!:wink

 

[Empty Pockets]

Don't tell them that!:wink

I won't!

Your point is well taken, doc - as far as just the PERFORMANCE level goes (exotic or otherwise not considered). As I've mentioned B4, from THAT standpoint, the only reason I don't OWN ('feel better, Jeeeerzeee?!:lol) a ZO6 instead of a FGT is because the dealer screwed me outta the ZO6 I had ordered.

But, man! Am I now glad he DID!!!:thumbsup

 

[GTNJ]

I won't!

the only reason I'm not driving a ZO6 instead of a FGT is because the dealer screwed me outta the ZO6 I had ordered.

But, man! Am I now glad he DID!!!:thumbsup

Pockets, Let me understanding this. Are you actually "driving a FGT" ?
:rofl

 

[Empty Pockets]

Pockets, Let me understanding this. Are you actually "driving a FGT" ?
:rofl

I knew...I just KNEW yewd jump on that'un! :slap

(I shall now go "edit" that stmt!)

 

[911teo]

Dey ain't "exotics"... dat's why! :biggrin

What is an "exotic" though? Really this is not a rethorical question.

This is what I feel....

Any Ferrari or Lambo is an exotic.

A 911 is not an exotic, not even a 997 GT2 (which costs more than a F430), but a Carrera GT is.

I am not sure I would consider any Aston an exotic.

A Z06 is not an exotic.

So what gives? It's not price (the 997 GT2), it's not performance (the Z06). Is it numbers? Or is it just a way to justify spending a copious amount of $$$ for a car that is not that much more performing than an equivalent non exotic one?