Quote:
BC911J said:
Once you start letting a cars looks and attention factors be a major factor when buying sportscars, you are no,longer sports car enthusiasts...you are then buying the car for posing. Sorry but it's true. 
(No offence)
997turbocab if you are a competant driver and want the 'better' car, go for the Carrera GT. Like Nick said, if you are average or below ave, go for the Ferrari....It's easier to drive fast and more practical. 
If I where you btw I'd go Porsche No doubt 
I disagree. Aesthetics are definitely a major factor in a decision for buying a sports car. I know of plenty of stripped out "ugly" American cars that will walk all over any stock 997.
All of these afformentioned cars (F430, Turbo, CGT, Gallardo etc) are not purely performance based vehicles. Even the most raw (The CGT) has a pretty lush interior. Get inside a GT3 Cup or RSR then you'll feel what "rough" and "bumpy" is.
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With that being said, as a general rule of thumb, I think for the informed sports car buyer, the feeling derived by driving the car is all that matters when he or she decides to purchase a car.
This can be facilitated by sheer performance, aesthetics, sound, comfort, attention etc...
It should be based upon one's personality.
With that being said, to chime in on my humble opinion, I think the Carrera GT is a car that transcends many of the conventional notions of a car, in that we categorize it as the same machine as almost 99% of the vehicles out there (including many "sports cars").
It is unadulterated and brutish, yet rewardingly generous. I had a chance to ride in one. The only car that moved me in the same manner was the F40 I was blessed to lap in about 3 years ago. The Carrera GT is my dream car because its the type of car you apparently can put all of "yourself" into and it will keep rewarding you with nuances and performance beyond your wildest immagination.
With that being said, I would take the F430 for cruising around town, going to clubs and picking up chicks and hitting up the yacht club with. But none of those activities would match the personal satisfaction I would derive from growing as a driver with a machine of such magnanimous proportions.
I think its the pinnacle of the true driving experience.
It fits with my notion that any F1,SMG,DSG ABC system is not for me.
It fits with my notion that ESP/DSC/Yaw Control are not for me when the weather is fine
It fits with my notion that one can only garner satisfaction in any craft by developing one's own skills
And the Carrera GT is the greatest master of them all
Ferrari won't last long if they continue to take advantage of their customers. Customers will soon stop buying such vulgar (EVO's words, not mine) cars as the F430 Spyder once other options (R8, new Esprit, etc) become more available.
