Took the plunge!
With waiting lists on high end cars being ridiculously long, I thought now would be a good time to look into it for a delivery several months later.
The requirements were vague, GT car with sports car attribute, not the other way round. Loads of choice which is great. The decision took a while.
First out were Pagani and Bugatti, too expensive, no network, reduced usability, etc.
Then Lamborghini, quickly ruled out too, not a big fan of the Over the top styling and more importantly, very reduced network.
SLR722, great GT IMO but been advised against it for its auto gearbox which would not be much fun. Extremely expensive too.
Porsche Turbo, fantastic GT but too similar to my current 997. Different performance indeed but same styling in and out.
Ferrari then. I've always been quite close to Ferrari, some very good friends work for the local distributor so I'm often over there sharing an espresso rather than Porsche where they are too busy selling SUVs. It's a fact of the industry, nothing wrong with that.
The model choice was also easy. I've always been a Porsche fan but nonetheless, I like F cars, they are undoubtably very special.
For me, what makes a Ferrari a Ferrari? Without a doubt, its engine. And THE Ferrari road car engine through its history is the V12.
599GTB then!
RC was the first friend I asked an opinion to and he disagreed, seeing me more in a 430 or a Gallardo, saying the GTB is definitly too GT for me. Fair enough, I don't discard a GT3 to compliment the car later. I believe GTB/ GT3(RS) would be a fine modern car combo.
430 is great but I don't like the front, nor the rear styling, and the engine is fantastic but it needs a lot of revs to express itself.
The 599 fits more the GT requirements I am after. It is a fantastic GT car. Only major downsides I can find it are first, a ridiculous appetite for petrol, couple of owners have told me they rarely do more than 400 km on a full 105L tank! And second, the big question mark on passive safety. I guess I'll have to take a leap of faith here... (although the alu cabin structure seems well made, I'll have to check that one out with their engineers at the factory).
Here are the specs:
Grigio Silverstone, black interior with grey stitching, 20in challenge rims, CCM brakes with alu colored callipers, full carbon interior, roof and rear lugage shelf in leather, battery pack, daytona electric seats, F shields on the sides, electrochromatic mirrors, parking sensors rear and front, Bose sound system and Ipod kit.
I had a good look at the car last week in great details, it's gorgeous in person, much better than pictures. Loads of luggage space, very important for me as I love going on transeuropean trips, and great multimedia system, it's the latest Becker unit with memory card slot, ipod kit, blutooth phone connection, Porsche should take a lesson here.
Quoted delivery time, 25 months, but could be taken down to around 16 if not more, great stuff.
I've only the had the Carrera for a year so it fits perfectly.
Ferrari didn't give my any discount, not surprised here.
They have however invited me and my partner to a 2 day Pilota Ferrari course in Fiorano, gift value of almost 10,000 Euros! Italians do have a sense of style! I will go sometime this summer along with a factory visit.
Now the wait...
The requirements were vague, GT car with sports car attribute, not the other way round. Loads of choice which is great. The decision took a while.
First out were Pagani and Bugatti, too expensive, no network, reduced usability, etc.
Then Lamborghini, quickly ruled out too, not a big fan of the Over the top styling and more importantly, very reduced network.
SLR722, great GT IMO but been advised against it for its auto gearbox which would not be much fun. Extremely expensive too.
Porsche Turbo, fantastic GT but too similar to my current 997. Different performance indeed but same styling in and out.
Ferrari then. I've always been quite close to Ferrari, some very good friends work for the local distributor so I'm often over there sharing an espresso rather than Porsche where they are too busy selling SUVs. It's a fact of the industry, nothing wrong with that.
The model choice was also easy. I've always been a Porsche fan but nonetheless, I like F cars, they are undoubtably very special.
For me, what makes a Ferrari a Ferrari? Without a doubt, its engine. And THE Ferrari road car engine through its history is the V12.
599GTB then!
RC was the first friend I asked an opinion to and he disagreed, seeing me more in a 430 or a Gallardo, saying the GTB is definitly too GT for me. Fair enough, I don't discard a GT3 to compliment the car later. I believe GTB/ GT3(RS) would be a fine modern car combo.
430 is great but I don't like the front, nor the rear styling, and the engine is fantastic but it needs a lot of revs to express itself.
The 599 fits more the GT requirements I am after. It is a fantastic GT car. Only major downsides I can find it are first, a ridiculous appetite for petrol, couple of owners have told me they rarely do more than 400 km on a full 105L tank! And second, the big question mark on passive safety. I guess I'll have to take a leap of faith here... (although the alu cabin structure seems well made, I'll have to check that one out with their engineers at the factory).
Here are the specs:
Grigio Silverstone, black interior with grey stitching, 20in challenge rims, CCM brakes with alu colored callipers, full carbon interior, roof and rear lugage shelf in leather, battery pack, daytona electric seats, F shields on the sides, electrochromatic mirrors, parking sensors rear and front, Bose sound system and Ipod kit.
I had a good look at the car last week in great details, it's gorgeous in person, much better than pictures. Loads of luggage space, very important for me as I love going on transeuropean trips, and great multimedia system, it's the latest Becker unit with memory card slot, ipod kit, blutooth phone connection, Porsche should take a lesson here.
Quoted delivery time, 25 months, but could be taken down to around 16 if not more, great stuff.
I've only the had the Carrera for a year so it fits perfectly.
Ferrari didn't give my any discount, not surprised here.
They have however invited me and my partner to a 2 day Pilota Ferrari course in Fiorano, gift value of almost 10,000 Euros! Italians do have a sense of style! I will go sometime this summer along with a factory visit.
Now the wait...
For me red callipers please 
because the callipers have to contrast the colours of the car IMO 
I would NEVER wait that long !
.
