Georges Hayek here is a write up you can
relate to. It is from Ferrarichat;
" Last summer I drove several exotic cars (Bentley GT, Aston-Martin DB9, Lamborghini Gallardo, F430, Ford GT, Z06), I've been meaning to post a few thoughts that have been on my mind regarding the F430.
I make a decent living but not quite Ferrari decent (yet). My attainable dream cars at the moment are a Cayman S or a Z06. I currently drive (and race) an 86 Porsche 944 Turbo and a 2000 Trans Am.
I paid for the opportunity to drive the six exotics listed above with a club out of Miami. I have been a Lamborghini fan since childhood and have always followed the charging bull more closely than the prancing horse. Ferraris were of secondary interest to me, quite frankly because Lamborghinis were so outrageous. On that day, I test drove the Lamborghini Gallardo and in my mind I had finally found heaven, automotive nirvana.
Then came my chance to drive the F430. That car plunged its fist into my chest and grabbed my heart. I don't have to describe the experience to those of you who own a copy of this wonderful machine, but for the benefit of those who, like me, are enthusiastic onlookers, please indulge me. Getting inside, the cockpit is purpose built, something special, I felt like I was climbing into an Apollo capsule. Versus the Lamborghini, which was nice, but felt too normal -- especially with the Audi-sourced HVAC and flat-spot steering wheel. The Ferrari was a space ship by comparison.
The sound that engine makes -- I've always been a fan of burbling American V8s, but that Ferrari V8, the combination of rumble and high pitched mechanicals, it's music. I was amazed by how quickly the engine revs -- climbing through the gears passes much more quickly than on other sports cars. Speaking of sounds, the bark it gives when you downshift -- a combination of a bulldog bark and a horse's bray -- is my new favorite sound in the entire world, I'll never forget that.
The steering was perfect (almost telepathic), the car was perfectly balanced. I drove the car as twilight was setting on the mountains near West Point, NY, and the moment was perfect. The setting sun combined with that wonderful machine were poetic, it literally makes me wistful and emotional to think about it.
In short, the F430 has ruined me for all other cars, it will forever be the yardstick by which I compare everything else. It has stolen me away from my dreams of Lamborghinis -- now that I've driven one, I know the passion of a Ferrari. Those of you who have one, enjoy it, and I hope to some day be amongst your ranks.
Another convert.
" Last summer I drove several exotic cars (Bentley GT, Aston-Martin DB9, Lamborghini Gallardo, F430, Ford GT, Z06), I've been meaning to post a few thoughts that have been on my mind regarding the F430.
I make a decent living but not quite Ferrari decent (yet). My attainable dream cars at the moment are a Cayman S or a Z06. I currently drive (and race) an 86 Porsche 944 Turbo and a 2000 Trans Am.
I paid for the opportunity to drive the six exotics listed above with a club out of Miami. I have been a Lamborghini fan since childhood and have always followed the charging bull more closely than the prancing horse. Ferraris were of secondary interest to me, quite frankly because Lamborghinis were so outrageous. On that day, I test drove the Lamborghini Gallardo and in my mind I had finally found heaven, automotive nirvana.
Then came my chance to drive the F430. That car plunged its fist into my chest and grabbed my heart. I don't have to describe the experience to those of you who own a copy of this wonderful machine, but for the benefit of those who, like me, are enthusiastic onlookers, please indulge me. Getting inside, the cockpit is purpose built, something special, I felt like I was climbing into an Apollo capsule. Versus the Lamborghini, which was nice, but felt too normal -- especially with the Audi-sourced HVAC and flat-spot steering wheel. The Ferrari was a space ship by comparison.
The sound that engine makes -- I've always been a fan of burbling American V8s, but that Ferrari V8, the combination of rumble and high pitched mechanicals, it's music. I was amazed by how quickly the engine revs -- climbing through the gears passes much more quickly than on other sports cars. Speaking of sounds, the bark it gives when you downshift -- a combination of a bulldog bark and a horse's bray -- is my new favorite sound in the entire world, I'll never forget that.
The steering was perfect (almost telepathic), the car was perfectly balanced. I drove the car as twilight was setting on the mountains near West Point, NY, and the moment was perfect. The setting sun combined with that wonderful machine were poetic, it literally makes me wistful and emotional to think about it.
In short, the F430 has ruined me for all other cars, it will forever be the yardstick by which I compare everything else. It has stolen me away from my dreams of Lamborghinis -- now that I've driven one, I know the passion of a Ferrari. Those of you who have one, enjoy it, and I hope to some day be amongst your ranks.
Another convert.
