Do people not like Ferraris any more

[greenarrow]

Ok, this thread title is aimed more at the UK motoring press, but is a general observation. I'm a car lover, but a man of fairly humble means and probably wont ever own a Ferrari, but get a real tingle when I travel to my local Ferrari dealer, Meridien Modena at Lyndhurst. Went last Monday and was taking snaps of the 458 Italia and 360 CS and 458 Speciale they had in there. But compared to 1980s and 1990s, it doesn't seem Ferrari are very "in" at the moment. The UK specialist press, such as EVO are in love with the Porsche 911 (I can see why, I love them too) and stuff like the McLaren 720S is wowing everyone, especially thanks to then U Tube drag races! Pistonheads rarely does a piece on a modern Ferrari and you have to come on the Supercar forum to encounter an owner or fan, it seems. So why is this? I know Ferrari can get snotty with the media after unfavourable reviews, which may explain why the UK press are wary of them and they don't do Nurburgring times which the likes of Lambo have cashed in on, but as far as I can see, Ferrari still produce wonderful cars, perhaps the best in their history in recent years.....thoughts welcome....

[jtremlett]

I really don't know where or how you get that impression. The latest Evo takes an 812 Superfast to Angelsey and doesn't hold back on the praise and a separate article in the same magazine about second-hand supercars very much likes the F430. The other day I was reading Chris Harris' review of the 488 Pista in Top Gear magazine which was, if anything, even more effusive. Separately, Ferrari are selling more cars in the UK than ever before making it easily the largest market in Europe.

[The Surveyor]

Ferrari do still make fabulous cars, but they are no longer the only player on the park. Porsche have really stepped up into Ferrari's 'investment market', whilst Lamborghini are back making genuinely astounding cars, and we now have McLaren in the mix as well.

Ferrari are getting bounced off the front pages (so to speak) due to competition rather a loss of enthusiast interest IMHO.

[Pericoloso]

Have you read the "Never meet your heroes 458" thread just down this forum ?

sum up.....18 year old now cringes at the sight of the 458 ,because he's obviously a driving god ,after 3 laps of a track in one.

[cayman-black]

911, s god, i,m sick of them.

[LotusJas]

Honestly, I think it's a combination of factors driven by complacency at Ferrari.

They still stick to bonded aluminium construction, which means their cars are relatively heavy. This affects handling, braking and acceleration of course.

They get away with it because of their (well earned) brand prestige and heritage, and customers therefore still buy them.


And they have less power than the competition, as well as being heavier.


Therefore they try to avoid press performance comparisons, because their cars will not do as well.


The competition don't have quite the same brand prestige, even though they make an objectively superior car.


I would love Ferrari to make the best car, which would make the buying decision easy for me.

[MDL111]

Not sure I agree - they build a 800hp n/a V12 that you can drive daily - i’d say that is very special and I have not seen much competition from anybody for that
They build stuff like the Monza or the LaFerrari

I drive my FF daily and neither Porsche nor McLaren, Aston martin or Lamborghini offer anything remotely comparable

[RobDown]

As a kid I used to list after cars like the Testarossa and then the 355 and F40. And I still lust after the classics like the 275.

But the more modern Ferrari design language leaves me cold. The 360/430 were bland. And then the 458/488 got overly fussy.

This is all personal taste of course but there’s just nothing in their current line up that I want to buy

[anonymous-user]

RobDown said:

But the more modern Ferrari design language leaves me cold. The 360/430 were bland. And then the 458/488 got overly fussy.

This is all personal taste of course but there’s just nothing in their current line up that I want to buy

What would be preferable to a Ferrari for you?
I think if any car has slipped into the ordinary bracket it would have to be a 911, a sighting of one creates very little interest nowadays.

[Superleg48]

Pericoloso said:

Have you read the "Never meet your heroes 458" thread just down this forum ?

sum up.....18 year old now cringes at the sight of the 458 ,because he's obviously a driving god ,after 3 laps of a track in one.

That is a fairly inaccurate and unnecessarily pointed summary. The chap never remotely implied he was a “driving god”, he was sharing an impression and asking for advice, feedback of his experience as he wants to love the cars and the brand as he always has.

No need to misrepresent people like that.

[av185]

RobDown said:

As a kid I used to list after cars like the Testarossa and then the 355 and F40. And I still lust after the classics like the 275.

But the more modern Ferrari design language leaves me cold. The 360/430 were bland. And then the 458/488 got overly fussy.

This is all personal taste of course but there’s just nothing in their current line up that I want to buy

You claim the 458 488 is overly fussy.

Many including myself think the 458 is one of the simplest designs and most attractive Ferraris.

Speciale guaranteed future classic.

[Stryke]

488 was a flop.

Poor press coverage upon release, not as exciting as the previous NA 458.

Let's see how the Pista does.

[MitchT]

av185 said:

RobDown said:

As a kid I used to list after cars like the Testarossa and then the 355 and F40. And I still lust after the classics like the 275.

But the more modern Ferrari design language leaves me cold. The 360/430 were bland. And then the 458/488 got overly fussy.

This is all personal taste of course but there’s just nothing in their current line up that I want to buy

You claim the 458 488 is overly fussy.

Many including myself think the 458 is one of the simplest designs and most attractive Ferraris.

Speciale guaranteed future classic.

Mostly agree with Rob. I think the 360 was quite pretty but the 430 relatively clumsy and chunky looking and, in the same way, the 458 was lovely but then followed by the relatively chunky and overly fussy 488. My Euromillions garage would go on a 400i, 328GTS, Testarossa and F40.

Porsches are practically "white goods" compared with Ferraris yet it's interesting to note how relatively elegant a new 911 looks next to a 488. Love that Lamborghini have continued making very low and sharp looking cars. McLarens remind me too much of Peugeots!

[The Surveyor]

av185 said:

.......

Speciale guaranteed future classic.

Another vote for the Speciale, it is an astounding car. It just never seamed to get the wider adulation it deserved.

[MDL111]

I agree that modern Ferraris are not as pretty as the ones in the past. 458 and Speciale look good, although I am still not a fan of the elongated front light clusters on all modern Ferraris. The 812 looks very heavy in the rear imo and the front lights with that kink are horrible.

I do like my FF, but I did own an M Coupe in the past, so I am probably not in the majority here.

360 I think looks great, but as others have said the 430 does not look quite right imo (I do much prefer the Scuderia, esp the front bumper, but it is still not a pretty car)

550 and 355 were the last really pretty ones imo, from then forward none look exceptionally good until the Monza, which I think is stunning (I do love the look of the LaFerrari as one exception)

Having said that, the ones I have driven are exceptionally good to drive for the roles they were designed for - to me that is more important than the looks.

[greenarrow]

jtremlett said:

I really don't know where or how you get that impression. The latest Evo takes an 812 Superfast to Angelsey and doesn't hold back on the praise and a separate article in the same magazine about second-hand supercars very much likes the F430. The other day I was reading Chris Harris' review of the 488 Pista in Top Gear magazine which was, if anything, even more effusive. Separately, Ferrari are selling more cars in the UK than ever before making it easily the largest market in Europe.

Yes, today I picked up EVO and after I opened my big mouth, its Ferrari's galore....

..but overall, maybe because key motoring Journos are massive Porsche fans, it seems Ferrari gets less coverage.

Chris Harris, Jethro Bovington, Tiff Needell, Richard Hammond...all Porsche fans first and foremost..

How many times has a Ferrari won Evo COTY? Just twice......

Ferrari are selling lots of cars, perhaps the owners are just less visible on the motoring forums.......

Anyway, my fantasy Ferrari garage includes the 355, 360 CS,F50 275 GTB and the 458 Speciale

[MDL111]

greenarrow said:

jtremlett said:

I really don't know where or how you get that impression. The latest Evo takes an 812 Superfast to Angelsey and doesn't hold back on the praise and a separate article in the same magazine about second-hand supercars very much likes the F430. The other day I was reading Chris Harris' review of the 488 Pista in Top Gear magazine which was, if anything, even more effusive. Separately, Ferrari are selling more cars in the UK than ever before making it easily the largest market in Europe.

Yes, today I picked up EVO and after I opened my big mouth, its Ferrari's galore....

..but overall, maybe because key motoring Journos are massive Porsche fans, it seems Ferrari gets less coverage.

Chris Harris, Jethro Bovington, Tiff Needell, Richard Hammond...all Porsche fans first and foremost..

How many times has a Ferrari won Evo COTY? Just twice......

Ferrari are selling lots of cars, perhaps the owners are just less visible on the motoring forums.......

Anyway, my fantasy Ferrari garage includes the 355, 360 CS,F50 275 GTB and the 458 Speciale

you can always head to ferrarichat for more Ferrari content - fewer value discussions too

[jtremlett]

greenarrow said:

Yes, today I picked up EVO and after I opened my big mouth, its Ferrari's galore....

..but overall, maybe because key motoring Journos are massive Porsche fans, it seems Ferrari gets less coverage.

Chris Harris, Jethro Bovington, Tiff Needell, Richard Hammond...all Porsche fans first and foremost..

How many times has a Ferrari won Evo COTY? Just twice......

Ferrari are selling lots of cars, perhaps the owners are just less visible on the motoring forums.......

Anyway, my fantasy Ferrari garage includes the 355, 360 CS,F50 275 GTB and the 458 Speciale

Well Chris Harris has owned a few Ferraris.

It may be there's a little less Ferrari content in Evo and Octane since they have been publishing the Ferrari-specific Enzo magazine.

I think there's less Ferrari chat on here than there used to be because every time anyone has mentioned a Ferrari of late the same ****** would leap in, regardless of the subject, with the same tedious rubbish about how only the cars that he owns are worth owning and no others.

[andrew]

jtremlett said:

ell Chris Harris has owned a few Ferraris.

It may be there's a little less Ferrari content in Evo and Octane since they have been publishing the Ferrari-specific Enzo magazine.

I think there's less Ferrari chat on here than there used to be because every time anyone has mentioned a Ferrari of late the same ****** would leap in, regardless of the subject, with the same tedious rubbish about how only the cars that he owns are worth owning and no others.

i'm counting six asterisks

[jakesmith]

The Surveyor said:

Ferrari do still make fabulous cars, but they are no longer the only player on the park. Porsche have really stepped up into Ferrari's 'investment market', whilst Lamborghini are back making genuinely astounding cars, and we now have McLaren in the mix as well.

Ferrari are getting bounced off the front pages (so to speak) due to competition rather a loss of enthusiast interest IMHO.

I think this is spot on. I think the OP is talking specifically about Ferarri in relation to other supercars. I think his point is actually applicable to the premium car market in general - when I was a young lad people lusted after Ferarris and Porsches, their pricing was more comparable and and then Ferarri started pricing up their cars substantially I think from the 360 and pulled ahead in terms of perception of premium product.

Since then some other brands have made a bit of a foray into the car scene and taken some of the focus off supercars entirely. Especially Audi with their phenomenally successful RS cars that have moved out of a tiny niche into the mass market, and their R8, also to a lesser extend Mercedes too. The GTR and M4 and C63 type cars are also expensive and very desirable and also the SUV thing is massive now - for a lot of people their dream car would be a new Range Rover Sport over a Ferarri.

Also younger people are not really that into cars in the way that my generation was.

So I think these factors have dampened the interest in supercars somewhat.