Abuse or not…

[NRG1976]

Getting close to buying a red California T and it will be my first Ferrari, I’ve had loads of other cars such as Porsche’s etc. but was wondering if F cars can attract silly abuse / jealousy from strangers, to the extent it spoils the ownership experience ?

Where I live there are plenty of Porsche’s etc. but F cars are few and far between.

Fall back options are to go with a 991 GT3 (albeit I don’t do track days), 991 Turbo S (like the idea of all that power, but heard they can be boring after a while!) or 570s (albeit not a fan of how they look from the rear)... I’ve now ruled out the Emira various reasons.

I did think whether I should go straight to the 570s (458 is out of my budget) and get a supercar driving experience, a car that is exceptional to drive (I assume the California is like a F80 M3 with a bit of passion thrown in) and avoid any potential negativity (from what I’ve heard they only seem to get positive attention)?

[ratrod 2]

NRG1976 said:

Getting close to buying a red California T and it will be my first Ferrari, I’ve had loads of other cars such as Porsche’s etc. but was wondering if F cars can attract silly abuse / jealousy from strangers, to the extent it spoils the ownership experience ?

Where I live there are plenty of Porsche’s etc. but F cars are few and far between.

Fall back options are to go with a 991 GT3 (albeit I don’t do track days), 991 Turbo S (like the idea of all that power, but heard they can be boring after a while!) or 570s (albeit not a fan of how they look from the rear)... I’ve now ruled out the Emira various reasons.

I did think whether I should go straight to the 570s (458 is out of my budget) and get a supercar driving experience, a car that is exceptional to drive (I assume the California is like a F80 M3 with a bit of passion thrown in) and avoid any potential negativity (from what I’ve heard they only seem to get positive attention)?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-
You will get mixed reaction depending where you are driving it, had mainly classic Ferrari's with mostly positive reactions with thumps up, smiles and

waves until i bought a F430 in black so not to shouty and although 9 years old when purchased it still to most people looked modern so suffered from that

(to much money) syndrome and seem to get my share of the wker signs and the finger while driving normal , completely different to the reception i got

driving mainly Dino's and 308's and cheap at the time a few V12 's ,

Drove a Gallardo alone side the 430 which got a lot of love with people wanting photo's standing by it despite it being the poor mans Lambo with the

wrong doors, The California is not really my sort of Ferrari but is a very underrated good car just not for me ,

I've owned 5 Mondials when the kids were small which were probably the naffest Ferrari you could drive at the time so who am i to talk.

I think the consensus is that Lambo drivers don't take themseves to seriously ,a bit like driving with a red nose on.

Edited by ratrod 2 on Thursday 6th February 22:46

[supersport]

Apart from one odd bloke singing a very strange song in a petrol station I’ve not had anything bad.

[Sarnie]

I had nothing but negative response in the 430 that I had for 5 weeks. wker signs, not being let out at junctions, negative questions at petrol stations, like are you a drug dealer? Daddy's car? Lottery winner? Hire care?

I've had 5 McLarens and nothing but positive responses in all of them..........

[jonamv8]

I’ve driven a Rosso Red CaliT for nearly two years, cant really think of a single negative incident, maybe 1 with roof down when someone shouted from a van but couldnt make out what they said.

Gets a lot of attention though which could be a bit much for some. A lot of people ask what you do for work etc or want to have a chat. Generally kids want to sit in it and some want to hear you give it some beans. Positive experience for me, had interactions with people who I wouldn’t have spoken to otherwise.

[B3NJY]

Only a couple of times have I encountered negative comments in 15 years or so of Ferrari ownership.

Had a load of verbals whilst sat in traffic in my 430 about 12 years ago from a guy in an Old Ford escort.
Couldn’t really make out what he was saying but it wasn’t positive as he called me a f*cking w&nker numerous times, I just sat there and smiled at him which wound him up even more.

Second time a white van driver drove past and shouted W&nker whilst in a red cali.

I’ve had my F12 for 6 years now and all I’ve had is positive comments although I think it helps that it’s in black but you get a lot of people coming to talk to you in petrol stations and taking photos but all very friendly so far.

[davek_964]

Didn't have problems with either of my Ferrari's - except one incident with a load of drunks in a minibus asking if my 348 was an MR2.

People do seem very positive about McLaren's though.

[ANOpax]

We brought the wife's F12 over to the UK for a two week road trip to visit friends and experienced two negative incidents in that time.

The first was climbing the hill northbound on the M40 just after the Loudwater junction. We were in the outside lane, slowly passing traffic in the middle lane at just over the limit. As we approached a white van in the middle lane, the driver rolled his window down, stuck his hand out and made a salt shaker gesture. We had the last laugh though as wifey (who was driving at the time) rolled her window down and made the crooked little finger gesture. He wasn't expecting the car to be a) a left hooker and b) driven by a woman.

The second incident was when we stayed with friends in a Dorset village. One of the villagers proclaimed loudly that 'frightful cars like that shouldn't be allowed to exist'.

Britain is full of envious people and I wouldn't want to own a Ferrari in the UK right now but I sense that attitudes may be changing as kids seemed to universally enjoy seeing the F12 on the road.

[ratrod 2]

ANOpax said:

We brought the wife's F12 over to the UK for a two week road trip to visit friends and experienced two negative incidents in that time.

The first was climbing the hill northbound on the M40 just after the Loudwater junction. We were in the outside lane, slowly passing traffic in the middle lane at just over the limit. As we approached a white van in the middle lane, the driver rolled his window down, stuck his hand out and made a salt shaker gesture. We had the last laugh though as wifey (who was driving at the time) rolled her window down and made the crooked little finger gesture. He wasn't expecting the car to be a) a left hooker and b) driven by a woman.

The second incident was when we stayed with friends in a Dorset village. One of the villagers proclaimed loudly that 'frightful cars like that shouldn't be allowed to exist'.

Britain is full of envious people and I wouldn't want to own a Ferrari in the UK right now but I sense that attitudes may be changing as kids seemed to universally enjoy seeing the F12 on the road.

Nice story , love the fact your wife was driving and she was the one who gave him the crooked little finger,

that must have pissed him off even more.

You are so right about envious people in the UK ,

After saying that most Ferrari's and Lambo's get unnoticed in London unless a hallow car.

[Mark_Blanchard]

I've had generally positive reactions from people. My 360 is 25 years old now and people seem to like it as it's red and curvy.
I did have one old person a few years ago shout "shut up you w****er" at me as I drove in first gear through town (the car has a very noisy Tubi exhaust).

But if you want really positive reactions, you need to get an old muscle car. People seem to go crazy over my 1970 Dodge Challenger.

[andrew]

in my 911, lotus, lambo and relatively limited ferrari experience

red cars attract more attention, good and bad
parking in public for any length of time can be a stress
taking it to work polarises opinion

[ex-devonpaul]

The UK seems to have a more prominent 'envy culture' than elsewhere, but it is peculiar. It is about perception rather than reality - when land Rovers start at 6 figures and fairly discreet German SUVs and Saloons can be similar they tend to be ignored, but a 5 year old sports/super car is a different matter.

Aston and Mclaren as cool as they are 'British', and as we love an eccentric then Maserati tend to be appreciated as nobody in their right mind would spend good money on one compared to the alternatives Lambos are owned by people who've done good but are still 12 years old inside, so are tolerated a bit more unless they've got an obnoxious exhaust and the driver is being a tool. Porsche shed their 1980s city wide boy image when they went mass market, and these days they all look so similar that most people can't tell a GT3RS from a base model.

Ferrari still have that "flash git" connotation to a lot of people, they've positioned themselves as a luxury brand as much as a sportscar manufacturer in many minds. That tends to generate a bit more envy in some people.

But all of these cars attract attention, mostly good, occasionally bad. We get more adverse reactions to the wife's Z4M than we ever did with the maser, mainly people trying to race away from the lights in a chipped diesel chucking smoke out like it had been modified by Dick Dastardly. I can count adverse reactions to the maser on one hand, friends with Astons report similar, McLs tend to be a bit more mixed. Older ferraris seem accepted, I only know one person with a Cali and he won't leave it at the front of his house in a nice bit of Exeter. Then again he has electric gates, CCTV, signs everywhere, so perhaps he's just paranoid.

Not matter what you get, there will always be the odd to55er doing a Gareth Hunt tribute act, but if this going to spoil the ownership experience then probably best to avoid one altogether

[willy wombat]

In the last 25 years I’ve owned at various times a 355/430/599/California/458/Portofino and I can’t remember any negative comments (I’m in Sussex) except one time when I made a stupid overtake and then had to wait at a roundabout half a mile further on. The guy I’d passed pulled up alongside and offered some commentary on the standard of my driving which was aimed more at me than the car and was frankly deserved.
I do get some positive comments and thumbs up but was a bit bemused when the UK Border Force bloke at the Tunnel coming back from France asked me what I did to afford a car like that. I don’t know if he thought I was smuggling drugs or something.

[ANOpax]

willy wombat said:

I do get some positive comments and thumbs up but was a bit bemused when the UK Border Force bloke at the Tunnel coming back from France asked me what I did to afford a car like that. I don’t know if he thought I was smuggling drugs or something.

That reminds me that when we were leaving the UK after our two week sojourn, Border Force pulled us as part of a 'random' check. Yeah right!

They were very friendly and one commented to the other 'this is the only time I'll get to see inside a million pound car'. We were also asked the same question you were about what we did to afford such a car. Anyway, we offered them a seat in the F12 for a photo op but they declined.

[browngt3]

ANOpax said:

willy wombat said:

I do get some positive comments and thumbs up but was a bit bemused when the UK Border Force bloke at the Tunnel coming back from France asked me what I did to afford a car like that. I don’t know if he thought I was smuggling drugs or something.

That reminds me that when we were leaving the UK after our two week sojourn, Border Force pulled us as part of a 'random' check. Yeah right!

They were very friendly and one commented to the other 'this is the only time I'll get to see inside a million pound car'. We were also asked the same question you were about what we did to afford such a car. Anyway, we offered them a seat in the F12 for a photo op but they declined.

When disembarking the ferry at Plymouth a couple of years ago I was near the front of the queue for passport control. By the time we finished I was the absolute last car. I knew they would do it to me from the body language of the traffic marshalls. I was driving my red GT3. The officer in the kiosk said, 'guess somebody has to be last!' . I just smiled

[turboman786]

In my 488 Ive never had any negative attention - always positive. I think much of this negativity is just exaggerated stories on forums. Absolutely zero negativity received here in many many "flash cars"

[AB]

Business partner had a black Cali T, then a red Portofino, now a red 488 Spider. In all the many miles I've done with him, it's been nothing but people stopping and staring or putting thumbs up, mostly kids.

Who cares what other people think anyway.

[ratrod 2]

Mark_Blanchard said:

I've had generally positive reactions from people. My 360 is 25 years old now and people seem to like it as it's red and curvy.
I did have one old person a few years ago shout "shut up you w****er" at me as I drove in first gear through town (the car has a very noisy Tubi exhaust).

But if you want really positive reactions, you need to get an old muscle car. People seem to go crazy over my 1970 Dodge Challenger.

Yes lots of love and genuine interest when driving a classic yank whether a muscle car or 50's /60's land yacht ,

Think you look more approachable than someone who drives a super car ,we all know that's not the case but they don't.

Plus so many of the hero figures in films now drive classic Mustangs,Chargers ,Cuda and Challenger rather than a Ferrari ,

They are often used in pop video's and ads because they are sooo cool which appeal to the young so no wonder there is a strong

fascination with them ,

[blueg33]

I haven't noticed any abuse when driving my 360, mind you in black its probably less noticeable that a bright coloured car. As with all supercars kids love it, women are mostly ambivalent. (My blue Evora and my Ginetta G33 attracted more women than anything else I have driven)

[DeejRC]

Never had a single bit of grief in the donkeys.
Got more attention back in the Sagaris days.
The Grale got so much attention, someone arse ended it.