Ferrari 550, 1 owner, only 109,000 miles FSH.Well would you?
Discussion
Thanks for the write up. Exactly the car I dream of owning doing exactly what I dream of doing in it Funny isn't it, 90% of posters on this site just talk about it, this guy gets on with it, including putting his head above the parapet when the p*ss takers had gone to town over the original ad. PHAB now has a magnificent car that he is proud to use, fixing problems as they arise to a high standard. The ultimate in running an older high end sports car. I only have a 2002 996 C4S, but I intend to keep mine in the same manner, use it properly (10,000 miles in 18 months), and keep it fettled to a high standard. Sod the miles it racks up, these things are meant to be driven, I'll just fix stuff as it arises. PHAB, you are a hero and should be applauded for having the balls, foresight and nous to buy this great Ferrari.
k-ink said:
What a great read. This thread continues to deliver. Great photos and scenery too!
Ignore this if there is an obvious reason why it is daft. Why not just run a bead of transparent silicone around the edge of the screen and fit the trim back on top. Perhaps ditch the felt while you are at it (which I cannot see the point of - this just seems to add a small delay to the inevitable leak).
k-ink, unfortunately the gasket which the screen sits in is 2 part and has to be taken in and out with the entire screen. I confirmed this with Rardley today and they think it is a screen in/out job to sort. Not the end of the world as the screen is brand new but not ideal. Ignore this if there is an obvious reason why it is daft. Why not just run a bead of transparent silicone around the edge of the screen and fit the trim back on top. Perhaps ditch the felt while you are at it (which I cannot see the point of - this just seems to add a small delay to the inevitable leak).
To everyone else thank you for your encouragement, I am delighted that so many people are showing interest in the car.
To carry on with the trip....
Woke up in Vevey to find the weather still bloody awful – drizzle, mist and wet roads. 12 degrees in July on Lake Geneva was a fairly shocking experience when swimming trunks and t shirts were in the overnight bag!
Loaded up and set off for Brig at the base of the Simplon Pass for the run into Italy. This part was uneventful in so far as the Swiss roads are great in terms of surface but dull because even off the motorways there are too many people poodling around, making it very difficult to misbehave.
The climb up to the Simplon Pass, which should have been breath-taking, was spoiled by the mist, rain and continual stops for a major road work programme which is being carried out. Extremely frustrating but a great excuse to do it again next year.
I would have loved to take more pictures here but as you can see, it simply was not worth it.
I had been told by the Maserati ‘companion’ not to worry because the weather is always good on the other side, so we simply pressed on, missed the view at the summit in a pea-souper and continued down into Italy.
Crossing into Italy is signalled by the marked deterioration in road surface but it was interesting to find that the 550 does not seem to be drawn offline by road camber or uneven surfaces – the fat tyres and low c of g seem to ensure that the car sticks to its line whatever the surface.
True to form, at Domodossola the clouds rolled back and the sun came out and the most amusing stretch of the journey commenced for the run down to Stresa on Lake Maggiore. Basically everyone in Italy appears to want to indulge in a p*ssing contest as soon as they see a Mazzer or Ferrari, or in this case, both. I had been following the QP in a high speed descent towards Stresa on the autostrada when a new Golf R decided to engage . . . the Mazzer was left far behind as we belted up to speeds where his limiter should have intervened and , to be honest, the lunatic in the Golf, who clearly wanted to die and have something on his headstone that said he had beaten a Ferrari, forced me to bottle out and return to normality. Having said that, I can confirm the 550 can be pushed to that speed and higher without any concern in the cockpit (other than wind noise!), the steering seems to become more stable than ever, the car sits firmly on the road, the power is endless and only the thought that someone not paying attention may pull out in front and cause the mother of all pile-ups forces one to throttle back.
I did notice a vibration from the front when braking back down heavily from high speed in one instance but suspected that one of the front wheels is out of balance rather than a disc problem – kept that in mind for future.
So everyone wanted to race, the car performance was simply faultless, the aircon was just about adequate (freezing or too hot….no surprises there) and the worries of water ingress etc were well forgotten. I noticed but was not particularly concerned by the fact that the water temperature was dropping to approx 70 degrees on motorways instead of the normal 90 degrees but performance was not affected and better to be a little cool than too hot !
Mpg was hard to calculate since the mountain climb and idiotic racing had taken their toll but 16 mpg appears to have been the average for this stretch. Also passenger on board and full to bursting luggage load must take their toll.
Having arrived in Stresa and checked in, the next hour was spent in a Jetwash removing crud and grime which had built up on Swiss stretch.
While the car was parked in front of the hotel that evening it became a photo-call opportunity for everyone who came in or out which was amusing.
Next stretch Stresa to Juan les Pins…..
Edited by PHAB on Wednesday 30th July 08:24
.
PHAB said:
a pretty uncomfortable lumbar setting on the front seat which refused to be adjusted however the adjusting wheel was turned. I knew about this before I set off and a small cushion at the base of the seat sorted it entirely.
Might perhaps be an obvious statement, but just to make sure, on Dad's Maranello with the standard electric seats the knob on the backrest is to adjust the 'tightness' of the side bolsters and I think the lumbar is controlled electrically by pushing the backrest adjuster up or down!If anybody is tempted having read this thread, here's a 1st Owner, 266K KM Maranello for sale in Germany for 30K Euro.....
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/ferrari-550-f...
http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/ferrari-550-f...
Sorry for the silence! So Stresa to Juan les Pins…..
Left Stresa at about midday in fine sunny weather for the 400km leg to Juan les Pins. The desire was to get to JLP in good time for dinner so the trip was entirely spent on the A26 motorway that cuts down between Milan and Turin, all the way to the coast at Genoa and then along past Monte Carlo, Nice, and into Juan les Pins. Driving a Ferrari in Italy certainly is a rewarding experience….I don’t think Ive ever had so many of the grins, camera phones or general thumbs up appreciation when driving any car…anywhere. I’m sure the sight of not one but two Italian (super)cars flying along the autopista accounted for this….nevertheless it really does ring true that the Italians certainly do love their cars and that there is no trace of the less gracious hand signs that you occasionally receive in the UK for driving such cars.
Not much to say about this leg other than the fact that it seems Italians tend to drive like lunatics on winding mountainous dual carriageways and that petrol on that particular Italian motorway was ridiculously expensive (1.91e),…. Perhaps they knew 20 cylinders and close to 1000 cavalli italiani were going to need refreshments that day! The Friday afternoon traffic was also predictably heavy along the start of French riveria….the legs got a very good workout as did the electric fan. The car was faultless though….if anything I’d say it improved during the trip…although that may well have been a learning process of how best to drive it. I wont deny that the amount of tunnels also highlighted just how refined the stock 550 exhaust is....and I shamelessly admit there were times when I was wanting more volume!! The Tubis may have to be dusted down soon for a test run.
So having ducked down off the French autoroute just before Nice…due to leg exhaustion from sitting in traffic more than anything else….we drove along the length of the Route du Bord de Mer from Nice, over the back of Antibes before ducking down into Juan les Pins for a well earned dinner….MPG....15 largely due to traffic and the very enthusiastic encouragement from other road users to stretch the car's legs a few times.
PS. Petrus1983…..good knowledge with the hotel in Stresa....a fantastic place!
No prizes for guessing the dinner location for the first evening in Juan. 
The Wookie....you may be right, although the electric adjustment on the lumbar raises and lowers the lumbar, rather than retracting it. At the moment its too extended...may be a seat back off and then adjust, will keep you posted.
This is a terrible 15 second video...apologies in advance. It is taken along the road between Nice and Antibes and gives an idea of the noises in the cabin (not TomTom!). Think the co-pilot was in charge of the music at this point!! Like I say terrible cameraman skills but some might find it informative!
View My Video
Apologies for the lack of any more photos. There are a few on another camera that I will try to get hold of.
Next stint from Juan les Pins to Saint Remy de Provence and a few great N roads around Les Baux de Provence.
Left Stresa at about midday in fine sunny weather for the 400km leg to Juan les Pins. The desire was to get to JLP in good time for dinner so the trip was entirely spent on the A26 motorway that cuts down between Milan and Turin, all the way to the coast at Genoa and then along past Monte Carlo, Nice, and into Juan les Pins. Driving a Ferrari in Italy certainly is a rewarding experience….I don’t think Ive ever had so many of the grins, camera phones or general thumbs up appreciation when driving any car…anywhere. I’m sure the sight of not one but two Italian (super)cars flying along the autopista accounted for this….nevertheless it really does ring true that the Italians certainly do love their cars and that there is no trace of the less gracious hand signs that you occasionally receive in the UK for driving such cars.
Not much to say about this leg other than the fact that it seems Italians tend to drive like lunatics on winding mountainous dual carriageways and that petrol on that particular Italian motorway was ridiculously expensive (1.91e),…. Perhaps they knew 20 cylinders and close to 1000 cavalli italiani were going to need refreshments that day! The Friday afternoon traffic was also predictably heavy along the start of French riveria….the legs got a very good workout as did the electric fan. The car was faultless though….if anything I’d say it improved during the trip…although that may well have been a learning process of how best to drive it. I wont deny that the amount of tunnels also highlighted just how refined the stock 550 exhaust is....and I shamelessly admit there were times when I was wanting more volume!! The Tubis may have to be dusted down soon for a test run.
So having ducked down off the French autoroute just before Nice…due to leg exhaustion from sitting in traffic more than anything else….we drove along the length of the Route du Bord de Mer from Nice, over the back of Antibes before ducking down into Juan les Pins for a well earned dinner….MPG....15 largely due to traffic and the very enthusiastic encouragement from other road users to stretch the car's legs a few times.
PS. Petrus1983…..good knowledge with the hotel in Stresa....a fantastic place!
No prizes for guessing the dinner location for the first evening in Juan. The Wookie....you may be right, although the electric adjustment on the lumbar raises and lowers the lumbar, rather than retracting it. At the moment its too extended...may be a seat back off and then adjust, will keep you posted.This is a terrible 15 second video...apologies in advance. It is taken along the road between Nice and Antibes and gives an idea of the noises in the cabin (not TomTom!). Think the co-pilot was in charge of the music at this point!! Like I say terrible cameraman skills but some might find it informative!
View My Video
Apologies for the lack of any more photos. There are a few on another camera that I will try to get hold of.
Next stint from Juan les Pins to Saint Remy de Provence and a few great N roads around Les Baux de Provence.
Edited by PHAB on Monday 15th September 17:36
Edited by PHAB on Monday 15th September 17:38
Edited by PHAB on Monday 15th September 18:37
Edited by PHAB on Monday 15th September 18:38
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff