RE: Ferrari 458 Spider: Review

[bubney72]

A very very easy question to answer, Maranello's Ferrari.
It wins on looks, sound, engineering, driveability and desirability.
McLaren need a ground up redesign of the 650s. It cannot hide it's dated 12C looks, and the Hyundai Coupe facelift has not helped at all. McLaren should get Pininfarina in, or Touring (Aston Martin) to give them an attractive car.

[toppstuff]

Carl_Docklands said:

pSynrg said:

toppstuff said:

650S every time for me.

I just don't get on with the Ferrari image.

This 100%.

Baseball caps, pencil cases, laptops and theme parks have fkall to do with cars afaic.

Nothing but tired old 'romantic' Italian cliches, "the aura", the history, "we ARE Formula 1" and all that blx.

McLaren may come across as anally retentive as lost vicar in G-A-Y, but underneath the surface there we find pencils balanced behind ears, bangers & mash wi gravy, swilled down with a couple of pints of bitter on a Friday aft.

a word to the wise. when you become a man, go to the macca factory, take the opportunity and marvel at what they have accomplished. then, go to maranelllo.

you have to be a very hard person not to understand the magic of ferrari.

ferrari make the merchandise in order to maintain their traditions, they actually don't make a massive amount of total profit and most of the cost is because they do things differently to their competition.

I have never owned a ferrari but to dismiss what they do as simply because they need to survive in a changing world just shows ignorance.

yep, many Ferrari owners are complete tools but the cars ferrari produce currently (f12, 458sa, la Ferrari) are probably the strongest lineup of cars the world has yet seen and we need to thank the monied gentlemen (and the rich tools) who keep buying them in the Hope they depreciate so hard that I can one day afford one.

I have been to Woking and Maranello.

The "bella machina / forza ferrari / Tifosi with a cherry on top / check out the branded aftershave / passion and soul" guff about Ferrari still makes me cringe..

It may be alright for my place on the shores of Lake Como ( I wish) but in the UK you just look like a berk IMO.

McLaren has more of a " don't make a fuss and just crack on" kind of image that I find much more comfortable.

Edited by toppstuff on Friday 23 January 14:34

[toppstuff]

bubney72 said:

A very very easy question to answer, Maranello's Ferrari.
It wins on looks, sound, engineering, driveability and desirability.
McLaren need a ground up redesign of the 650s. It cannot hide it's dated 12C looks, and the Hyundai Coupe facelift has not helped at all. McLaren should get Pininfarina in, or Touring (Aston Martin) to give them an attractive car.

IMO the 650S wins on looks, sound engineering, drivability and desirability.

The Ferrari is artificially noisy and looks like a beach buggy IMO.

The Ferrari is like an Italian premiership footballer. Gesticulates a lot and makes a big fuss about everything, all the time. I find it gets tiresome.

A Ferrari is fine for a quick blast. A hit of instant gratification. But its not a long term keeper IMO.

The Ferrari plays all of its cards immediately. It holds nothing back right from the start. The Mclaren is more of a slow burner and , IMO, therefore more of a long term keeper.

[mwstewart]

toppstuff said:

I have been to Woking and Maranello.

The "bella machina / forza ferrari / Tifosi with a cherry on top / check out the branded aftershave / passion and soul" guff about Ferrari still makes me whinge.

It may be alright for my place on the shores of Lake Como ( I wish) but in the UK you just look like a berk IMO.

McLaren has more of a " don't make a fuss and just crack on" kind of image that I find much more comfortable.

Sod the image! It's about the massive smile on your face when you drive the thing!

[PGNCerbera]

That Ferrari is just stunning and being NA too is a massive bonus.

The McLaren is, to these eyes, a contrived attempt at making a car look like a supercar. The side profile being the worst view of them all.

[garypotter]

GRBF430F1 said:

TBH I'd rather have a 458 as the last of the N/a V8's than a 458T but its a new Ferrari so it will always sell to those with money who want the latest prancing horse no matter what
I actually think 458 residuals will firm up as a result which will then make the McLaren 12 C look like an even better buy

Valid point look at the cost of the 996/997 GT3 RS with MANUAL boxes now fetching £150K the new playstation style 991 is depreciating. I wonder if in a few years time the 458 as the last n/a V8 will have the same following.

PS I also heard that the 458 is not liked by insurers any one had problems?

[chelme]

bubney72 said:

A very very easy question to answer, Maranello's Ferrari.
It wins on looks, sound, engineering, driveability and desirability.
McLaren need a ground up redesign of the 650s. It cannot hide it's dated 12C looks, and the Hyundai Coupe facelift has not helped at all. McLaren should get Pininfarina in, or Touring (Aston Martin) to give them an attractive car.

Or Zagato. I know some of Zagato's designs are, ahem, a little challenging, but they have done some great work for AM.

[El Guapo]

The truth is that they are both great cars; I'm sure that most people would be delighted to own either one.
Having said that, if I were shopping for a spyder I'd go for an R8 - 99.8% of the enjoyment for 40-50% of the money.

[neil1jnr]

mwstewart said:

toppstuff said:

I have been to Woking and Maranello.

The "bella machina / forza ferrari / Tifosi with a cherry on top / check out the branded aftershave / passion and soul" guff about Ferrari still makes me whinge.

It may be alright for my place on the shores of Lake Como ( I wish) but in the UK you just look like a berk IMO.

McLaren has more of a " don't make a fuss and just crack on" kind of image that I find much more comfortable.

Sod the image! It's about the massive smile on your face when you drive the thing!

X2, why care what image you think your car is projecting to other people?

[chelme]

toppstuff said:

bubney72 said:

A very very easy question to answer, Maranello's Ferrari.
It wins on looks, sound, engineering, driveability and desirability.
McLaren need a ground up redesign of the 650s. It cannot hide it's dated 12C looks, and the Hyundai Coupe facelift has not helped at all. McLaren should get Pininfarina in, or Touring (Aston Martin) to give them an attractive car.

The Ferrari is like an Italian premiership footballer. Gesticulates a lot and makes a big fuss about everything, all the time. I find it gets tiresome.

Ha!, and the 650S is like a typical English football player; an average under performer and a loser...

Edited by chelme on Friday 23 January 12:28

[isaldiri]

Streetrod said:

3) I have reported this before but its worth repeating, I feel the 458 chassis removes need for the driver to have any skill at all to make it go quickly, the electronics are just too clever making it playstation like and remote. You always feel like the car is second guessing you

Surely the 650 is every bit as electronically heavy as the 458? If anything the electronics are probably better calibrated in the 458 than the Mclaren to be more seamless and you would expect that given ever since the 430, Ferrari have been very keen on the various electronic differentials/traction/stability control systems. One could not honestly say that the 650 was any less 'digital' a car than any 458. It's not more digital as it'll be tough to get there but it's certainly not any less!

[chelme]

neil1jnr said:

mwstewart said:

toppstuff said:

I have been to Woking and Maranello.

The "bella machina / forza ferrari / Tifosi with a cherry on top / check out the branded aftershave / passion and soul" guff about Ferrari still makes me whinge.

It may be alright for my place on the shores of Lake Como ( I wish) but in the UK you just look like a berk IMO.

McLaren has more of a " don't make a fuss and just crack on" kind of image that I find much more comfortable.

Sod the image! It's about the massive smile on your face when you drive the thing!

X2, why care what image you think your car is projecting to other people?

Exactly.

[Mark Wibble]

Disappointing set of pics! My time is precious, I don't want to have to open yet another page and search Google separately... :-)

[Europa1]

chelme said:

Ha!, and the 650S is like a typical English football player; an average under performer and a loser...

Edited by chelme on Friday 23 January 12:28

Not sure if serious....

[chelme]

Europa1 said:

chelme said:

Ha!, and the 650S is like a typical English football player; an average under performer and a loser...

Edited by chelme on Friday 23 January 12:28

Not sure if serious....

Well, there is an element of truth in every joke

[DG27]

here is a picture then!!

a 458 in the right colour combo IMHO

[Dagnut]

The Crack Fox said:

No video of Harris doing massive skids in one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2ZHnDtspFA

[toppstuff]

DG27 said:

here is a picture then!!

a 458 in the right colour combo IMHO

Yuck.

My definition of a sports car cliche. Not cool at all IMO. If I was to choose a 458 that would the last colour combination I would go for.

It is really interesting how these cars polarise opinions !

[toppstuff]

neil1jnr said:

mwstewart said:

toppstuff said:

I have been to Woking and Maranello.

The "bella machina / forza ferrari / Tifosi with a cherry on top / check out the branded aftershave / passion and soul" guff about Ferrari still makes me whinge.

It may be alright for my place on the shores of Lake Como ( I wish) but in the UK you just look like a berk IMO.

McLaren has more of a " don't make a fuss and just crack on" kind of image that I find much more comfortable.

Sod the image! It's about the massive smile on your face when you drive the thing!

X2, why care what image you think your car is projecting to other people?

If that is your argument, then buy a Caterham.

Lets not pretend that the appeal of a Ferrari to some people, is because it IS a Ferrari. For other people ( me included ) "Ferrari-ness" is a massive disincentive.

[bertie]

GRBF430F1 said:

Nice article on the Ferrari 458 but not much of a comparison

At the end of the day its a choice between the Ferrari badge and everything that comes with it and the better car McLaren 650S.

As far as I'm concerned the McLaren beats the Ferrari in every department except the soundtrack but even that's closer than people think with the sports exhaust. Yes a turbocharged car sounds different to a V8 N/a car but that's not to say it isn't a great sound in its own right. When the 458T comes out Ferrari's major plus point will no longer exist and the McLaren will wipe the floor with it. If you like your N/a V8 sound above everything else you need to get yourself a current 458 soon

If you want the overall better car the McLaren 650S Spider is definitely the best supercar in the world .... in its class

Being a Ferrari diehard and longing for a 458 spider I've just put my money where my mouth is and bought a 650S Spider, because parking my Ferrari loyalty aside the McLaren is the better car IMHO

I have to disagree, but that's what makes the world a wonderful place.

To me the 458 beats the McLaren in every aspect except outright speed and ride comfort.

The 458 is more exciting, better looking, sounds better and feels just more special

IMHO