RE: Ferrari F430 Coupe F1

[PascalBuyens]

chris7676 said:

It is fast, corners very well, has got a great gearchange and the SOUND (shut up if you haven't heard one). Now let's wait for 335d comparisons

Oh, that's easy... The Bimmer would win every time.... After all, it's a BMW

[matt uk]

Yup, good write up that one - really enjoyed it.

Oli can now print off this thread and proudly slap in on to the desk of all the PR execs in charge of assigning their exotica cars to motoring hacks!

[djon]

'Time to put the car into auto'

And kill the clutch Ferrari service centers must love the F1 box

[BWS]

Enjoyed the article a lot but then I would as I have been very fortunate to be in the position to recently buy a new F430 F1 Spider having really been taken in by the car. A word of explanation as to why I spent such a ridiculous sum of money on just a car..... Earlier in the year deciding that expensive cars are for fools I joined one of the "supercar" clubs; you see I had thought this through and was playing it smart, no massive depreciation issues for me. I have therefore tried in the past few months a Gallardo Spider, R8, DB9, XKR (well I had a long journey) and a new M3, I also borrowed an F430 F1 Spider MISTAKE. The key para for me in the article is the one "this is not a car, it is an experience, a sensation. Whereas other cars take you to an event, with a Ferrari getting there is the event". I felt exactly the same after I took the borrowed F430 to the coast for a weekend and just couldn't believe it could be that good, I had never lusted enviously after a Ferrari but never has a car felt so natural to drive, the steering and brakes superb and the feeling that the faster you go the better and more planted it feels, the noise is just fantastic even between 3000 and 4000 rpm. So I took my savings that I had planned to use to pay off most of the mortgage on my flat and handed it all over to the dealer and took out a massive loan as well! Such was the effect that just a car can have; I know its not the most intelligent decision I have made financially and i'm still paying that mortgage as well but what a fantastic experience it is owning this car.

[tomTVR]

BWS said:

Enjoyed the article a lot but then I would as I have been very fortunate to be in the position to recently buy a new F430 F1 Spider having really been taken in by the car. A word of explanation as to why I spent such a ridiculous sum of money on just a car..... Earlier in the year deciding that expensive cars are for fools I joined one of the "supercar" clubs; you see I had thought this through and was playing it smart, no massive depreciation issues for me. I have therefore tried in the past few months a Gallardo Spider, R8, DB9, XKR (well I had a long journey) and a new M3, I also borrowed an F430 F1 Spider MISTAKE. The key para for me in the article is the one "this is not a car, it is an experience, a sensation. Whereas other cars take you to an event, with a Ferrari getting there is the event". I felt exactly the same after I took the borrowed F430 to the coast for a weekend and just couldn't believe it could be that good, I had never lusted enviously after a Ferrari but never has a car felt so natural to drive, the steering and brakes superb and the feeling that the faster you go the better and more planted it feels, the noise is just fantastic even between 3000 and 4000 rpm. So I took my savings that I had planned to use to pay off most of the mortgage on my flat and handed it all over to the dealer and took out a massive loan as well! Such was the effect that just a car can have; I know its not the most intelligent decision I have made financially and i'm still paying that mortgage as well but what a fantastic experience it is owning this car.

Bloody hell all of your savings plus a massive loan just to have your dream car, that is PH style dedication We need pictures.

[tail slide]

BWS said:

........ So I took my savings that I had planned to use to pay off most of the mortgage on my flat and handed it all over to the dealer and took out a massive loan as well! Such was the effect that just a car can have; I know its not the most intelligent decision I have made financially and i'm still paying that mortgage as well but what a fantastic experience it is owning this car.

Brave choice, a wise man said you only regret the things you could have done but chose not to.

Entertaining & informative article Oli. Many of things you said echo what I've heard from an owner I know quite well, who has had many Ferraris and sprints/hillclimbs them all as well.

[BWS]

By the way the clutches aren't as prone to wear as previous models, I found many cars over 10k and a few well over 20k still on original clutches. Its about staying away from that LC button unfortunately.

[crofty1984]

briSk said:

flattotheboards said:

Great write up. Surely a Ferrari as to be red with tan leather seats

:yawn:

You lie! I'd have it in black any day of the week. Definetly better than rosso corsa. Oh, I did see a Ferrari in burgundy, which I thought was awesome! "Yeah, it's red, I just didn't want that red."

Incidentally, there was a 430 parked up in Arona the other day in yellow.

[Antj]

GKP said:

Nowadays, do people really believe all that 'mythical, magical' guff written in the first couple of paragraphs?
It's just a car.

you seem to have got lost,


This is pistonheads i think you may have mistaken it for grumpyoldmen.com

[tezwood]

nice car, incredible writer.

[robm3]

Antj said:

GKP said:

Nowadays, do people really believe all that 'mythical, magical' guff written in the first couple of paragraphs?
It's just a car.

you seem to have got lost,


This is pistonheads i think you may have mistaken it for grumpyoldmen.com

Don't start that up again! GKP just doesn't like Fezza's, Fair nuff'....

[Sicob]

Good write-up, enjoyed that! Down to earth!

[F.C.]

I too bought into the dream, I agree with the writer, there really is no other car like it (save the Scud) I imagine, I've loved every minute of ownership and though I am now selling I know I will have another some day.
This car hides its weight like nothing else I driven, No it's not as nimble as my Noble (or as quick for that matter) but that's not the point it is a lot of cars all rolled into one and it does everything (except moving furniture)with ease, town B Road M way the lot.
The only drawback is the £3,500 depreciation a month!!
F.C.

[hilly10]

Great Review. Takes me back to last year on my way into Barcelona I was on the coast rd coming from the north when suddenly I could hear this unmistakable blat of a 430 Feza overtaking Traffic behind he came past me then turned on to the motorway. The slip rd to the M/way was banked both sides oh the sound of that engine will stay with me till the day I die. The wail and sound of the exhaust as he took off onto the empty road, disappearing in an instant. Its only a car I think not

[magic_marker]

therulebook said:

So mate, did you manage to pull while down in Brighton?

[frankthetank4]

Great write up

i drove a 430 spider round thuxton, sounded and wen 10x better than the v8 vantage i drove

[Shazzer]

You only live once cant take it with you may as well have your dream car !

[marclp]

I totally agree when you say the F430 is not a car is an experience. I drove at Thruxton along with a 997 Turbo and a Lambo Murcielago LP640, and OMG the first time I put the accelerator down I felt I was 5 years old in a candy shop, this car is so responsive, so passionate, even sitting on it feels special, there's nothing like it. the 911 turbo in comparsion is dull as everything and as for the Lambo, well it's in another league but it's not as engaging as the cavallino rampante. The one I think about the most, definitely the Ferrari.