cheap ferrari good idea?

[tbops]

How do you ferrari owners feel that the prancing horse is going in to lower market to get more sales? I think they have done this previously (the dino i think?) but has it got on your nerves..should they be looking at over all turnaround or just staying in there niche above the 911's and sl's?

[Davey S2]

Dont think you will see a cheaper car than the V8 model (430 currently)

They are also different to Aston ans especially Porsche as they build tiny number by comparison (Ferrari is about 4,500 cars a year with nearly 30,000 911'a alone being made each year)

Ferrari will be happy as long as most of their cash comes from merchandising.

[tbops]

i base this question on the tid bits of news online about the car mentioned in the below article:-

www.leftlanenews.com/2006/10/19/more-on-the-proposed-ferrari-dino-revival/

suggesting ferrari are going down market
on one hand you can be part of the ferrari club (or dino club) for less money which s better for those who cant afford 430 money but want a warantee so 360/355 is out of question. on the other it may be iritating those who believe that its lowering the mark.

[andy 308gtb]

I wonder if they are trying to spread their exposure to the market in case there is a down turn in the world economy? The current Ferrari entry price is £120k-ish (?), having an £80k model would spread the risk a little bit.
Personally I think it's a shame if they water down the brand but even if production hits 10,000 a year they will still be a rarity on the roads. I guess the brand is being watered down in any case with the sheer amount of logo'd products that are available.

When I first saw this thread I thought it was about buying a cheap second hand Ferrari. The words cheap & Ferrari never stay entwined once the car is in new ownership...

Edited by andy 308gtb on Tuesday 21st November 20:41

[gammaman]

I don't think lowering the entry price point will help them weather an economic downturn, as most of the pain (if and when it happens) would probably be shouldered by exactly the sort of buyer who forks out £80k for a luxury car. I suspect it has more to do with Ferrari releasing as much value from their brand and not much else. At the end of the day have a look in the engine of a new Ferrari and you'll notice that pretty much every part is outsourced, so the premium in the product is derived from design and marketing, so its basically an ideas company and to make money you ramp up production.