458 Speciale vs. 991.2 manual GT3 advice please

[WilliamWaiver]

Taffy66 said:

Different exhaust system identified with three tail pipes compared to the Speciale's two..Don't get me wrong as if i had unlimited funds then i'd have bought a Speciale over an Italia every day of the week, however at twice the money.......

As a rule of thumb the limited edition track cars are twice the money to the regular standard production car.
Ok it's not twice the car but it's that extra 15% that makes all difference couple with the exclusivity.

I struggled with the idea for 2 years before I committed and upgraded from F430 to 430 Scuderia at twice the price and it was a massive leap up in driving experience and my only regret was it took me 2 years to do it.
It depends what you want from the car but the added feel, excitement and in the scud in particular the F1 superfast II gearbox it was well worth the extra money.
Not so sure on the Speciale though as so many were built

[Taffy66]

WilliamWaiver said:

As a rule of thumb the limited edition track cars are twice the money to the regular standard production car.
Ok it's not twice the car but it's that extra 15% that makes all difference couple with the exclusivity.

I struggled with the idea for 2 years before I committed and upgraded from F430 to 430 Scuderia at twice the price and it was a massive leap up in driving experience and my only regret was it took me 2 years to do it.
It depends what you want from the car but the added feel, excitement and in the scud in particular the F1 superfast II gearbox it was well worth the extra money.
Not so sure on the Speciale though as so many were built

As you say the Scud(amazing car btw !) has low build numbers on its side and offers extra exclusivity as Ferrari didn't compromise its weight saving and rawness with an open top version..They are also pretty good value even compared to Speciales..

[isaldiri]

RSVP911 said:

Cheers chap - insightful post - have you spent much time behind the wheel of a Speciale then ?

I did think the car was really easy to place and super easy to size up and feel comfortable in - loved everything about it except the build quality wasn’t great (I know it’s an older car) and the steering feel - but as you say, it’s Just very different to all the old AC cars and various GT Porsche’s that I’m used to - not driven another car other than a Porsche in the last 6-7 years (Wife’s Fiat 500 and a borrowed Range Rover are the only exception to this)

Was fortunate enough to have a friend let me drive one a good bit when we swapped cars on a road trip in Germany some years ago (I somewhat stupidly refused his offer of a few laps at the ring while we were there but perhaps for the best all things considered ) . As far as modern dual clutch highly electronic cars are, it's absolutely brilliant at what it does. Do update whichever way you go wrt to cars anyway!

[WilliamWaiver]

Taffy66 said:

As you say the Scud(amazing car btw !) has low build numbers on its side and offers extra exclusivity as Ferrari didn't compromise its weight saving and rawness with an open top version..They are also pretty good value even compared to Speciales..

Yeah personally I think it's the pick of the 3 V8 lightweight specials and good value for money.
Gearbox a big improvement on Challenge Stradale and rawer than speciale so possibly the sweet point.
Bought mine for £160k so can't complain 5 years later

They did do the 16M convertible version though

[Taffy66]

WilliamWaiver said:

They did do the 16M convertible version though

Doh..!! Bad case of brain fade methinks. Temporarily got my Scuds and 360CS mixed up..

[Slippydiff]

RSVP911 said:

Thanks will watch these tomorrow - cheers. What have I done to get taken off your Xmas list btw ?

Also you have mail

Morning R.
Jethro B similarly gushing about the “standard” 458 Italia just as others are on here, but states the Speciale steering is an improvement.
The additional cost of the Speciale may be hard to justify (and indeed stomach) but I’d imagine residuals will remain strong/er than that of the 458 Italia, and if the car is to be a long term keeper, the Speciale is probably the better buy (I’d say investment, but we both know using such a term on PH leads to things getting ugly, very quickly)

As others have suggested, a proper road test, of reasonable duration, on some decent roads, will enable you to better understand the car and it’s steering.

It’s definitely worth checking the tyres too, the cars are now 7 years old, and I’ve no doubt you’ve driven a stunning example with low miles ? Seven year old tyres will quite possibly be sub-optimal, and as many Porsche GT owners have found, the cars are all too often supplied with wonky settings from the factory. I’d be amazed if Ferraris aren’t similarly affected...
Worthwhile noting the tyre manufacturer whilst you’re at it. A certain French manufacturers wares are, as Taffy said, are pretty much always an improvement over the Italian equivalent ...
There’s definitely a case for a trip to the legendary Mr Franklin if you should decide to purchase.

I’ve reinstated you on my CCL having received your email last night
I’ll respond in the next few days, as there’s a lot to digest and respond to !!

[RSVP911]

Slippydiff said:

RSVP911 said:

Thanks will watch these tomorrow - cheers. What have I done to get taken off your Xmas list btw ?

Also you have mail

Morning R.
Jethro B similarly gushing about the “standard” 458 Italia just as others are on here, but states the Speciale steering is an improvement.
The additional cost of the Speciale may be hard to justify (and indeed stomach) but I’d imagine residuals will remain strong/er than that of the 458 Italia, and if the car is to be a long term keeper, the Speciale is probably the better buy (I’d say investment, but we both know using such a term on PH leads to things getting ugly, very quickly)

As others have suggested, a proper road test, of reasonable duration, on some decent roads, will enable you to better understand the car and it’s steering.

It’s definitely worth checking the tyres too, the cars are now 7 years old, and I’ve no doubt you’ve driven a stunning example with low miles ? Seven year old tyres will quite possibly be sub-optimal, and as many Porsche GT owners have found, the cars are all too often supplied with wonky settings from the factory. I’d be amazed if Ferraris aren’t similarly affected...
Worthwhile noting the tyre manufacturer whilst you’re at it. A certain French manufacturers wares are, as Taffy said, are pretty much always an improvement over the Italian equivalent ...
There’s definitely a case for a trip to the legendary Mr Franklin if you should decide to purchase.

I’ve reinstated you on my CCL having received your email last night
I’ll respond in the next few days, as there’s a lot to digest and respond to !!

Cheers H , all good advice - no hurry o. Email reply - it was a biggie