'Motorsport' magazine review of Ferrari 308 Vetroresina
Discussion
OLDBENZ said:
I am a new 512BB owner - photo below. When I say new, I had my first drive 10 days ago so I am probably not the best qualified owner to comment on the trials and tribulations of longterm ownership. I have, however, managed a few decent drives and have covered about 450 miles so far in a mix of motorway, central London stop start and country roads. It is probably an understatement to say that so far I am delighted. The car is fresh from a full rebuild in Modena in its delivery colours.
The first thing you notice when you get behind the wheel is that the clutch pedal is extraordinarily heavy although strangely it just seems normal after the first time you press it. Funny how quickly you adapt. I think that the clutch is just a standard characteristic of Ferrari's of that period - I have also driven another 512BB and a Daytona and they were both exactly the same. The other thing that jumped out at me was how similar the instruments were to those of my 1979 Series 1 Rover SD1 that I was gifted by my father in the 80s. I reckon a case of Rover sniffing around seeing what else they could copy from Ferrari after they had pinched the Daytona nose rather than Ferrari looking to Rover for inspiration but the similarity is uncanny. Visibility is very good - a world apart from modern supercars.
I was pretty cautious at the outset as I had read all the stuff about the wayward rear end, the difficult gearbox when cold, the heavy steering etc etc and as it was a new purchase I had my listening ears on for strange rattles and clonks and funny engine noises. Well, it all seemed pretty good to me - much more hewn from the solid than I was expecting, and as I started to push it a little harder the turn in seems very sharp and accurate and the whole car 'flows' very nicely on fast country roads. The engine is a complete dream - about 360 bhp give or take depending on who you believe which is a mere bagatelle in the current supercar world of 800 plus bhp. For all that it is a quite remarkable engine with a relentless linear shove. I was also impressed with how it takes traffic jams in its stride - it is happy to hold 90c on the water temp, keeps a constant idle and does not get fluffy and irritable. A/C is better than I expected too.
If there is one thing I do not particularly like it is that first gear is so tall (it pulls nearly 60 mph) that it is a (real) challenge to pull away
from stationary on even a gentle incline and still be kind to the clutch. I am nearly a Ferrari virgin - this is the first Ferrari I have owned and I have only driven two others (another BB and a Daytona as mentioned above). None of the three I have driven have suffered from the 'avoid 2nd when cold' syndrome which I had been led to expect so I unless I have been very lucky x3 I will no longer accept that is normal.
Why did I buy? I have a small collection of mainly 60s cars and had an itch for a Miura S having been lucky enough to have some decent seat time in a friend's example in the US a couple of years ago. The biggest compliment I can pay the BB is that (in my opinion) I have at least 75% of the pleasure of a Miura for about 20% of the cost. No more itching!
Congratulations on your purchase and thank you for the nice write up. Your BB looks stunning and what an introduction to Ferrari ownership! An F1 derived flat 12 in a road car is quite something, and this one from one of Ferrari's great racing eras.The first thing you notice when you get behind the wheel is that the clutch pedal is extraordinarily heavy although strangely it just seems normal after the first time you press it. Funny how quickly you adapt. I think that the clutch is just a standard characteristic of Ferrari's of that period - I have also driven another 512BB and a Daytona and they were both exactly the same. The other thing that jumped out at me was how similar the instruments were to those of my 1979 Series 1 Rover SD1 that I was gifted by my father in the 80s. I reckon a case of Rover sniffing around seeing what else they could copy from Ferrari after they had pinched the Daytona nose rather than Ferrari looking to Rover for inspiration but the similarity is uncanny. Visibility is very good - a world apart from modern supercars.
I was pretty cautious at the outset as I had read all the stuff about the wayward rear end, the difficult gearbox when cold, the heavy steering etc etc and as it was a new purchase I had my listening ears on for strange rattles and clonks and funny engine noises. Well, it all seemed pretty good to me - much more hewn from the solid than I was expecting, and as I started to push it a little harder the turn in seems very sharp and accurate and the whole car 'flows' very nicely on fast country roads. The engine is a complete dream - about 360 bhp give or take depending on who you believe which is a mere bagatelle in the current supercar world of 800 plus bhp. For all that it is a quite remarkable engine with a relentless linear shove. I was also impressed with how it takes traffic jams in its stride - it is happy to hold 90c on the water temp, keeps a constant idle and does not get fluffy and irritable. A/C is better than I expected too.
If there is one thing I do not particularly like it is that first gear is so tall (it pulls nearly 60 mph) that it is a (real) challenge to pull away
from stationary on even a gentle incline and still be kind to the clutch. I am nearly a Ferrari virgin - this is the first Ferrari I have owned and I have only driven two others (another BB and a Daytona as mentioned above). None of the three I have driven have suffered from the 'avoid 2nd when cold' syndrome which I had been led to expect so I unless I have been very lucky x3 I will no longer accept that is normal.
Why did I buy? I have a small collection of mainly 60s cars and had an itch for a Miura S having been lucky enough to have some decent seat time in a friend's example in the US a couple of years ago. The biggest compliment I can pay the BB is that (in my opinion) I have at least 75% of the pleasure of a Miura for about 20% of the cost. No more itching!
It's interesting the car is comparatively user friendly. I suspect the famed 2nd gear issue is largely from cars that are not used. My QV was very truculent when I first got it but having used it regularly over the summer the gearbox is getting sweeter all the time. Of course if I jump straight in when cold and drive off like I'm in the Skoda it might complain.
A 12 cylinder Ferrari still remains on my 'must-have' list. It would be a Daytona but half a million quid is beyond my pay grade...
Keep us posted on your ownership experiences. Much appreciated.
Slippydiff said:
I'm guessing that at the current price point for a new Singer (with a decent spec) most potential owners will already have a "collection", which probably contains a CGT or a raft of watercooled GT cars and a 2.7RS/964/993 RS.
The 959 is a great car, but my understanding is numerous parts are now NLA, and the parts that are, are eyewateringly expensive.
I was chatting to a gentleman who was considering purchasing a CGT recently, whilst probably cheaper to run than the 959, they're still not cheap ...
The thing about the Singer is, you could nip out to get a pint of milk and a newspaper in it, or you could take it to pub, or to Waitrose, or indeed the gym, and if it was one of the more discrete hues, no one would bat an eyelid, the same can't be said for the CGT, and despite the 959 being a technical tour de force, to the great unwashed, it just looks like a badly modified, slightly chavved up old 911 ...
That's not to say I'd buy a Singer, I'd more likely have a 964 RS, a 993 RS, a Challenge Stradale, a 308 QV and a Dino (and if there were any spare change, build a resto mod 308 QV ...)
That could be the perfect garage, Henry!The 959 is a great car, but my understanding is numerous parts are now NLA, and the parts that are, are eyewateringly expensive.
I was chatting to a gentleman who was considering purchasing a CGT recently, whilst probably cheaper to run than the 959, they're still not cheap ...
The thing about the Singer is, you could nip out to get a pint of milk and a newspaper in it, or you could take it to pub, or to Waitrose, or indeed the gym, and if it was one of the more discrete hues, no one would bat an eyelid, the same can't be said for the CGT, and despite the 959 being a technical tour de force, to the great unwashed, it just looks like a badly modified, slightly chavved up old 911 ...
That's not to say I'd buy a Singer, I'd more likely have a 964 RS, a 993 RS, a Challenge Stradale, a 308 QV and a Dino (and if there were any spare change, build a resto mod 308 QV ...)
I would however need to have 12 cylinders in there somewhere.
I saw a nice Rosso Dino this week. It was parked up in a bus stop on the main A30 near Penzance - hope he wasn't broken down
Looked utterly resplendent in the sunshine, strikingly beautiful and such a rare sight to see one actually being used. Gassing Station | Ferrari Classics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff