Pulling Power (10th Oct)
Discussion
LMAO 
.... did anyone see it last night ?
Basically (for those that didn't see) they had numerous kitted up MR2's made to "look" like 355's. Their owners were banging on about how good they were, how everyone thought they were real Ferrari's etc etc.
Two things struck me.
1. One guy had spent 25k on his MR2. You could buy a nice REAL 308GTB for that money !! (or, buy a nice GT4 for 15k and spend the rest on running costs)
2. They parked this thing in the middle of a square and asked the public for opinions. Not one person (that they showed) knew it wasn't real (oh, how I wish *I'D* been there !). But that aside, even if it was a real 355 sat there, it was amazing peoples misconceptions about 355's in this case, but Ferrari's in general .... for example quotes such as "it's worth 150k" and "brand new you can buy them for 140k"
The whole article gave me a good giggle though
.... did anyone see it last night ? Basically (for those that didn't see) they had numerous kitted up MR2's made to "look" like 355's. Their owners were banging on about how good they were, how everyone thought they were real Ferrari's etc etc.
Two things struck me.
1. One guy had spent 25k on his MR2. You could buy a nice REAL 308GTB for that money !! (or, buy a nice GT4 for 15k and spend the rest on running costs)
2. They parked this thing in the middle of a square and asked the public for opinions. Not one person (that they showed) knew it wasn't real (oh, how I wish *I'D* been there !). But that aside, even if it was a real 355 sat there, it was amazing peoples misconceptions about 355's in this case, but Ferrari's in general .... for example quotes such as "it's worth 150k" and "brand new you can buy them for 140k"
The whole article gave me a good giggle though
Nev:
I've seen a few of these MR2 "355's" knocking around these parts. Is it me or do they actually look complete toss. Ok, I know I'm not exactlly in the market for a 355 right now, but that doesn't mean I'd lower myself to drive a
mockup.
Anybody who couldn't tell a bodykitted MR2 from a real 355 needs to be shot IMO
Not only that, but have you seen the price of them. Between 16 to 18k.
That must be 15K for the Ferrari badges and 3K for the car. I know you said that parts prices were on the rise Manu, but this is going a bit far.
I've seen a few of these MR2 "355's" knocking around these parts. Is it me or do they actually look complete toss. Ok, I know I'm not exactlly in the market for a 355 right now, but that doesn't mean I'd lower myself to drive a
mockup. Anybody who couldn't tell a bodykitted MR2 from a real 355 needs to be shot IMO
Not only that, but have you seen the price of them. Between 16 to 18k.
That must be 15K for the Ferrari badges and 3K for the car. I know you said that parts prices were on the rise Manu, but this is going a bit far.
I totally agree with the pair of you. One of these has recently appeared near where I live and looks terrible. There was also a thing in the Evening Standard car section last Friday with a bloke that had one. Reckoned he'd driven a real 355 and his MR2 version was just as good and quick but didnt cost anything like the same amount. All I can say is that he must have been drinking heavily to be talking so much
Laurence
Laurence
Reminds me of a similar weird story of peoples knowledge of sports cars:
On Weds I was at Power Engineering for a rolling road session in my TVR Chimaera. A guy was there in his Subaru getting the chip/tuning sorted. When he saw my car on the 2WD rolling road he remarks "I thought those cars were 4WD". Seemed a bright guy. My reply was along the lines of "do you really think TVR, a crappy British sports car company could develop a working 4WD system?"
T/.
On Weds I was at Power Engineering for a rolling road session in my TVR Chimaera. A guy was there in his Subaru getting the chip/tuning sorted. When he saw my car on the 2WD rolling road he remarks "I thought those cars were 4WD". Seemed a bright guy. My reply was along the lines of "do you really think TVR, a crappy British sports car company could develop a working 4WD system?"
T/.
quote:
his MR2 version was just as good and quick but didnt cost anything like the same amount
This kind of thing REALLY annoys me ... coz now, every numpty who read that article will believe that an MR2 is as fast/good as a 355, and it just spreads misconception and misinformation !
Also it means that every nonce in an XR3i or Nova will "have a go" the next time they see a Ferrari (any Ferrari) coz last week they beat an MR2 ...
Actually, saying that, it does work both ways. We all know that, whilst fast enough to be fun, 308's aren't the epitome of speed any more (bless 'em, they are nearly 30 years old in design !). But I hardly get any people "trying it on" with me in the 308, whereas with my previous car (tuned Nissan 200SX) everyone and their dog wanted a piece of me (yeah, yeah, I know, ignore them ... but it gets tiring after a while)
Occasionally "misknowledge" of Ferraris can be amusing .... I once had a garage attendant come running out of the shop in a panic coz I was stood there calmly putting LRP in my 22 year old 308GTS ... she was panicing coz she thought it was a new Ferrari ! (i.e. with cats)
quote:
Occasionally "misknowledge" of Ferraris can be amusing .... I once had a garage attendant come running out of the shop in a panic coz I was stood there calmly putting LRP in my 22 year old 308GTS ... she was panicing coz she thought it was a new Ferrari ! (i.e. with cats)
Bless her........ At least she tried.
Which is more than can be said for most
quote:
Bless her........ At least she tried.
Which is more than can be said for most
Absolutely ! She seemed quite crestfallen when I gently explained ....
Funny enough, this was on the journey home after picking up the car, having just bought her ... that's why it sticks in the memory so
I can't find it. There used to be one in the UK magazine TopMarque. I remember it had cost the owner a bit of cash (15k-ish) to build. Why??? No matter how much money you spend it's always going to look shit and it will never be an F40! Surely all that effort and cash could have gone into picking out some good stocks or going to Vegas and trying your luck.
And what a beautiful car she is Nev. I've just seem the picture in your profile. Looks immaculate.
I love the 308's and 328's. I remember with great fondness sitting through hours of Magnum, just to catch a glimps of the Ferrari. Ohhhhh those were the days
The 308/328 just never seem to age. There aren't many cars that can stand the test of time like these two. Brilliant.
So what is it like to own??? You hear all these horror stories of the older Ferraris, but what is it actually like?
Cheers,
Jay
I love the 308's and 328's. I remember with great fondness sitting through hours of Magnum, just to catch a glimps of the Ferrari. Ohhhhh those were the days
The 308/328 just never seem to age. There aren't many cars that can stand the test of time like these two. Brilliant.
So what is it like to own??? You hear all these horror stories of the older Ferraris, but what is it actually like?
Cheers,
Jay
quote:
And what a beautiful car she is Nev. I've just seem the picture in your profile. Looks immaculate.
I love the 308's and 328's. I remember with great fondness sitting through hours of Magnum, just to catch a glimps of the Ferrari. Ohhhhh those were the days
The 308/328 just never seem to age. There aren't many cars that can stand the test of time like these two. Brilliant.
So what is it like to own??? You hear all these horror stories of the older Ferraris, but what is it actually like?
Cheers,
Jay
Ditto to the above , so it was not just me who used to watch Magnum just for a glimps of the Red one ,, what is it like to live with this car
Dug this up, this will have me laughing and throwing up for a few hours.
"M'lud, exhibit (a) Shots showing a kitted MR2. The defendent has attempted to fool the general public into believing this is a supercar".
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, please take a moment to examine these shots of a genuine F355. As you can see the workmanship is far superior".
Chair? Gas? Injection? Let you go to a PH meet? Pick the worst punishment
"M'lud, exhibit (a) Shots showing a kitted MR2. The defendent has attempted to fool the general public into believing this is a supercar". "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, please take a moment to examine these shots of a genuine F355. As you can see the workmanship is far superior".
Chair? Gas? Injection? Let you go to a PH meet? Pick the worst punishmentFor a second I thought the first pictures were of the bodykitted MR2, and was just about to say that it was the best I'd ever seen (i.e. Had me fooled).
............. until I paged down
How shit is that. People shouldn't be allowed to get away with this. It takes the ps IMHO.
What do the owners of real 355's think???
............. until I paged down
How shit is that. People shouldn't be allowed to get away with this. It takes the p
s IMHO. What do the owners of real 355's think???
Sorry guys, no sleep results in dodgey posts. Before I Eff off I'll leave you with the words of a fraudster or 355sham-ola owner.
COMPLETING THE ILLUSION
I have now seen umpteen replicas (most of them from the comfort of a Melton office chair). It seems that most individuals are happy to have the body kit in place, fit a half-baked set of wheels with not even a hint of Ferrari and then leave it at that. So a peek through the driver's window reveals stock Toyota interior, asides from maybe a Toytown yellow disc with a horse in the middle glued to the steering wheel. This is where the rest of the cash comes in. See "Finishing Touches" for how to set about completing the deception.
At this juncture I might add that, from my point of view, all of this is purely hypothetical, as I am unlikely to ever get budgetary authorisation from the MD (wife), at least not ahead of a new fitted kitchen or a replacement lounge suite. Even the suggestion that we go camping instead of taking our usual exotic holiday for the next five years was met with a strangely muted reception!
I WANT ONE NOW!
So there you have it. The quintessential Ferrari F355 replica guide. It will fool your neighbours, turn your friends green and make you king of the road - that is until you hear the driver of a real one belly laugh when you are sat slap bang next to him in a traffic queue.
Ideally I would finish off this piece by listing five or six links to websites where you can see dozens of examples of both kits and the finished article. However that would just make it easy for Armani suited, Rolex wearing, Ferrari driving Ferrari lawyers to home in with a single swoop, and I do not wish to have that on my conscience! So just get surfing and make full use of those trusty search engines.
Oh dear
I'd rather beg a million people for a quid before kitting an MR2. Only need a 7% success rate to get a nice example.
the site is a laugh though. www.btinternet.com/~adefadero/kitcars.htm
COMPLETING THE ILLUSION
I have now seen umpteen replicas (most of them from the comfort of a Melton office chair). It seems that most individuals are happy to have the body kit in place, fit a half-baked set of wheels with not even a hint of Ferrari and then leave it at that. So a peek through the driver's window reveals stock Toyota interior, asides from maybe a Toytown yellow disc with a horse in the middle glued to the steering wheel. This is where the rest of the cash comes in. See "Finishing Touches" for how to set about completing the deception.
At this juncture I might add that, from my point of view, all of this is purely hypothetical, as I am unlikely to ever get budgetary authorisation from the MD (wife), at least not ahead of a new fitted kitchen or a replacement lounge suite. Even the suggestion that we go camping instead of taking our usual exotic holiday for the next five years was met with a strangely muted reception!
I WANT ONE NOW!
So there you have it. The quintessential Ferrari F355 replica guide. It will fool your neighbours, turn your friends green and make you king of the road - that is until you hear the driver of a real one belly laugh when you are sat slap bang next to him in a traffic queue.
Ideally I would finish off this piece by listing five or six links to websites where you can see dozens of examples of both kits and the finished article. However that would just make it easy for Armani suited, Rolex wearing, Ferrari driving Ferrari lawyers to home in with a single swoop, and I do not wish to have that on my conscience! So just get surfing and make full use of those trusty search engines.
Oh dear
I'd rather beg a million people for a quid before kitting an MR2. Only need a 7% success rate to get a nice example. the site is a laugh though. www.btinternet.com/~adefadero/kitcars.htm
quote:Almost got ya!
For a second I thought the first pictures were of the bodykitted MR2, and was just about to say that it was the best I'd ever seen (i.e. Had me fooled).
............. until I paged down
How shit is that. People shouldn't be allowed to get away with this. It takes the p
What do the owners of real 355's think???
I watched the programme and I couldn't believe that people fell for it....
It's kind of expected though. Most people (99%) go through their entire lives withouth ever sitting in a Ferrari and their only experience is seeing one fleetingly - suppose that's a function of the price..... It's a dreadful shame for enthusiasts to some extent but then if we saw Ferraris everywhere, all the time, then they wouldn't be anywhere as special as they are.
RE: the programme - I wish I had been asked what car I thought that was.... The replica looked aweful - absolutely terrible. (And I'm not being snobby about it either, I mean it - it looked exactly what it was - a grotesque interpretation of an MR2)...
Saw a yellow one in London with Ninja (The Pervert) recently having followed his lovely Spider all the way up and the rep just looked unbelievably bad....
Its a shame - I've seen LHD 348 Challenge cars selling for £25K.......
It's kind of expected though. Most people (99%) go through their entire lives withouth ever sitting in a Ferrari and their only experience is seeing one fleetingly - suppose that's a function of the price..... It's a dreadful shame for enthusiasts to some extent but then if we saw Ferraris everywhere, all the time, then they wouldn't be anywhere as special as they are.
RE: the programme - I wish I had been asked what car I thought that was.... The replica looked aweful - absolutely terrible. (And I'm not being snobby about it either, I mean it - it looked exactly what it was - a grotesque interpretation of an MR2)...
Saw a yellow one in London with Ninja (The Pervert) recently having followed his lovely Spider all the way up and the rep just looked unbelievably bad....
Its a shame - I've seen LHD 348 Challenge cars selling for £25K.......
quote:
And what a beautiful car she is Nev.
Thankyou
You've just made my day Actually, she's remarkably easy to live with. She doesn't do a huge amount of mileage being a pampered toy, but she's done plenty of long runs (for example 350 miles round mid and north Wales in a day)
Pretty comfy inside (once you're in, a little bit of a limbo act to get inside). Excellent driving position for my 5'9" average frame, though some complain about Italian "monkey" syndrome, but I guess these must be bigger/taller people than myself. The GTS works really well in that the roof stores behind the seats, and you barely get any draft or ruffing of hair (what's left of it
) ... you can hold a civilised conversation easily up to 100mph (with the windows up), after that it gets a bit noisy. The boot isn't the biggest, but it can actually hold quite a lot, it's just a funny shape. You can fit lots in there, just dont put anything meltable (e.g. chocolate) in the boot (it's next to the engine bay/over the exhaust !). I can fit a full weeks shopping from Tesco's into the boot no problem. I personally love the interior, all 70's switch gear and dials ... ! Driving wise she's lovely .... on the down side, VERY heavy .... no power steering so at low speeds it's heavy as hell (lightens up beautifully when on the move though) and the clutch is a right work out for the left leg. But it's numpty easy to heal and toe, and the click-click of the gear shift through the open metal gate is fantastic, and very addictive ! The suspension is one of the 308's greatest assets ... suprisingly supple and not at all crashy (speed bumps are not a problem with this car), but it holds the road superbly well, even with 70's technology Michelin XWX's (some people like to upgrade to modern rubber, I like the old "bulging sidewalls" of the older tyres ... suits the car very well). She'll give my Westfield a run for it's money round the twisties, but when she does decide to let go she's very very communicative (understeer) and easy to bring back under control. This car really does flatter your driving skills (not that I'm not a superb driver anyway, of course !
) Dont buy a GTSi, and some people prefer the later (slightly more 80's looking) QV's, but for me you've got to have an early carb model. Okay, so they're a bit more grumpy when starting from cold if the car has been left a week or two (fine after the first 20 seconds) but wind that window down, and the sound of the quadruple weber 40DCNF carbs sucking through that air intake just inches from your right ear is music to a petrolhead's ears !
Reliability wise she's been pretty good (touch wood). In 2 years driving and about 5000 miles my only faults have been : faulty speedo sensor (100 quid, easy replace), 2 knackered old heat shields (200 quid), slow leccy windows (strip, clean, replace grease, 0 quid), misfire (bit of crud blocking a jet, 120 quid for labour), misfire no.2 when cold only (HT lead starting to break down, 50 quid) ..... plus servicing costs of course (every 3000 miles or 1 year), but I do most of my own servicing (shyed away from doing the tappets coz they're shimmed .... 150 quid)
Booting it (erm, a common occurrance, ahem !) I get 15mpg, the best I've ever got was 21mpg. Typically I get 15mpg
Performance wise, not the fastest thing on the road any more (0-60 in early 6's according to mfr) but the way she's geared all the power comes in later on .... the 0-60 sprint isn't fantastic compared to modern supercars, but you get going above 80 and you're laughing, she just keeps on pulling. Will outrun most contemporary Porsches above 100 easily, from my experience (um, where speed limits allow OF COURSE !
) But pure out and out speed isn't what this car is about, of course. Go buy an R500 or something if you want that. Oh, and you do tend to look up at everything, even Minis !
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