Ferrari 456 - Auto vs Manual

[dunstan21]

Any past or present Ferrari 456 owners out there? Just wondering if you had a view on Auto vs Manual. I have been toying with the idea of a 456 to run on high days and holidays. Instinct draws me to the 6-speen manual with the classsic open gate and memories of my 308 years ago, but there is clearly more choice if you include the Auto models.

Also interested in any other comments on 456 ownership.

Thanks in advance, Dunstan

[Godzilla]

I personally cannot reconcile a Ferrari with a 4 speed slushbox, but plenty have and love it.

I just bought a 1995 456GT and love it. You can see some pics and notes about it here: http://www.clubscuderia.co.uk/forum/showthread.php...

The clutch on mine though IS ridiculously heavy and I wouldn't be happy driving it through town. I'm going to ask Karl Verdi if it is normal as I don't think it is in line with the 456's role as a GT.

Other than that it is going great in the short time I've had it.

However as with all Italian exotica, just because it is cheap to buy, it will definitely not be cheap to run!

[dunstan21]

Godzilla,
Thanks for your note. Posted the following reply on the Club Scuderia site before I realised your post was some time ago.
Regards,
Dunstan

Must have been a bit of a shock to the system when the car spilled its life blood on the way home - still, as long as you factored a bit of 'getting it up to snuff' money in the purchase price then no harm done.

Car looks great, I think TDF Blue with light upholstery (Crema, Sabbia?) is one of the very best colour combinations on the 456. I quite like the dark green (Verde) too. Where did you see the advert for the one you bought?

Thanks for your comments on Auto vs Manual in my Pistonheads post. Think I will just have to give them both a drive and see how it feels.

Let us know how you get on with yours.

Dunstan

[456mgt]

As David says, whether you choose manual or auto is down to personal preference. Personally, I hated the auto; blunt performance, slow witted dismal thing. The choice of manual versus auto will probably drive you pre or post 1999 cars. Pre '99 I think all are manual (?), post '99 most are auto.

The difficulty will be finding a manual one if you want a '99 or later 'M' variant. This was altered in many regards, mainly to make it more like a 550. The gearbox is the one in the 550. At service time, many of the parts used are 550 designated too. Just had a look on Autotrader and the only manuals are pre-M. I recall the auto: manual ratio post '99 was 10:1. Certainly, when I bought mine several years ago it was the only manual M on sale in the country.

[dunstan21]

It would be nice to hear the case for the defence - there must be a GTA owner out there prepared to speak in favour of the automatic.

Agree it is hard to find a manual in Modificato trim 'cos I have been looking for some time. According to the data on www.456gt.com there were only 33 RHD M GT's vs 136 M GTA's sold, so Autos outnumber the manuals by 4 to 1.

[dunstan21]

Slightly miffed that the system put a Porker advert on my Ferrari post

[Godzilla]

dunstan21 said:

According to the data on www.456gt.com there were only 33 RHD M GT's vs 136 M GTA's sold, so Autos outnumber the manuals by 4 to 1.

Yup and at any one time how many do you think will be up for sale? One if you're lucky.
Verdi just sold a late M GT in the correct colour (dark blue w/tan) for £70k! More than twice the price I paid for my non-M GT.
Lovely car though.

Personally I prefer the interior of the M, but the exterior of the earlier non-M.
M's are no less prone to the common 456 problems e.g. window seals, valve guides etc.

Some excellent info on Modificata's site.

[ross-456]

dunstan21 said:

It would be nice to hear the case for the defence - there must be a GTA owner out there prepared to speak in favour of the automatic.

Agree it is hard to find a manual in Modificato trim 'cos I have been looking for some time. According to the data on www.456gt.com there were only 33 RHD M GT's vs 136 M GTA's sold, so Autos outnumber the manuals by 4 to 1.

OK, you've managed to drag me out from under my rock!

I had a 456 GTA ('98 non M) for 14 months.
It was my only car at the time and as such I used EVERY day. I did approx 14,000 miles in this period. My only costs were, one puncture, leaking radiator and an anual service.
The window seal issue was the only ongoing problem during this 14 month period.

I lent the car to a close friend to take his family (of 4) on holiday to Modena. He racked up 3k miles in a week and he said it ran faultlessly. If he sees this post he might post up some pics.

I do agree with David that the interior of the M is better but I prefer to exterior of the earlier cars.

Does this help???

[dunstan21]

Ross,
Thnaks for the post. It's good to hear some balance to the cost horror stories that some people love to post - I'm quite prepared to allocate the appropriate funds to cover annual maintenance costs and there seems a good chance I'll be pleasantly surprised.
The real purpose of my original post was to hear some views on living with auto and manual versions. I've heard that the clutch is ridiculously heavy in the manual, which could be a bit of a pain as a certain amount of commuter traffic is inevitable for me. Then again I've also heard that if you floor the accelerator at 70 in the auto it kicks down to second gear, which must be a bit disconcerting. Can you enjoy the manual in town? Is the auto a joy to drive on the open road? Is the only real solution to buy one of each?

[mattt7]

I've owned a 456 GTA modificato for the past 5 months. It's a fabulous car. The auto box is one of the smoothest i've used and makes around town or heavy traffic driving a doddle. But put it in sport mode and the car is not far off as much fun as a manual on the open road (i have driven both)
It's also easy to use second and third gears for some hard acceleration or just to listen to the V12 howl.
All in all i have found the auto box has not taken any enjoyment away from the driving experience and adds itself to the cars GT capabilities on the m roads.

Thanks,

Matt.

[Zippee]

456mgt said:

As David says, whether you choose manual or auto is down to personal preference. Personally, I hated the auto; blunt performance, slow witted dismal thing. The choice of manual versus auto will probably drive you pre or post 1999 cars. Pre '99 I think all are manual (?), post '99 most are auto.

The difficulty will be finding a manual one if you want a '99 or later 'M' variant. This was altered in many regards, mainly to make it more like a 550. The gearbox is the one in the 550. At service time, many of the parts used are 550 designated too. Just had a look on Autotrader and the only manuals are pre-M. I recall the auto: manual ratio post '99 was 10:1. Certainly, when I bought mine several years ago it was the only manual M on sale in the country.

Slightly off topic - but was it you I was following in my TVR between Baldock & Buntingford last weekend? Was an S plate 456 in red?
Did look stunning and kind of renewed my interest in the model as they do seem to be such fantastic bargains at the moment (running costs aside)

[tali1]

Don't damge the bonnet as apparently a new un' costs 12k!!!