Friday 2nd November 2012

POTW: Maranello temptress

In case you need any further inspiration to dip into our 550 Maranello buyer's guide...

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V12 Ferraris exist in a different plane from their shouty, mid-engined counterparts. Sure, the 'baby' ones have their place. But crushing GT performance, elegant looks and a sumptuous interior nestled behind a howling, red-headed V12 engine was a Ferrari staple long before mid-mounted engines and, indeed, the word 'supercar' were even commonplace.

And this week we present to you temptation in the form of a how-to guide to buying one of the best of recent times - the 550 Maranello.

Just in case you need some inspiration to assist in your deliberations we've got a Friday treat in the form of a gorgeous 550-themed desktop.

Our thanks to our colleagues on Classic & Sports Car for this one, this shoot for the Maranello coming from an in-depth feature in the latest issue (out now!) and photographed in fine style by Malcolm Griffiths.

So. Check out their feature. Digest our in-depth buying guide. And then, suitably fired up, hit the classifieds!

Traditional (4:3)
Computer widescreen (16:10)
TV widescreen (16:9)
Portrait (smartphone, etc)

[myhandle]

The 550 is pretty good. I know someone who had one with 75,000 miles and no problems, though of course they do need maintenance.

[myhandle]

kambites said:

I thought this was an ugly car when it came out, and time has not been kind to it.

I thought it was ugly at launch too, and I much prefer the styling of the 599 or the original Vanquish or for that matter the 456GT. However, I think time has been reasonably kind to the 550. The high miles one a friend had seemed to get better looking the more time I spent around it. The bonnet vent and the grille and headlights are all a bit fussy, but from the front axle back it's quite elegant. It was TDF blue with standard alloys and that combination seemed to work fairly well. They are also seriously fast, even by the standards of today.