Finally went to see a 570
Discussion
Yesterday I finally got my backside into gear, and took a detour on the way down to Exeter to pop into McBristol and look at the 570GT. The idea was to let my wife see it, but as she'd slept most of the way there she stayed in the van, which doesn't bode well for me getting one.
The good side - the chromatic roof was neat, the seats were comfy and very adjustable, the luggage space was plenty for a week away, the frunk seemed as good as on a Ferrari 360 and knocked spots off the R8's comedy efforts, and visbility of the car's extremeties was no worse than the Z4 coupe or the Maserati. The steering wheel was refreshingly bereft of buttons. I'm not personally convinced the rear storage pod offers any real benefit apart from for small light bags, I doubt the wife would get anything in or out without scratching it over the paintwork getting it in, but probably more handy when touring.
But despite the large showroom windows, it was all very unnappealing. The car (alongside a black DB9) was in a poorly lit corner of the showroom, black car, black interior. It was all rather gloomy, didn't feel at all special, and and not at all like somewhere I'd want to spend a long time. The Maser and Z4 had black interiors, but they have highlights to lift them, a touch of brightwork here and there, some colour on the odd button, but not inside the Mc. Either black leather, or matt black Alcantara, with blood red seatbelts. It felt like it had been spec'd by Wednesday Addams on a bad day. Even the steering wheel was matt black Alcantara, which personally I thought was rather unpleasant to the touch. I thought furry steering wheel covers went out in the 1970s
This lunchtime our host's brother popped around in a Vantage S, similarly black on black, but just felt like a nicer place to sit. Easily as practical, and probably easier to live with day to day. The wife came out, had a sit in and play with it and was quite impressed. She even asked how much it was and didn't gasp when he told her, which is always a good sign, although her verdict was "you'd think they'd have improved paddle shift gearboxes in 10 years since the Maserati was built".
I'm not giving up hope just yet. Over the summer we'll hire a 570s and have a drive, then if that goes OK I'll start looking at some with lighter interiors
The good side - the chromatic roof was neat, the seats were comfy and very adjustable, the luggage space was plenty for a week away, the frunk seemed as good as on a Ferrari 360 and knocked spots off the R8's comedy efforts, and visbility of the car's extremeties was no worse than the Z4 coupe or the Maserati. The steering wheel was refreshingly bereft of buttons. I'm not personally convinced the rear storage pod offers any real benefit apart from for small light bags, I doubt the wife would get anything in or out without scratching it over the paintwork getting it in, but probably more handy when touring.
But despite the large showroom windows, it was all very unnappealing. The car (alongside a black DB9) was in a poorly lit corner of the showroom, black car, black interior. It was all rather gloomy, didn't feel at all special, and and not at all like somewhere I'd want to spend a long time. The Maser and Z4 had black interiors, but they have highlights to lift them, a touch of brightwork here and there, some colour on the odd button, but not inside the Mc. Either black leather, or matt black Alcantara, with blood red seatbelts. It felt like it had been spec'd by Wednesday Addams on a bad day. Even the steering wheel was matt black Alcantara, which personally I thought was rather unpleasant to the touch. I thought furry steering wheel covers went out in the 1970s
This lunchtime our host's brother popped around in a Vantage S, similarly black on black, but just felt like a nicer place to sit. Easily as practical, and probably easier to live with day to day. The wife came out, had a sit in and play with it and was quite impressed. She even asked how much it was and didn't gasp when he told her, which is always a good sign, although her verdict was "you'd think they'd have improved paddle shift gearboxes in 10 years since the Maserati was built".
I'm not giving up hope just yet. Over the summer we'll hire a 570s and have a drive, then if that goes OK I'll start looking at some with lighter interiors
It does have red stitching, but to be honest it was so dark in there I could hardly tell the seatbelts were red, let alone the stitiching.
I knew it was a black/black, but there is black and then there is black. The Maser was full black leather, including the roof, and it still felt lighter inside. I was kind of expecting more highlights in the car, dashes of polished or turned ally, I guess with everything being done for lightness things that would normally be metal trimmed are in carbon. Coupled with the amonut of Alcantara, which really does absorb the light, it was a lot darker than I expected.
I looked again at the ad photos, it looks a lot lighter in those. I don't think the showroom lighting helped at all.
I knew it was a black/black, but there is black and then there is black. The Maser was full black leather, including the roof, and it still felt lighter inside. I was kind of expecting more highlights in the car, dashes of polished or turned ally, I guess with everything being done for lightness things that would normally be metal trimmed are in carbon. Coupled with the amonut of Alcantara, which really does absorb the light, it was a lot darker than I expected.
I looked again at the ad photos, it looks a lot lighter in those. I don't think the showroom lighting helped at all.
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